To Invoke a Blessing

Luke 24:50 - Then He conducted them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up His hands, He invoked a blessing on them.

This verse comes toward the end of the book of Luke, and I've always read it as kind of a transition to His miraculous ascension to heaven. For some reason or another, I ended up reading back through this a few days ago, and I got hung up on this verse. It has never registered with me before, but it did that day. I paused to reflect on the notion of Christ calling down blessings over them. I realized that this moment went far beyond the ritualistic idea that I sometimes have on 'blessings' in the church - words recited without thought; prayers without real faith in the outcome.

But this blessing...this moment described in Luke 24...there has never been a hollow, vain, ineffective word uttered by Christ Jesus. His blessing was in full faith, complete certainty, absolute assurance of the outcome - that it would be all exactly as He had spoken. This was a perfect prayer prayed over these people. Wow, what I would give to have been in that crowd, to have been included in that blessing!

So my mind started wandering a bit...I wonder if He has ever invoked such a blessing over my life? Over yours? I believe He has - in my spirit, I feel it. Maybe somewhere in the Bible it confirms that. I'm not sure, but I know that He is always praying over us, interceding for us.

My mind is boggled trying to imagine that I would be the recipient of such a perfect prayer; that the Lord of lords would look upon me and feel that His efforts would be best put to use by praying for me, or speaking blessings over me. How could I possibly think of such a thing and not be completely humbled by my complete inability to ever remotely come close to deserving such attention. But He gives it freely. Sometimes still I have to remind myself that that's how He loves me. I don't deserve it. I never will. But I will accept it and I will thank Him.

I pray that my heart and my attitude of faith would be transformed to be like His; that my prayers - more than that - every word I utter - would be full of meaning, fueled by unwavering faith, having the fullest measure of effectiveness; that I would believe as He did on the day He ascended to heaven, having absolute certainty in the result, even before it is seen.

I pray that the Lord would set a guard over my mouth, that in my heart I would weigh the full measure of every word I speak before it is spoken; that my mouth would not be a contradiction to itself by speaking both blessings and curses.

James 5:16 - ...The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power & produces wonderful results.

Isaiah 55:11 - So shall my word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void (without producing any effect, useless), but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

An Awesome Promise!

I came across this verse in my reading today. It was actually a verse that was in proximity to another verse I had looked up as a cross reference... it's amazing that I even happened to read it, because I surely was not looking for it. But it is one of the most encouraging verses I've ever read, and it is one incredible promise!

Isaiah 49:23 - ... and you shall know [with an acquaintance & and understanding based on and grounded in personal experience] that I am the Lord, for they shall not be put to shame who wait for, look for, hope for, and expect Me.

This element of faith has been a battle for me for much of my life - What if I believe and nothing happens? What if I'm disappointed? What if I make God my 'plan A' and He doesn't come through?

....This leads me to always have a 'plan B' in place...which is quite contrary to the faith God wants in us. When I make my own 'just in case' plan, I'm really saying to God that I'm not sure He will really be there for me, and that I can take care of things myself. That's not faith. That's doubt masquerading as faith.

But this verse in Isaiah puts a stop to all of that - or at least it should. Knowing the Word of God is truth, and that every promise in it is for every person who believes & does according to His Word, I know that I can rely on this promise...for me personally. If I dare to believe God, rely on Him, and expect Him to move on my behalf, He promises He will not let me down. I will not be put to shame. It's a promise.