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The Book of Blessings: Impacting Lives with the Language of Godblessing. This book is meant only to establish a basicframework that will motivate readers to beginblessing others. It is designed to quickly launch youinto the practice of blessing.I remind us that we are all directed by God to speakblessings. When we do, we are following the exampleof God and the great men of the Bible. As we speakGod’s Word, we convey His influence to the worldaround us.We know God and His Word are one, therefore anytime we appropriate His Word, we invite His heartand His power into a situation. My prayer is that youwill invite God’s heart and power into situationsinvolving the people in your life by using Hislanguage to speak blessings over them.Beloved, I wish above all thingsthat thou mayest prosper and be in health,even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2 (KJV) 6

IntroductionThe blessing of Adonai is what makes people rich,and He doesn't mix sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22 (CJB) A blessing may be verbal or nonverbal. A nonverbalblessing might be an act of service, the giving of a gift,or just spending time with someone who enjoys yourcompany. The focus of this book is on the speaking ofblessings and specifically the speaking of blessingsbased on Scripture. This is important because theWord of God we call The Holy Bible is sacred,infallible, and living. It communicates the very heart,character, and plan of God in words He carefullychose.If we wish to speak into people’s lives with power,love, and anointing, our best opportunity for impactis to recite the Word of God. God’s Word is vastlysuperior to anything we can think or say. Therefore,as we season our speech with His Word, we areequipping ourselves with a sword that truly has thepotential to cut to the heart of any matter.We also want to declare blessings based on the Wordbecause we will be using the language of God. When Isay the “language of God,” I am referring to theexpressions and concepts communicated by the Lordthrough His words in His Word. What better examplecould we use to model our own speech than the7

The Book of Blessings: Impacting Lives with the Language of Godwords, phrases, and word pictures used by our CreatorHimself? After all, He is the source of all blessing.If God uses certain terminology to describe the valueof His chosen people, then the beauty of that pictureis something I want to mimic in describing the valueof those who are dear to me. If God articulated Hisdelight in King David using particular words, then Iwant to imitate His language in describing my delightin someone special. The Lord uses many terms todescribe His awesome powers, His provision, and Hislove for us. I want to use the same words when I prayfor His love and provision or His insertion of powerinto the life of someone for whom I am interceding.Are you getting the idea?I doubt this is a new concept for any of us. Aspracticing believers, we routinely appropriate theWord of God in the course of everyday life. It may beexhorting our children to, “Do unto others as youwould have them do unto you.” My mother oftensaid, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” It isn’tuncommon to hear phrases like “an eye for an eye,”“turn the other cheek,” or “seek and you shall find.”We use these expressions because they are relevant toour lives. The Bible is so universal and it applies to somany situations, we eventually all seem to findourselves quoting from it in ordinary conversation,whether consciously or not. I believe God is pleasedwhen we do this.This book contains over five hundred Scriptures that8

Introductionhave been modified to create blessings. In otherwords, the language of God was used to phrase eachblessing. Although the blessings were extracted fromtheir Biblical context, great care was taken to preservethe essence of each Scripture. The vibrancy of God’sWord has been retained, even though the applicationsmay be new. For every blessing in the book, itsScripture reference is provided to facilitate thereader’s personal exploration into the originalpassage from which it came.Allow me to cite some examples for clarification. Thecontext in chapter one of First Timothy is Pauldescribing how he was entrusted with the GoodNews, even though he was the “number one sinner.”Despite his history of blasphemy and persecution, hewas granted God’s grace and forgiveness. Paulcontinued in verse 14, “The grace of our Lord was pouredout on me abundantly, along with the faith and love thatare in Christ Jesus” (NIV).This verse also expresses a beautiful truth aboutGod’s grace toward all of us who are sinners andhave fallen short of the glory of God. I adapted 1Timothy 1:14 as a blessing in this way, “May the graceof the Lord pour out on you abundantly, along with thefaith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” In doing so, I amable to convey the message of God’s mercy and graceto others as I bless them. Though the application haschanged, this truth clearly applies to us just as it didto Paul.9

The Book of Blessings: Impacting Lives with the Language of GodLet me provide another example of how a Scripturewas customized into the form of a blessing. In 2Samuel 22:34 (a thanksgiving psalm of David) weread, “He makes me as surefooted as a deer, leading mesafely along the mountain heights” (NLT). A blessing forGod’s protection based on this verse reads, “May Godmake you as surefooted as a deer, leading you safely alongthe mountain heights.”In many cases words are added for amplification. Thenext example comes from the same passage. 2 Samuel22:35 reads, “He trains my hands for battle, so that myarms can bend a bow of bronze” (NASB). A blessing forcourage based on this verse reads, “May the Lord trainyour hands for battle, so that your arms can bend a bow ofbronze. May He equip you for any challenge orconfrontation, that by the strength of Him who is yoursource, you will be able to do the impossible.”Clarification on Use of Specific ScripturesSome readers will notice my occasional use ofpromises and prophetic Scriptures that God originallyintended for the nation of Israel.First, I confidently use these verses because thepromises and prophesies for Israel also apply tous.by way of Israel, not in place of Israel. “If youbelong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirsaccording to the promise” (Gal. 3:29, NIV). The ApostlePaul also wrote, “You Gentiles, who were branches froma wild olive tree, were grafted in. So now you also receivethe blessing God has promised Abraham and his children,10

Introductionsharing in God's rich nourishment of his special olive tree”(Rom. 11:17, NLT). Additional discussion on therelationship between Israel and the Church can befound in Appendix A.Secondly – except in the chapter, Blessings for Israel – Idid not attempt to represent the literal context fromwhich these promises and prophesies are quoted. Inall other chapters, I applied the language of God for ablessing with a contemporary purpose. I reassert, thepower and supremacy of His Word remain intact,even though the context was changed.While most of the blessings within this book had to beadapted into the form of a blessing, many of theblessings are literal quotations. For instance, the“Priestly (Aaronic) Blessing” from Numbers 6:24-26 isa blessing in its original context and is thereforequoted verbatim as one of the blessings in this book.FormatTo help the reader recognize modifications I made toform blessings, I used italics throughout the blessingchapters to highlight words I inserted for clarificationor amplification. I did not use italics to emphasize theaddition of words such as “may the Lord ” or “mayyou be blessed ” because this was done in nearlyevery verse to create the structure of a blessing.11

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1The Positive & NegativeEffect of WordsBy the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down. Proverbs 11:11 (NASB) Words mean things. There are blessings and there arecurses. Just as positive words breathe life, hope, andpromise into the recipient, negative words breeddeath. Affirming words strengthen and encouragewhereas negative words discourage and destroy.Affirmation is essential for mental and emotionalhealth. Personal experience tells us this is true. Youmay remember hugs from your father when he said,“I'm so proud of you.” Perhaps you once saved a notefrom a grade school teacher that said, “Excellentwork. I knew you could do it.” These experiencesmade you feel good about yourself, boosted yourconfidence, and helped you see the possibilities foryour future.Similarly, who has not known the pain of negative words?“You're in my way!” or “What do you think you'redoing?” Such comments may have left you feelinghumiliated or embarrassed. Negative words tend to drainyour enthusiasm and can cause you to doubt yourself.13

The Book of Blessings: Impacting Lives with the Language of GodAffirmation and a Whole Lot MoreThe Bible is not just a historical document. It is a livingcommunication from God to us. The insights itprovides are literally endless because they arerevealed by the Holy Spirit as the Lord wills. Ourspirits swell in affirmation each time we get a newglimpse into God’s character, priorities, andunlimited resources. Our trust in God is strengthenedas we allow ourselves to be saturated with His Word.Let’s review some important facets of His messagethat enable us to operate by faith and not by sight:·God’s plan for our salvation is compellinglyspelled out through His recurring theme offorgiveness and redemption.·He emphasizes the eternal nature of His being andof His covenant with Israel.·He reveals the mystery of the Church, grafted intothe tree of Israel to become joint heirs to theredemption and blessing reserved for His chosenones.·The Lord conveys His Fatherhood in the way Hespeaks about His love, mercy, compassion, grace,and favor toward us.·God makes it clear that we have access to Hispower, authority, and protection through ourdivine inheritance.·The Lord communicates our ability to exercise14

The Positive and Negative Effect of Wordswisdom and knowledge, strength and couragebecause we have been inhabited by His HolySpirit.·He teaches us to speak words of life and tominister with His anointing.·He convinces us we have the ability to think andbehave differently by showing He has infused uswith His character.·God’s Word demonstrates the value He places onmarriage, family, and legacy.·The Lord instructs us in how we are to bless Him,honor Him, and worship Him.·God persuades us He is both willing and able tobe our provider and our healer.·He consoles us as our source of peace, rest, and joy.·The Lord expresses His desire to abide with usand experience constant fellowship with us.The Bible holds the keys to knowing God’s will anddirection for our lives. As we permit it, God’s Wordwill guide us on our journey toward achieving thegoals He established for us. If we are to follow Hisplan for our lives, it is essential that we also patternthe way we talk after the way God talks. The Biblesays “the speech of the righteous is a fountain of life ”(Prov. 10:11a, CJB). May our words be a fountain oflife. May our words be a fountain of blessing.15

The Book of Blessings: Impacting Lives with the Language of GodThe “Anti-” BlessingProverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power ofthe tongue” (NASB). If the recitation of blessing speakslife, hope, affirmation, and promise then words thatcommunicate death and despair need to berecognized as curses. Let me be clear, one does nothave to practice occultism or witchcraft in order topronounce a curse. This is a painful reality becausemany of us have spoken a curse into someone else'slife, be it innocently or intentionally.Whether or not we like to admit it, we can speakwords that instill hopelessness and loss to others.Destructive phrases like, “You idiot,” “Can't you doanything right?” or “You make me sick,” cut like aknife and the impact can last for years.even alifetime.When our negative words resonate with the listener,they can reinforce vain imaginations and lies withwhich the person may already be struggling. It isterrible to think we could say something that wouldbreak someone’s spirit or discourage them to thepoint of losing confidence in their ability toaccomplish something worthwhile. We need to beaware that our misspoken words can influenceanother’s self-image or contribute to a destructivechange of direction in another person’s life.The more influence we have in someone's life, themore weight our words carry. I have more persuasionwith my wife and my daughters than I do with an16

The Positive and Negative Effect of Wordsacquaintance or a group of strangers. Our words arepowerful and so we must be on guard as to what wesay and how we say it.No Middle GroundOne of the most challenging truths we face is torecognize there is no such place as “middle ground”when it comes to the things of God. Jesus said, “Hethat is not with me is against me" (Luke 11:23, KJV).May we all keep this in mind as we choose our words.The things we say will either represent the principlesof God’s kingdom or of Satan’s kingdom.Jesus said, “The mouth speaks what overflows from theheart” (Matt. 12:34, CJB), and yet, “The heart is deceitfulabove all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9, KJV).Herein lies our challenge. It is impossible for us tospeak what is not in our heart. Therefore we mustcultivate and prune what grows in our heart.If we apply this understanding, we should concludethat our words are rarely neutral, though wesometimes wish it to be the case. We need the Life ofGod to thrive in our hearts and govern our thoughts,actions, and words. The awareness that what we saycan speak life or death must motivate us to carefullyselect our words. We have the opportunity and theresponsibility to affirm and encourage others with themessages of God.17

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2The BlessingLike apples of gold in settings of silveris a word appropriately spoken. Proverbs 25:11 (CJB) Throughout the history of mankind, words ofblessing have been spoken over people, nations, land,livestock, weather conditions, and innumerable otherobjects and events. This ancient tradition is apowerful practice that produces supernaturalconsequences. The blessings of God Himself arerecorded in numerous passages of Scripture. Jesusspoke blessings to the Father and to the people Heencountered. We find many Biblical accounts ofindividuals – from patriarchs to apostles – impartingwords of blessing.Approximately 2500 years ago during the Babylonianexile, Ezra the Scribe and the Men of the GreatAssembly established the content and order of thedaily prayers. They are credited with deciding on thecorrect text for blessings that are recited in Jewishhomes and synagogues to this day. 1Somewhere during the first two thousand years of theChurch, this practice all but disappeared from the1Rabbi Abraham B. Witty and Rachel J. Witty, Exploring JewishTradition (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 50.19

The Book of Blessings: Impacting Lives with the Language of Goddaily life of Christians. As a consequence, we havenearly abandoned the impartation of spokenblessings. We often hear expressions such as, “Godbless you” or “be blessed.” Many choirs sing “TheLord bless thee and keep thee ” in churches onSunday mornings. However, the purposeful speakingof blessing to dynamically touch the life of anotherwith the power and authority of God seems all toorare.As we study and restore this Biblical practice, we willcome to discover the profound influence it can haveon our families, our congregations, our society, andour

blessings from the Bible to others. Over time, I felt an overwhelming call from God to write a book containing all the blessings. I humbly offer this as my faithful and best effort to fulfill that mis