Bible Prayers

After being away for a couple of decades, Jacob heads home with two companies of peoples and a massive amount of livestock. Clearly, God has blessed him! So why does he pray to be blessed?

Genesis 32:26 – a prayer of Jacob
And he (a man of God or angel)said, Let me go, for the day breaketh.
And he (Jacob) said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
From the Book of KJV Prayers – actual prayers from God’s Word collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, from the King James Version of the Bible

Genesis 32:26 – a prayer of Jacob
Lord, I will not let You go until You bless me!
From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations and paraphrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

According to the Law of Moses, every Jewish couple had to present their first-born son to God and offer a sacrifice, so the child would be “holy to the Lord.” As Mary and Joseph obeyed this ruling from the Torah, the Holy Spirit urged a devout man named Simeon to enter the Temple, where he saw the Baby Jesus and took Him into his arms. 

People did not expect the Anointed One – the Messiah, the Christ – to come as a newborn, but Simeon immediately recognized the Baby as The One. Since the Lord had promised the aging man he would not die before seeing the Messiah, Simeon blessed the family and burst into praise and this prophetic prayer:



Luke 2:29-32 – a prayer of Simeon
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
From the Book of KJV Prayers – actual Bible prayers collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©20…

May the LORD keep you
in His blessing.

May the face of the LORD
shine on you brightly
and graciously.

May the LORD lift you
into His close company
and bequeath to you
His peace.

©2014 Mary Harwell Sayler based this prayer poem on Numbers 6:24-26 from the many translations provided by Bible Gateway.

…

The Daily Bible Reading starts the New Year with the prayer the Lord gave (and still gives!) leaders to pray over the people of God, blessing them and us with God’s shine.

The LORD spoke to Moses,
saying:

Speak to the leaders
and say,

Let this be the way
you bless My people, saying:

May the LORD bless you and keep you.

May the LORD cause His face
on you

to shine.

May the LORD be gracious
to you,

and lift you

into the image of God
and give you peace.

Shalom.

In this way, the leaders
may bless the people of God
with the Name of God,

and on each of them
the LORD’s own
“God bless” will rest.

Shalom.

© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased poem from Numbers 6:22-27

~~

When asked how to pray, Jesus gave the disciples and, ultimately, all followers of Christ a perfect example of prayer in “the Lord’s Prayer” or “Our Father” – a prayer that poetically reminds us of the praises, needs, and concerns we’re to bring before God.

Many centuries before that, however, God gave Moses the words of a priestly prayer to pray over the people of God – a prayer heard in Jewish synagogues and many Christian churches today.

“And the Lord instructed Moses to tell Aaron the priest and his sons how to bless the children of Israel with this prayer:

‘May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make His face to shine upon you
and be gracious unto you.

May the Lord lift His countenance upon you
and give you peace.’

“And this prayer shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them,” Numbers 6:22-27.


Questions: Do you put the Name of God and prayer of God on your children every day? In what ways might this prayer be used to bless people, including thos…