[Transcript of “A 5 minute cuppa” published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube[1], April 2021]
Hi everyone, welcome to ‘a five minute cuppa’. This is the place that you can come any time of day, just for five minutes, to relax, put your feet up, have a cuppa and listen to a few words to help you grow in your relationship with God.
Last week we used the analogy of a banquet as opposed to a bowl of cornflakes to help us imagine the rich variety of ways that we can develop a shared prayer life with others. Today we are going to add to that banquet by talking about the concept of blessing as a way of bringing God’s goodness into the lives of people around us.
In church we often have a blessing said over us at the end of our time together as a way of helping us to recognize that God and everything that he is goes with us into the week ahead. One of the most used blessings is that spoken by Aaron to God’s people in the Old Testament: “May God bless you and keep you, may he shine His face upon you, be gracious to you and give you His peace”.
A version of these words were turned into a song and recorded by UK churches at the beginning of the pandemic. It was quickly shared and watched by millions of people who felt the importance and power of Godly words of blessing being spoken over them in a time of shared adversity. We don’t have to be in a church or going through a difficult time to use words to bless people – we can do it every day and incorporate it into our times of prayer and reflection.
So, how can we do it and what words can we use? Do we have to follow the words of blessing we see in the Bible or can we make up our own blessings? If you’re the kind of person that likes a bit of structure when you try something new you may want to use the acronym ‘B L E S S’ – bless – to help you. Think of a person you know where you would love to see God’s love and influence in their life.
Think B body: bless them that they will be physically strong and well with the energy to do the things that God has planned for them.
Think L labour: bless them in their daily role as a parent or in their work role that they will do well and be fruitful.
Think E emotions: bless them in their heart and minds that they will be open to dealing with their inner person.
Think S social: bless them in their relationships that they will have friendships that do them good,
Think S spiritual: bless them in their God relationship that they will have a deeper understanding of the person of Jesus and the things on his heart.
When I first started to bless people regularly I remember getting into a muddle with my words and kept swapping between speaking to Jesus about the person praying and speaking to the person in the name of Jesus blessing them. My top tip for this is to pray for the person first with an open heart to what is going on for them by the things you know or things that God reveals to you. Then bless the person by speaking out words as if you were speaking to them directly.
Practice regularly. I like to think about and bless people in my car journey on the way to work in the mornings. By doing this it has become more natural and I find it comes just as easy as praying. Why not bring a bit of variety to your prayer life and this week bless the person on your heart as well as praying for them. In a time when businesses and community facilities are reopening their doors again after lockdown why not bless these and the people that work in them as you use them.
As believers, we have been blessed physically and in our work and relationships. Let’s be proactive about passing this blessing on to those we see and meet every day. You may be surprised at the differences it will make.
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[1] YouTube link: A Way of Blessing
Bible references: Numbers 6 v24-26
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Contributed by Sandy Turner; © the Author
