Bernini’s Holy Spirit at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, 2011
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 8
The word bless, according to Webster’s New World dictionary, means to make holy, ask divine favor for. When we pray for God to bless someone, or a certain situation, what are we asking? By bless do we mean for God to do what we want for that person, do we want God to make a situation turn out the way we want it to? We ask for divine favor, but whose favor, ours or His?
I have mentioned that I write in a daily prayer journal, a.k.a. my “Book of Answered Prayer.” (See “Delay Is Opportunity”, posted 02/11/11) One of the prayers that I write every day is, “Lord, bless Turner and I. Bless our faith, marriage, health, parenting, and finances.” When I pray bless, I am truly asking to Him to make our faith and our marriage holy. I am truly asking His divine favor for our health, parenting, and finances.
By praying bless, I proclaim my trust in the Lord, my trust in His outcomes. I do not demand; I give no explicit or implicit instructions, only that He bless. How He blesses, I leave in His Hands, for I know He will care for us in ways too wonderful for me to even imagine. He wants only the highest good for us.
Does this mean it is never appropriate to ask for specifics? Definitely not. We should never be afraid to ask God to meet our needs, even our desires, so long as they are worthy, holy requests that will not harm us or others in any way, but especially spiritually. I constantly pray for special intentions for loved ones, friends, and on occasion, myself. I ask, expecting Him to hear and anticipating the answer.
When I pray for Him to bless, though, I am broadening the territory. I am letting Him know that I leave all in His Hands without needing a specific outcome. Bless this nation, bless The Church, bless those serving in our military; these are some examples of where asking Him to bless is most effective. The same is true for situations where we are overwhelmed, not knowing exactly what is needed, or what is even possible. We ask for His divine favor, we ask Him to bless the situation.
And then, after we ask His blessing, we need to pay attention, to see what favors He bestows. I am blessed to have as my witness my “Book of Answered Prayer.” My prayer is that God blesses each of you with the ability to see and rejoice in the favors He bestows.
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you; The LORD be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.”
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