Parents and children

What can be more worthy of our blessing than an unborn child?

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)

Here is a blessing that can be used:

“Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe. In Your wisdom you have chosen to bless us with the gift of a new life to add blessing to our family. Bless this new life with your loving care and keep Your hand of blessing upon this dear mother during this time of formation and in the hour of birth. We speak comforting words of blessing to this new life, saying ‘you are blessed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

When the baby is born, here is an apt blessing:

“Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, for the bounty of Your provision in our lives. We give you praise for the child you have given us. Thank you that you have preserved the dear mother’s health. As you have commanded, we bless Your own child with Your own blessing’ ‘The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen’”

Let us not forget the old ‘uns. Children should also bless their parents. Proverbs 23:22 speaks into this:

Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

It is apt to use the same blessings we used between husbands and wives.

To bless your mother, the model is in Proverbs 31:10-31. Here’s the first few verses:

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:10-12)

To bless your father, we have Psalm 112:1-10. Here is the start:

Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.

Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. (Psalm 112:1-3)

Finally, a blessing for friends. The go-to blessing is obviously the Aaronic Blessing mentioned earlier. You may also want to offer this New Testament blessing:

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (3 John 2)

We are all to bless each other. God blesses us through His grace, then we bless others not just through our words but also our actions, the spiritual gifts that He freely gives to us for the express purpose of … blessing others. But we must also bless God Himself through thanksgiving. Thus it is a circle of blessing – from God to man and back to God – and we are all a part of it. Who have you blessed today? Who have I blessed today?

This is an extract from the book, Livin’ the Life, available for £10 at https://www.sppublishing.com/livin-the-life-151-p.asp

How can we bless our kids?