How to Receive Blessings

 

Bless the Lord

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Psalms 103:1-2

 

Yes, we are to extol, glorify, and praise the Lord. We do so when we say, “Bless the Lord.” You will notice, David is telling his soul to “bless the Lord.” We are to bless the Lord with everything in us. Bless His holy name. We also are not to forget all His benefits.

What are those benefits? Psalms 103:3-5 says, “He forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

As you can see, we have plenty to be thankful for, plenty to praise the Lord for and bless His holy name. When we fully grasp what our benefits are, how can we not be thankful? He forgives us of our sins, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies, satisfies our mouth with good things and renews our youth like the eagle’s. Those are amazing benefits.

Every day, should we not be thankful and praise Him for these benefits and for what He continues to do for us?

Each day upon rising, we could start our day by saying to God, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalms 103:1-2)

Doing this adds a bonus blessing: our day starts focused on Him. This helps us, throughout the day, to walk with Him. It also reminds us of our wonderful position in the Lord. We are His children.

 

Prayer: Oh, gracious God, let praise and thankfulness be on my lips daily for these benefits you have given me. Write them on my heart so my focus stays on you each day. Amen

This is an excerpt from my book, God's Prayer Power.

Protection and Guidance–Safe

 “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore, for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.”  Psalm 31:3

 

What I like about this verse is our focus is immediately on God. We recognize that God is our source. He is our protection. He keeps us stable regardless of what is going on in our lives. We can depend on Him. The word fortress is all encompassing. Think about a fortress…strong walls, fortified. We are safe in Him.

In our world, we need to feel we are safe and secure. And we can be in our God. He watches over His children. His eyes are looking over everything, going to-and-fro, making sure we are protected.

After we know we are safe and secure, then we asked Him to lead us and guide us. We say for His name’s sake, lead and guide us. Because of God’s character and reputation, we want His divine direction in the challenges we face. He is perfect, we are not. Only by His leading us can we bring honor and glory to Him.

Prayer:

Oh Mighty God, let our personal identity, hope, and values be found in You, and in You alone. Do not let our circumstances blind us. Let us remember to put our trust in You. For You are our rock and our fortress, for thou name's sake lead us, and guide us through the days ahead. Amen

(The excerpt of the post was taken from my book, God's Prayer Power.)