10/30/2024
It was in the wee hours of this very day in 2015 that I sat in my prayer chair and prayed for the Lord to take me into His hands as I faced cancer surgery, and then I prayed a blessing upon Him, and each person who had prayed, or was praying for me, to also be blessed. Giving a blessing to others, and blessing God, is one of the most wonderful and spiritual things we can do; so, after praying in this way I wrote an open letter that I will share with you now...
“I am humbled this morning by what the Lord is about to do in my body and life. At 10:00 or thereabouts I will drift off into an anesthesia induced sleep and leave myself in God's hands as he orchestrates an operating room team and the outcome of my surgery. I read a scripture earlier this week that summed today up perfectly...
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 KJV
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
This last couple of weeks has been amazing. I received news of a tumor that showed to be malignant, and then it happened… I witnessed the love of my family, and Christian friends, as they prayed for me. I have had children pray with me for the healing of all sick people without knowing I was one of them, I have had prayers delivered by phone, email, text, and by a friend who traveled from out of state to pray with me. I have been surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ who laid hands on me and prayed... several times. I have felt the swirling of prayer as various pastors and lay people, some of whom I have never met, delivered the most heartfelt of healing prayers. God was connecting us.
I have needed all of these prayers, but having often been on the sending side of such pleas before God, I know that each person who has prayed came away with a blessing for themselves. Prayers are like a shout up the mountain... The words ring out and their echo returns to the sender.
Even now the prayers continue and my faith is bolstered by them. My own prayer is that the Lord use this illness to his glory and that he bless each of you for the mercy you are exhibiting as you shout up the mountain on my behalf.
God is Great, God is faithful,
Rich, Dad, Andad”
Many of us feel uneasy, or unworthy, as we pronounce a blessing upon God, but this is done throughout scripture, and is important that we do so today. When we bless God we are returning to Him what He has given so amazingly to us. Listen as David sings of blessing God in the opening verses of this incredibly moving psalm…
“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 iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”
Psalm 103:1-5 ESV
And then listen once more as he concludes this psalm by reminding all of us to bless God, and closes by blessing God again…
“Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!”
Psalm 103:21-22 ESV
We should never hesitate to bless God. His mercy and grace flows over us like a warm oil, how can we not acknowledge Him, and offer our humble blessing for this?
As for those around us, aren’t their prayers and their mercies worthy of our blessings as well? Yes they are! Blessing someone is the highest honor and reward that we can give them, and one which we should never neglect to offer. We should consider our circumstances, recall and acknowledge the efforts of others, and then give them a blessing from our hearts, and from the depths of our souls. It has been this way from ancient times, and remains so now…
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 ESV
And from more modern times we read this in the New Testament…
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”
2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV
Prayer:
Thank you Father for hearing our prayers, watching over us, and blessing us throughout our lives. Thank you Lord for allowing us to bless you in turn as we offer back to you, in the form of a blessing, a portion of what you have given us. Blessed are you, and your Son Jesus, who pour out your mercy and grace over us. Blessed are you who forgives us our sins, and the separated them from us as far as the east is from the west. Blessed are you who chooses not to remember our transgressions and gives us release from them. Blessed are you Holy Father for all you are, everything you give us, and each act of love you bestow upon us. All of creation sings out to you Lord, and the echo of its blessings come back as the valleys return these blessings in them forever. As your Word comes back to you we pray that our blessings return to us, and that they bring with them joy and peace to us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who never withholds your blessing from us, and Holy are you who accepts our blessings which are offered you from the depths of our souls. We praise you today Abba, and pray that you will give wings, and heavenly form to our blessings just as you do for yours. Let those we bless on earth be blessed in heaven, just as what we bind here be bound there. We hold firm to your Word, and bless you for the life it gives us, and we praise and bless you for allowing us to be its echo as it returns to you.
Amen, Amen, Amen
“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11 ESV
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[a] in heaven.”
Matthew 18:18 ESV
Rich Forbes