Genesis 47:28-50:26

Genesis 48:15-16

“Jacob blessed Joseph, and said, ‘The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and may my name live on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’”

Today’s scripture is essentially a series of prayers that Jacob prays for his descendants. Jacob speaks prophetically about the future of many of his children; he does not hold back on their flaws, nor does he hold back on praising their virtues. Ultimately Jacob asks God to continue in his descendants the blessing that began with Abraham.

How often do we take the time to pray for our children? Only when we are dying? How often do we take the time to ask God to continue the blessing he has begun in our lives, in the lives of our children? It does not matter if our children are small or grown, they need our prayers. They need us to pray, ‘The God before whom my fathers walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless them’.

I think that our modern society has missed out on the joy of blessing others. At one time, a blessing was a formal and ceremonial occurrence by which an elder would symbolically hand off his power to a younger generation. We have the opportunity to bless people every day. Our source of power is not from our wealth, or our age, or our heritage, but from our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to spread that power to the world around us at every moment. Do we make use of that power?

Today, before you do anything else, take the time to pray for your children and bless those around you.

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