Untapped Power?

The older I get, and the more I look at Jesus and the men and women of the Bible, the more I find myself searching for real life, walking-around-people who can model mature faith for me. The book of 1 Corinthians calls them “spiritual fathers.”

One of the great blessings of serving at Woodburn Baptist Church is that I’ve found several. Many are more like big brothers than fathers, but I want to tell you about one of the things that has really impacted me from Don, a man who is old enough to be my father.

You see, every once in a while Don will be listening to our pastor (Tim) preach, and when Tim is struggling to say something that’s difficult—because it is deeply emotional for him, or because it will be hard for some to hear, or… well, any reason you can imagine, Don will quietly say “bless him, Lord.” 

That’s it.

“Bless him, Lord.”

And then God does. Tim says beautifully whatever he was struggling to say. And it connects with the deep places in the souls of we who listen.

But it goes deeper.

Don has been doing this for Tim for years. Many years. And God has been blessing Tim as a preacher for those years. There seems to me to be a cumulative effect—the more Don blesses Tim as he preaches, the more blessed Tim’s preaching becomes. It is so beautiful I’m nearly in tears just thinking about it.

But it goes deeper still.

You see, Don is Tim’s dad. Like, literally his dad. Don has been praying God’s blessing over Tim for every one of Tim’s 49 years. It didn’t start with Tim’s preaching or Don’s listening, it started with Tim’s breathing. Probably even before Tim was breathing.

And so I wonder… how much power could we wield speaking God’s blessing over those we love, or know, or don’t even know. And then I wonder… what if we started blessing one another routinely. I don’t mean praying for people who have a special need—that’s essential, of course. I mean when we hear of someone who is struggling to do the right thing, what if we just said “Bless him, Lord” or “Bless her, Lord.” 

What could change in that person’s world?

In our world?

In the world?

Remember Abraham, and how much God used him to bless the nations of the earth?

Remember Jacob and Esau, and how much they yearned for the blessing of Isaac?

Perhaps most importantly, remember the instruction of Paul: “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” (Romans 12:14)

I’m curious… how do you experience this in your Christian journey?