Speaking Blessing to Others

What does it mean to bless someone?  When you bless someone, it means you are speaking good things into existence in their lives.  Did you realize you have that kind of power?  The bible says in Proverbs 18:21 that “life and death are in the power of the tongue”.  We bless people by claiming a promise from the Bible for them, and God works through that.

In the Old Testament, God gave the priests of Israel a specific blessing He wanted them to use to bless the people:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”’ “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:23-27

Even though this blessing was for Israel, the Bible teaches us that through Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God and all the promises that God gave to Israel are for us, too. So we can use this same blessing for others. 

Most weekdays, before we head out to face the world, I try to speak something like this for each of my three kids: “The Lord bless you and keep you and give you a good day, in Jesus’ name.”  (My nine-year-old says, “It helps!”)

Speaking blessing is a lot like praying.  But, instead of asking God for something, we are claiming something He already promised us.  A blessing has to line up with the Bible.  We know God is not a magic genie that grants wishes, so I wouldn’t say to someone, “May the Lord give you a million dollars.”  The Bible doesn’t promise us a million dollars!  But it does promise good things like “peace” when we need it.  So, I could say, “May the Lord give you peace” and that is a blessing that God will honor and work through, because He’s already promised it. 

At the close of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”  He was blessing them with that statement.

Some blessings are very simple.  We often say “God bless you”, especially at church.  Sometimes it can even become habit, and we say it without actually thinking about what it means.  But, any time we use the name of God, we should use it purposefully, with intention.  Think about what you’re saying next time, and really mean it!  “God bless you!!”  I think when we have faith that God will actually bless someone, meaning He will help them and give them what they need, those three words can be very powerful!

Practice speaking blessings to someone in your life today.