marked by heaven

God bless you is a very common term that millions of people say everyday. I’m sure some people really appreciate it, but I know that I used to take it for granted. I never really thought about it. I thought, well I guess it’s nice someone wants God to bless me. But what does bless even mean? I think in our Christian culture we have so much lingo for God things that it’s easy to forget our words have power and meaning. Our words carry real weight. The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue. And that is true whether we are Christian or not. But as I am a Christian, I want to know what I’m speaking and praying.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means “to invoke divine care for,” or “to confer prosperity or happiness upon.” That’s basically what I was taught, and it is absolutely true. Being blessed can mean exactly that, and that can be very powerful in it self. But there is more, in life there is always more. As Bill and Kris teach, there are many levels of truth in life. What you reap you sow is a powerful truth, but living in grace is deeper and even more true. The same is true for words. Every word is an onion layered with truth and meaning. It’s an invitation for revelation. We can choose to stay at the surface or dig in deep. And I dig as far as I can go. My words literally carry the weight of Heaven. So Lord as I discuss the word blessed, release revelation, understanding, and life.

I don’t want to redefine it, but I do hope to give a deeper meaning. The first thing we need to understand is that every person carries a measure of favor. Favor is our standing with God. Every person has a different amount of favor. God is madly in love with every single person the same amount, but our favor is different. We are all born with it, but it’s not equal. And the amount of favor at birth has nothing to do with us or our parents. The great thing is that we all can grow in favor, and there is no limit. Even Jesus, the Son of God, had to gain in favor with man and God. A basic way to grow in favor is by blessing each other. Bill Johnson says that when we bless someone, we are literally releasing our own favor onto them. We are marking them as blessed, which is an open invitation for God to dramatically intervene in there lives. It sounds cliche, but if our prayers move us, it moves Heaven to act. But it’s so true. That’s why whenever I pray I always ask God to open my heart first. Because if I’m not feeling it, neither will Holy Spirit. I always pray the blessing of God over others, it gives them favor and is an open invitation for whatever they need. Whether it’s love, grace, a breakthrough, or anything else. I was learning this about two years ago right before I went to Bethel for the first time. I was ready to get on a five hour flight with Steve and Bryan. I hadn’t flown in years and I wasn’t sure how my body would respond. I trusted them but they had never taken care of me, so I was pretty nervous. Going through security a nice lady checked me over and let me through. As I was leaving she said “God bless you.” I felt an overwhelming peace and started crying. Whether she knew it or not, she marked me with Heaven, giving me an increase in Gods favor. I knew then I had learned for a reason what being blessed meant. I would never again take those words for granted.

I challenge all of us to have faith that our words release the power of God. Our words can cause cancer to flee, the lame to walk, and allows the blind to see. When we speak, lets choose to release blessing.