The Power of Blessing Your Children

If you watch TV during the late night or early morning hours and are essentially ADD when it comes to clicking channels on the remote, you’ll see countless examples of “paid programming”. You know, the 30 minute infomercial shows led by some slender, buff young person promising you a hot, sexy bod in less than 30 days. But common sense tells you that there is no magic fat-burning pill. There is no painless exercise machine that in just 5 minutes a day will give you a magazine cover physique.

So it is with parenting. There is no magic formula that makes you an ideal mom or perfect dad. In truth, good parenting is hard work. It takes effort and consistency. But yet, there are some simple things you can do as a parent that can make a big difference in the heart of your child. One of these things I have discovered is the simple power of blessing your children. What do I mean by that? It’s like imparting some measure of approval, of wisdom or direction into your child’s heart. Throughout ancient history, the patriarch of the family would at some point, impart to their sons, a blessing, sort of like passing on an inheritance. This blessing was so coveted that one young son named Jacob schemed with his mother to steal the blessing from his father that was to be passed on to the older brother Esau. Jacob, a smooth-skinned conniving young man donned goat-skins to make his arms feel hairy so that his father, who was going blind, would feel Jacob’s arms and think that he was blessing Jacob’s older, hairier brother Esau.

So what does blessing your child look like today in the 21st century? Well here’s how it has worked for me. Each morning, I make a point of driving my sons to school rather than having them take the bus. I enjoyed having this brief morning time with them, even though they aren’t particularly talkative in the morning. Before they hop out of the car, I lay my hand on their shoulder and bless them for the day. My blessing isn't just a “Hey, have a nice day.” Nor is it a long-winded prayer. Rather it was an opportunity for me to speak something into and over their lives that I believe is part of God’s purpose and destiny for them. For example, I might say to my son Jason, “Jason, today I bless you with leadership, that you would be the leader I know God has called you to be. That when the opportunity arises, you will stand up for what is right even if that’s not cool or popular, that you will influence others in a positive way, by how you talk, think and act.” I would impart this blessing of leadership because being a leader is something I believe God has shown me that He is calling Jason to be. So, I am agreeing with God about a promise, a direction that I think He has for my son Jason.

I’ve done this daily blessing over the years for each of my sons and I believe it’s had an impact on their lives. I’ve noticed that if we are driving in the car and the radio is on, if we approach the school and I have not given them their blessing yet, they might actually turn the radio off, as if making sure I don’t forget to bless them. Any teenager who turns off the radio for any reason is an act of God anyway. But it shows me that my blessing is important to them. I suspect that as they get older and have kids of their own, they will look back and appreciate the power of my blessing them on a regular basis. Try it and see what happens.