Speaking a Blessing by Praying the Word – Numbers 6:24-26
Praying Into the High Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:24-26.
“The LORD Yahweh bless you and keep you;
The LORD Yahweh make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The LORD Yahweh lift up His face onto you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26).
[Author Note: This is a wonderful opportunity to include oneself in the blessing, so I imagine that it is acceptable to insert “us” in the place of “you” when praying this blessing, whether over another individual person or group of people such as family or classroom. This prayer of blessing was given to Aaron in a moment of divine inspiration. This high priestly blessing was discovered on two small silver scrolls dated 7th century BC, which makes it the oldest written Scripture known to us at this time. Needless to say, this sacred blessing has stood the test of time in the history of faith. Because of the priesthood of all believers, all followers of Jesus have the authority in His name to pray this blessing over others at any time.]
May the LORD Yahweh bless us and keep us… May the Great I AM continue to remain active in our lives. May Yahweh bless us by providing our daily bread. May He sustain us in our daily work and livelihood, enabling us to pay the bills and remain productive in our jobs. And may He keep us by being our refuge, protecting us against whatever may cause us harm. May He keep us from crisis, serious illness, accident or injury. May the Lord protect us in whatever spiritual warfare we may experience. Blessing us and keeping us, may God continue to provide for us and protect us.
May the LORD Yahweh make His face to shine upon us… May the Great I AM, the Lord of Life, shine His face upon us in friendship. May His eyes light up with fondness when looking upon us. May He deepen our friendship with Him, our intimate union with Him. May the radiance of His presence shine on us by taking pleasure in us, like a loving parent smiles in pleasure when with his or her child. May the face of the Lord reveal His divine approval and acceptance of us. May His shining presence reveal the light of His glory to us in a personal way. May His shining face upon us be like the brilliant sun shining on the surface of the earth to bring about growth and blessing. May your face, Lord, pulsate with heavenly light and be the light of our world. May we see a bright, smiling face when we see God in the holy ground of our heart.
May the LORD Yahweh be gracious to us… Continue your graces upon us, Lord, your unearned gifts of love. Be gracious to us as we go through each day, vulnerable and helpless without your compassion. We thank you for how you have been so extravagant in your love to us in the past, and we pray that you would continue your mercies as we seek to follow you each day. Be tender with us, Lord, and understanding. Thank you that you are full of grace and truth. May our family, friends and neighbors, and even our enemies, realize at a deep level that you are a gracious God, freely offering your love to all of us even though we don’t deserve it. We realize, Lord, that the word “gracious” is in the middle of this blessing, and we know that it is your grace that is in the middle of our lives, that eternal quality of yours that led to the coming of our Redeemer and Savior. Thank you for your grace.
May the LORD Yahweh lift up His face toward us… We thank you for looking at us full in the face, God, eye-to-eye. Look upon us with favor, and don’t pass us by. We pray for your loving attention, that you would turn your face in our direction and share with us a true glimpse of your loving countenance. Thank you, Lord, that you are a personal God who recognizes us, who gives us meaningful spiritual eye contact. We thank you that you are pleased to show us your face, King of Glory, that you would deign to be familiar with us, your servants. We thank you that you have promised us to be, not merely a passing acquaintance, but instead an increasingly intimate friend with us as we seek your face.
May the LORD Yahweh give us peace… O Prince of Shalom, give us your peace. Give us peace in our spirit, our heart, our mind. May we be free from anxiety and worrisome thoughts as we seek our peace in you and you alone. May there be freedom from strife and disorder in our family, peace between parent and child, between spouses, between children, between siblings. May we be peacemakers with our friends and enemies in the power of your Spirit. Please heal any division or discord in us that would take away from your peace in us. Grant us true shalom in our homes, Lord, a sense of flourishing and wholeness and abundant well-being. Give us peace within the spirit of each of us and peace with others. We are so grateful that Jesus has brought to us peace with you, through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth! Amen.