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“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.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Happy Friday, dear Friend! You don't need permission to dance your Happy Friday Dance! I pray that as you make plans for the weekend, that you would factor in worship time with God's people (i.e. a church of your choice) and be a blessing to the Lord and the Lord's people!
This is a special time of year when a LOT of prayers get lifted up to the Lord from parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors; all for the blessing of the start of the school year. A funny picture making its way on social media shows two frames. The first one shows a group of parents outside a school building looking longingly into the windows and the captions says, "Parents of First Graders." The second frame shows a car smoking its tires in a fast getaway and the caption says, "Parents of Sixth Graders." So, yes even prayers of "Thank You, Lord" get in the mix of those who pray, "Bless and protect my child/children this school year.
We're studying prayers from the Bible and today's may be one those of you who are of a certain age, who were active back in what was then known as MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship). It comes from the book of Numbers 6:24-26 and it was the prayer of blessing that would close our meetings. We would add, as someone had taught us to say before the Amen, "Christ Above All" which was the MYF slogan. So, let's unpack that prayer and see how it applies to our lives.
The prayer comes from the book many call boring. One has to almost literally trudge through Numbers, but it does contain important stuff after all, it's in the Bible! It's a book of census and a book of instruction. This chapter from where this prayer comes deals with the Nazirites and how they are to be a people separated or set apart from the others, for their lives were meant to be holy and dedicated to the service of God. Nazirites were not to drink wine or anything related to grapes; and they were not to shave or cut their hair. (My oldest grandson would love to live under that rule!) Two notable Nazirites you should know: Samson, though his "set apart-ness" wasn't exactly what the Lord God had in mind, and John the Baptist, whose life was holy and boldly dedicated to God. This prayer was to be part of the consecration service and it is a blessing that applies to all of the Israelites and to all who pray it.
"The Lord bless you and keep you," a prayer dedicated to God, asking God's blessing and protection upon the person for whom we are praying. "Keep" means safe or as keep them safe; under God's watchful eyes. "The Lord make His face shine upon you." Nothing shines a face more than a smile. And nothing smiles more than giving someone their full attention. To ask that God's face shine upon you means God looking right at you and smiling at you. When one smiles at someone, they usually smile back; try that on a happy baby! You'll get a smile and a stare that will last while you're in view!
"And be gracious to you." We love when others are gracious to us. They slow down to let us into an otherwise crowded traffic flow. They tend to our needs without complaint or frowns. Imagine God's graciousness to us! A smile and His favor on us and those for whom we pray this prayer. "The Lord lift up His countenance upon you." This means for God to give us His full attention and may even include His support in that face that is shining on us. To have the shining face of God with love written all over it and that love directed to us - what more can we want?
"And give you peace." Peace is what most parents want as they leave their children in the care of their schools and daycares. To have a feeling that our children are safe or at least in safe hands. Our prayers should continue asking God to have a major part of that wellbeing of our children; and as we pray this prayer, we're also asking for ourselves. We want and need that peace that allows us to continue with what is expected. Imagine just staying in sadness outside your child's window all day? That child would be so embarrassed and you might be escorted off the campus, adding to your son or daughter's "Mom!" or "Dad!" Peace motivates us to get on with what is expected of us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we pray the words of this special prayer for ourselves, for our little ones, for our family members, for our churches and pastors: May You bless and keep us; May Your face shine upon us, and be gracious unto us; May You lift up Your countenance upon us and give us peace." In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Pray this prayer often today. Pray for one another and for yourselves.
Eradio Valverde
