We are blessed to be a blessing! We are to proclaim blessings over our families, churches, cities and nations. Some of you may say, “My parents never spoke words of blessing to me. Nobody has ever given me any prophetic words. I don’t know what my blessings are.”
Be encouraged. Below I show you seven powerful and obtainable blessings that each one of us can receive from our Heavenly Father. You are blessed to be a blessing! The Father has placed you on the earth for such a time as this! It’s time for you to become an Ambassador of Blessing.
A Revelation That Altered My Approach
I was given a powerful dream concerning the power of proclaiming the blessings of God as a tool of spiritual warfare. Light was being released into and over people—suddenly they were being healed without anyone touching them. I had this dream repeatedly and I knew it dealt with the reality of the power of the blessing. The power of proclamation is the switch you must flip on in order to turn the “light on” in the Father’s House.
One time when ministering in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I was doing a series of messages on the nature of Curses: Causes and Cures. At the end of the session, instead of directly addressing the powers of evil, the Holy Spirit led me to a different application of “invoking the power of the blessing” through declaring the blessings of God. Yes, we can directly address generational curses as well as the powers of territorial spirits to see them bound and their power broken. But the Lord’s application for this setting was declaring light to come, declaring light to be and declaring the power of the blessing over individuals. The result: Supernatural and spontaneous healings took place.
Why? The power of the blessing is greater than the power of the curse!
Definitions of Blessing
Blessings overcome curses. Proclamation releases the power.
Hebrew Definitions
1. To bless. The root word barak means “to kneel” and by implication means “to bless.” The word is used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures: “Bless the Lord, O house of Israel; bless the Lord, O house of Aaron. Bless the Lord, O house of Levi; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord” (Ps. 135:19-20, emphasis added).
2. Blessing. Hebrew speakers use the word berakah for “blessing.” The word berakah comes from the root word barak. Berakah means benediction (the act of invoking a blessing), and for us it brings to mind the traditional benediction of a congregation at the end of a church liturgy. The word is used almost seventy times in the Old Testament (Ps. 133:3).
English Dictionary Definition
1. To bless: to invoke the divine favor on; to bestow happiness, prosperity or good things of all kinds; to make a pronouncement holy; to consecrate; to glorify for the benefits received; to extol for excellencies.
2. A blessing: a prayer or solemn wish imploring happiness upon another; a benediction; the act of pronouncing a benediction or blessing; that which promotes prosperity and welfare.
The Nature of the Blessing
Blessings Bring Forth Life
1. A blessing is proclaimed: pronounced audibly, written or wished.
2. A blessing continues on in time, from generation to generation.
3. Blessings are not usually for individuals, but rather for families.
A Working Definition
My working definition of the word “blessing” is this: “A blessing is a word spoken for good that carries spiritual power and authority, and that sets in motion something that will probably go on from generation to generation.”
Scriptural Examples of Blessings
1. Genesis 22:15-18: Abraham was blessed by God and his seed multiplied. This blessing is perpetual.
2. Genesis 27:27-29: Isaac gave his blessing to Jacob instead of Esau.
3. Deuteronomy 28:1-14: God’s stated conditions for receiving specific personal and corporate blessings can be summed up as “listening to and obeying the voice of the Lord.”
We Are Blessed to Be a Blessing
Genesis 12:2-3 lists the details of God’s blessing over Abraham:
1. I will make you a great nation.
2. I will bless you.
3. I will make your name great.
4. You shall be a blessing.
5. I will bless those who bless you.
6. I will curse him who curses you.
7. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
The blessing in Genesis 12 is amazing and powerful. And yet Jesus has brought us greater promises and blessings than these Old Testament blessings according to Hebrews 8:6.
5 Practical Ways to Invoke the Blessing
When Esau recognized that he had lost his father’s blessing forever, he cried out in anguish, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” (Gen. 27:34). This is the cry of every heart. Gary Smalley and John Trent wrote a book called The Blessing in which they presented five distinct expressions of effective blessings.
1. Meaningful Touch
Touch imparts and releases life, warmth, compassion and blessing. Paul told the Romans that he wanted to be with them in order to impart a blessing to them (Rom. 1:11). Parents impart blessings to their children by holding them. Friends and relatives bless each other through hugs and meaningful touching.
The Hebrew term massá means “burden” or “load,” and it is used with reference to carrying the burden of the Lord’s heart, with prophetic overtones. Sometimes the word is translated “oracle.” When somebody carries a blessing to another person, they are conveyers of God’s care, transmitting the love of His heart.
2. A Spoken Word
Along with meaningful touch, words convey blessings in an especially powerful way. Obviously prophetic in nature, spoken blessings tap into God’s thoughts and feelings for the person, place or situation.
3. Attaching High Value to the One Being Blessed
Words plus meaningful touch are not a blessing unless high value is attached to the person being blessed. “One-size-fits-all” blessings cannot be pasted onto faceless individuals. Life-giving words give honor to the person being blessed, for example, “We need you.” “You are valuable for the purposes of God.”
4. Picturing a Special Future
Blessings give people a glimpse of favor for the future. Blessings help propel people into their destiny. Whether the words of blessing are specific or general, the recipient will be able to envision the future with hope and joy.
5. An Active Commitment
A word of blessing may wither, even if it was delivered perfectly, without any subsequent follow-up.
a. An active commitment from the one giving the blessing to the one being blessed. For fulfillment of the blessing, the one giving the blessing must become involved in practical ways.
b. An ability to empower. The one giving the blessing should follow through with the commitment, not only envisioning the future, but also asking God for the ability to empower and equip the person.
Powerful, Obtainable Blessings
For those of you who have never received a blessing from your parents, or a prophetic word of encouragement, I want to encourage you with this: Blessings abound, if you know where to look for them. Here are a few places to study, search, seek and find keys to your destiny. We can receive the blessings that God has granted to each one of us. He has placed you on this earth in the very family, country, city and ethnic group that belongs to your heritage, to accomplish the very purposes He has prepared in advance for you to do.
1. Biblical Promises
By reading and studying the Bible, a person can search out God’s promises and can claim every one of them. Even without any earthly family blessings, anybody in the family of God can lay hold of the blessings of our Heavenly Father, or “Abba Daddy.”
2. Family Genealogy
By looking redemptively at his or her family history, a person can discover strengths and reframe them in terms of a family blessing.
3. Ethnic Group
Whatever a person’s ethnic or national background—Spanish, French, Italian, African, German and so forth—God has bestowed a redemptive gift on each ethnic grouping, a redeeming national trait. This can be claimed in the form of a blessing.
4. Church Promises
If it is identifiable, check into denominational background. Sometimes this matches ethnic background. A person can call forth the fire of John Wesley (Methodist), the purity of the Quakers, the boldness of the Pentecostals, the evangelical anointing of the Baptists and so forth.
5. Geographic—City, State, Region
Taking note of the current town or city, state or province and other regional identifiers, a person can research the spiritual history of the area. Have revivals occurred? Conflicts? What are the regional characteristics? By figuring out what God’s redemptive purpose might be (not concentrating on what the powers of darkness have destroyed or how the territorial spirits of darkness hold the region in bondage), a person can call down a blessing.
6. What Is in a Name?
A person can consider the meaning of his or her given name. Why was it chosen? A little research can make it possible to call forth the redemptive characteristics of first and middle names.
7. Prophetic Words
Perhaps God has spoken promises directly to a person or a family, promises that indicate the destiny or blessing that He wants a person to fulfill. If no blessings from God come to mind, a person can ask Him to send new prophetic input.
Additional Scriptures on Blessing
1 Corinthians 14:13–16
Anyone who suffers from a shortage of God’s Word can apply Paul’s advice about the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues.
Numbers 6:24-27
The Aaronic benediction from God for you.
“May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face shine upon you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you
and give you His peace.”
John 7:38
A person can invoke the power of the blessing over yourself by tapping into the river of living water inside of each one of us who are believers.
Psalm 103:1-5
“Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits,
who forgives all your iniquities,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
who satisfies your mouth with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Declare and be it! Invoke the power of the blessing upon your life, your family and your city. Be an ambassador of blessings! {eoa}
Dr. James Goll is the Founder of Encounters Network, Prayer Storm and helps carry on the work of Compassion Acts. For information on his online school visit: geteschool.com. James continues to live in TN and is a joyful father and grandfather today.
For the original article, visit encountersnetwork.com.
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