CUFI’s Word of The Week – The Prayer with a Guarantee

CUFI’s Word of The Week – The Prayer with a Guarantee

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.’
So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”

— Numbers 6:22-27

This prayer, commonly called the Aaronic benediction, is one of the oldest and most treasured in the Jewish and Christian faiths. It uses the covenant name of God to call upon God to keep His promises, and it was God’s idea. God invites us to ask for blessing, even giving us the words to do so, because He intends to fulfill our request.

The covenant name for God occurs three times in this poetic prayer, calling to mind the later Christian revelation of the Trinity. Without those three occurrences, the poem contains 12 words in the original Hebrew, harkening back to the 12 tribes of Israel.

The prayer asks for the light of God’s presence, and the sure result is that it will be provided. When we truly desire God, He will reveal Himself to us.