SCRIPTURE: Genesis 48
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
(Read my reflection from 2008)
May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.” [Genesis 48:16]
So what really happens when one person ‘blesses’ another?
What kind of power is released when the blessing is given?
How is it that the hands of Jacob, crossed over to put Ephraim before Manasseh, could have the power to change the future of these sons?
I cannot answer this for sure, but I see it in two ways: (1) God’s Spirit is actually conveyed through the blessing of His servants; (2) Abraham’s blessing did not change their future, rather it predicted their future, what God had in mind for them.

And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. [Mark 10:16]
The parents bring their children (and babies, Luke 18:15] to Jesus that He might bless them, and they were definitely hoping that an actual blessing was being received.
Although we do not know the exact nature of the blessing (other than it was positive), we can say with assurance that they were actually, literally blessed.
Jesus was not just mouthing empty words, hoping and praying for a good life for them.
God’s Spirit was behind the parents bringing the children, and God’s Spirit was at work through Jesus’ words and hands, and God’s Spirit was at work in these children.
What kind of specific blessing did they receive… we do not know, though I suspect the parents eventually saw evidence of it.

Something real happens when we bless others in Jesus Name.
As we saw yesterday, this is our calling, to bless others.
This is not just in terms of being nice to others, it also means praying God’s Name over them, trusting that the Spirit has put those people in our path for His purpose, and He will exert His power through us to them.
This is why our prayers for the sick (or struggling) are always effective somehow.
We may or may not see how the blessing is worked out, but something real happens.
We are not mouthing empty words, hoping and praying for a good life for them.

Think about this today as God presents people to you today, to pray for and bless them, in our words and deeds.
These are not chance encounters, these are God appointments.
The Lord by His Spirit is directed people according to His purpose, to share the blessing of grace from generation to generation.
Something real happens when we pray and bless.
Let’s get to it, trusting that the Lord by His Spirit will use our words and actions for His purpose, whether we see the results or not.

PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for this reminder. I have been withholding my blessing out of ignorance, forgetting that something really happens when I use my words and hands to convey Your blessing.