50 Days of Prayer – Day 24
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
In yesterday’s 50 Days of Prayer we heard the desperate cry of Jacob when he prayed for the blessing in his life. After years of striving with men and struggling with God, Jacob was tired of the man he had become. He finally reached the place of total surrender where God could bless him and transform him into the man God created him to be. “Israel” would become his new name! He would be the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, destined to bless the world with the coming Savior!
This is why God blesses us, so that we may become a blessing. We are blessed to bless others! In today’s prayer passage we read what is known as the Priestly Blessing. Some call it the “Aaronic Blessing.” In verse 23, the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. …”
The priests were to bless the people in the name of the Lord. As Christ followers today, we are called a royal priesthood. We have the same commission and privilege to bless others in the name of the Lord! Have you exercised that honor? Do you bless or curse? Our human nature is more accustomed for the latter. But God’s nature within us longs to bless those around us. I want to challenge you to use this Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 to bless those around you. Begin with your spouse and children, your grandchildren, relatives, and close friends. Then take some relational risks and begin to bless those at work or school, in the marketplace where you do business. Become a man or woman of blessing! As you do, the supernatural blessing of God will flow to you! It will flow to you because it will flow through you!
So let’s take a closer look at this prayer of blessing. First of all, notice that the pronouns in this prayer are all singular until you get to verse 27. God focuses on both the individual need for blessing as well as the corporate need. God blesses nations by blessing individuals. This is the way He blesses the world! Begin blessing your world one person at a time. When you bless others, be personal about it. Speak the blessing over their lives in a personal way. Allow God’s Spirit to flow through you that He may connect with their hearts. This is not just some perfunctory benediction to recite at the end of a worship service. This is an opportunity for you to build a bridge to someone’s life and let God bless them, affirm them, and encourage them.
We all need the blessings that God lists in this prayer:
to be cared for by the Lord who watches over us
to be kept in the protection of His love
to have the smile of His face upon us and the riches of His grace given to us
to have Him pay attention to us when we call
to enjoy His peace in our hearts
When you ask God to bless others or yourself, you are asking him to do these five things.
One Biblical scholar say this word “peace” (shalom) is one of the great words in the Hebrew vocabulary, and it means much more than the absence of storm and trouble around us. It involves quietness of heart within us, spiritual health and spiritual prosperity, adequacy for the demands of life, and the kind of spiritual well-being that rises above circumstances. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul describes this peace as that which passes understanding.
So here is the challenge on this 24th day of our 50 Days of Prayer. Risk the awkwardness of praying this blessing over a loved one today. Don’t put it off. Ask God to engineer the circumstances for the one to whom you are to bless. As you cross paths with that person, kindly ask them if they would mind you praying a blessing over their lives. Then, speak this blessing over them in prayer.
Imagine what our world would be like if more of us blessed than cursed. Verse 27 closes this passage with these words, “So they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Let’s put God’s name on those around us so that He will bless our world!