Someone sneezes and we quickly respond with a vague “God
bless you”. We sign our e-mails and greetings cards with “Blessings” and it
sounds nice and Christian and friendly. When we don’t know the full power and
potential of this age old cliché, we throw it around like a meaningless penny.But I came to realize that speaking blessings
has unparalleled power.
I discovered that when we speak blessings into each other’s
lives, we are, by faith, imparting God’s image into their being. Blessing is God’s primary mechanism
of imparting deep into the heart of a person His image...to help that person
understand his identity (Who am I?) and purpose (Why am I here?).
The Hebrew word to “bless” is “baruch”, which means to
kneel. So picture this: When you and I bless someone, we kneel before them in
humility, speak God’s words over them and literally empower that person to
prosper. If you and I bless our children, we empower them to prosper in every
area of their lives-spiritual life with God, physical health, emotional
well-being, marriage, children, finances, careers, ministry... every area. And
when I read this last part: “Children who were blessed by their parents tend to
prosper in their adult lives, and children who were never blessed by their
parents tend to languish and not prosper”…it stopped me dead in my tracks.
I had never done this with my own children, but I had a
plan for all of our grandchildren. As
Jack and I were preparing for a family reunion in the summer of 2012, we
orchestrated a family “Blessing Evening.” To begin writing a blessing for each
grandchild, we started with the meaning of their name. For example: Mya meant “Great One” and
Breanna meant “Strong, virtuous and honourable”. From the meaning of their
names we saw how God had already prepared their character through their names.
Then we began to list all their beautiful qualities, gifts and strengths and
ended the blessing with a bible verse and prayer. It went something like this:“
It
is said that the name MYA means “great one.” You have already shown your family and friends
what “great” things you can do…..
You are one of God’s great little girls. He
sent you down from Heaven just at the right time to bring so much joy into this
family. God has great plans for you Mya. He has given you beauty, a radiant
smile, a loving heart, a creative mind, a tender but bold and courageous spirit. God has wrapped many wonderful things up in a
great and package called “Mya.”
There
is nothing more beautiful than a girl that knows she is loved. Mya…you are
Loved! God has blessed you with a family that loves and adores you. May God’s love
always strengthen you and give you courage.
God has great plans for you and let Him help you discover all that life
has for you on this earth. Do not be afraid!
Even in your young years may you learn to trust God in such a way that
you know that there is nothing in this world that can stop you from fulfilling
the purposes God has called you to. You
are great…and you are greatly loved. We bless you in the name of Jesus”.
“For I can do
everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need” (Phil. 4:13
NLT).
We wrote a blessing for each
of our nine grandchildren and read it to them on the evening of our family “Blessing
Night.” There was not a dry eye on
family deck that beautiful summer evening.
As we heard the words of blessings spoken it evoked and stirred our
souls in their most vulnerable and deepest places; those places of longing that
only God’s words can fill.
I have actually seen the
power of God’s blessings at work, and I can never again say, ‘Bless you” with a
cavalier attitude. I know that when we
speak God’s words over our lives, it changes is from the inside out and causes
our souls to prosper.
In the name of Jesus, I
bless YOU!
4 comments:
Heidi, thanks for sharing this delightful focus and your anecdotes. The area of blessing is truly a significant one in the Scriptures and in the Kingdom of God and Christ. Our three sons were all purposely named with significance.
Your account of Jack's and your sharing those blessings with your children and grandchildren warmed my heart. ~~+~~
What a beautiful post describing a powerful and memorable occasion. I'm going to tuck these ideas in my back pocket for someday...
Love this. I will think of the right time and way to do this for my family.
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