Prayer Blessings from Scripture
A most powerful way of enriching your life or the life of
another is to bless with Scripture. This concept may seem
foreign. Most of us have not grown up in churches where
blessing is a focus.
But
clearly, God has given us instruction to bless:
Luke
6:28 (Jesus
speaking)
Bless
those who
curse you and
pray for those
who despitefully use you.
Bless:
eulogeo #2127 in Strong’s
Word Wealth in the Spirit Filled Life Bible sums up eulogeo
as: to speak well of, praise, extol, bless abundantly, give
thanks.
And
God has given us choices:
Deuteronomy
30:19 (God speaking
through Moses to the Israelites)
I call
heaven and earth as witnesses against you, that I have set
before you
life and
death,
blessing and
cursing; therefore
choose life, that both
you and your descendants may live.
What most of us lack is the understanding of HOW to bless,
probably for
•
lack of role
models
•
lack of
understanding the power and importance of blessing
These
are explanations, but not good excuses.
You and I are Kingdom people
privileged to release blessings over
•
ourselves
•
loved ones
•
enemies (better
yet!)
•
situations
•
institutions
•
territories
•
nations
•
etc.
In a world
where the negative is dominant everywhere, what kind of
change could you effect if you became a serious dispenser
of blessing? Positive overwhelms negative and light dispels
darkness. Why
WOULD we hold back?
If you and I commit today to more seriously release
blessings as part of our prayer life, as part of our
Christian walk, we will take our places among those world
changers who know this secret.
Bless
with Scripture - Two Things Happen:
1. The power of
God resident in the Word gets released into the situation
over which you are praying. That power is creative,
beautiful, and loving. It is renewing and transformational.
•
Could you use a
good dose of this?
•
Who
in you life has need of such spiritual nurture as this?
•
What situations
around you need the power of God released into them?
Up close or distant, blessings are not limited by space.
2.
As you bless with Scripture, that Scripture gets into your
conscious and subconscious.
•
This deposit
renews your mind, changes your behavior, delivers new
outcomes.
(Remember, light dispels darkness!)
•
You
are changed.
•
You
become more confident, peaceful, focused.
•
You
are benefiting from the two-edged sword of God’s
word:
it swings out to effect change and swings back to effect
change in you.
God is so efficient in all His workings!
Get
Started Blessing:
You can bless
in scores of ways: a smile, a helping hand, a word of
encouragement, a good hot meal… Who can assess the
value of such acts? But, the Word of God is spirit and
life. (John
6:63) When you
bless yourself or anyone else by proclaiming Scripture, far
more than your personal power is put into motion. You come
into partnership with God and His power: the power resident
in His Word.
The Power of God’s Word Keeps On And
On:
Remember The Power of
Words?
God’s creative power is released through His Word.
God spoke creation into existence. Our universe is
increasing as you read this. It is increasing and the
speed of sound. A possible conclusion is that what God
spoke in the beginning is still moving, creating,
blessing:
Isaiah
55:11
So shall My
word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return
to Me void but it shall accomplish what I please, and it
shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Pray the truth and blessings of God’s Word
and you pray
not only out of your own heart and intent, but out of
the heart and intent of God. The power of Heaven is
released in response to your prayer-blessings. And the
power of the blessing does not stop until its purpose is
accomplished.
It doesn’t get any better than this!
When
Will You See Results?
That is up to
God and His wisdom. If you pray blessings today and
don’t see results by evening, don’t believe
that you prayed in vain. Also, the results may surprise
you. After all, God is at work and His plans are bigger
than yours or mine. Let me make my point by introducing
the
Snow Pack: an
encouraging explanation of what is happening.
The
Snow Pack
Years ago I
listened to Arthur Burk of Plumbline Ministries encourage
some young mothers to pray Scripture over their children.
(A year later Arthur produced recorded Blessings for
Babies.) He based his encouragement on Isaiah 55:11 and
developed this explanation of the
Snow Pack:
God’s
word is like rain, like snow. It will water what it lands
on. We cooperate in the distribution of this moisture by
pouring it out in prayer over people, over situations.
Sometimes we see immediate results, immediate watering of a
life or situation. That prayer went forth as rain. It was
released and sunk in immediately. We see quick results in
these cases. Problem is: we are not the ones who determine
whether our prayers land as rain or as snow.
Now the snow prayers may seem like a failure because you
don’t see quick results. But, if you live in a place
like California that depends on a deep snow pack in the
mountains for it’s water supply, you know that snow
is a God-send.
Summer warmth starts the snow melting just when the water
needs are highest. A steady supply of fresh water comes
down the streams and rivers to the valley below. Farmers
irrigate. People drink and bathe. Gardens grow.
A similar scenario plays out with prayer. Release Scripture
prayer and it can pile up like a snow pack. When the heat
is on, when trouble comes, the snow begins to melt and soak
into that troubled ground.
Can
you imagine! It’s better than an insurance policy!
The
Gift of Blessing Yourself
So, you can see
the great benefit of praying Scripture over your own life,
over the lives of those you care about.
To jumpstart your praying in this way, use
Blessing Your Spirit by Arthur Burk
and Sylvia Gunter. The forty days of prayers in this book
will bless, inspire, and call you up higher. Click the link
above for more information or to order the book.
One woman told me that each day the prayer she prays
from
Blessing Your Spirit prepares her
for what’s ahead. She said it is almost prophetic.
I have prayed through this book countless times for myself
and for others. Yet, each day something strikes me as new,
stirs me in a fresh way.
You will find this prayer-aid invaluable for keeping you on
your prayer target in those days and times when you are not
particularly inspired and original in your own prayer. You
know… on those days when not all your spiritual
cylinders are firing.
The Gift of Blessing Others
Make a list of
those closest and dearest to include when you pray these
prayers for yourself. I handle these prayers in that way.
But, one woman told me she felt led to pray each prayer
three times. Once for herself, once for her son, and once
for her daughter. Obviously, she had to make some time each
day to do this.
By the end of the 40 days, her daughter-in-law told her
that this had been the best 40 days of their marriage.
On day 41 the young man took his wife’s car keys, her
car, and wrecked it. He had been battling drugs. That day
he gave into the temptation and took off with the car. He
happened to wreck it in front of the fire station, which
was providential since the car burst into flames. The
firemen pulled the young man from the inferno. He had no
burns but the car was consumed. The forty-day snow pack
melted!
The policeman who came to the scene was so stunned by the
fact that the young man was not killed, he forgot to file a
report. The firemen are still trying to understand what
happened. And the young man is home dealing with the
reality that God reached into his life and delivered him
from a dreadful death. If there is anything stronger than
drugs, it’s the love of God released through the
prayers of those who care for you!
Needless to say, Mama is holding tightly to her copy
of
Blessing Your Spirit. The war is not
over, but a great battle for the life of her son has been
won.
Start Today
Your words
carry creative power, for better or worse.
Choose the better and BLESS!
If you and I commit today to more seriously release the
blessings as part of our prayer life, as part of our
Christian walk, we will take our places among those world
changers who know this secret.
Choose to check this book out more closely or order it.
Follow this link: Blessing Your
Spirit
Other
Resources:
Baby Blessings
–
recorded Scripture blessings for young ones
No Storm Too
Great! –
recorded prayer based on Psalm 91
Prayer
Affirmations for the Journey _ recorded
Scripture prayer: change
your life by changing your mind!
Confession of
Faith:
Understanding the dynamic of Scripture
prayer