Have you ever received a blessing from your father? Or thought about speaking a blessing to your child? I want to share with you something I’ve discovered about the power of the long lost gift of A Father’s blessing.

During the Old Testament days, the biblical patriarchs all gave formal blessings to their children. It was considered a manner of inheriting rights. To receive a blessing from your father was considered an honor and losing a father’s blessing was believed to result in a curse.

 The power of a Father’s Blessing

Remember the story of Esau and Jacob in the Bible? Jacob so wanted his father’s blessing that he connived with his mother to steal it from his older brother. But once Isaac had spoken the words of blessing over Jacob, it was irrevocable. Even when Esau cried bitterly and begged for his father to bless him, Isaac couldn’t take it back from his own son. It was as good as a written contract. And such are the power of words that enables a father to bless or to curse.

To understand the power of a father’s blessing, just look at the life of Jesus. Even Jesus needed the Father’s blessing. Before He performed his first miracle or delivered his first sermon, Our Heavenly Father spoke words of identification, approval and blessing over Him in the Jordan River. It erased any doubt about his identity as God’s son when the Father said these words “You are My beloved Son. In You I am well pleased.”

Jesus was blessed as a Son and not rewarded for what he did. Blessings are a gift given freely by a father to his child. They are not rewards for obedience and neither are they earned. The act of blessing your children plants a seed that empowers them to prosper and fulfill their God given destiny through the words of their father.

Why the Jewish are so blessed

A father’s blessing holds tremendous power that allows a family to prosper for generations. Did you know that in the Jewish culture, the father speaks a blessing over their child every Sabbath? And by the time they reach the age of 21, they would have already been blessed more than a thousand times!

According to a book written by Steven Silbiger called The Jewish Phenomenon, It is by no accident that the Jewish are the wealthiest ethnic group in America even when they comprise only 2% of the total population in the US or 1/5 of 1% of the total population in the world. One third of American multi-millionaires are Jewish and so are 45% of the Top 40 in the Forbes 400 Richest list.

The social and economic success of the Jewish people includes a long list of Nobel prize winners, artists, journalists and business leaders such as Albert Einstein, Michael Dell and Steven Spielberg along with many others.

There is a combination of factors related to the Jewish religion and culture that enables them to achieve economic success, and I believe that customs and traditions done by Jewish families tend to create a culture that allow Jewish children to prosper because their culture naturally facilitates the blessings of children.

Be careful with your words.

So ask yourself- as a father, do you speak blessings or curses over your children? Do you bless your children and declare wonderful truths about their identity and purpose? Do you speak words of life and power into their lives, letting them know that they have God-given gifts and talents that they need to cultivate to honor God and serve others? Or do you curse them and tell them things like you’re not smart enough, or talented enough? Do you catch yourself saying things like “You’ll never amount to anything” because you’re just like __________. Be careful what you declare. The apostle James says “ The tongue sets the whole course of one’s life on fire.”

When the Father is absent.

If you are a single mother, don’t lose heart. We see many single parents doing heroic jobs of raising their children into wonderful and successful adults. This is made possible when the mother is completely devoted to the Lord, an intimate relationship begins where the mother leans on Him to meet their every need and they are able to receive a double portion of blessing by allowing Him to become “father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” as mentioned in Psalms 68:5.

God has a special place in His heart for the orphans and fatherless. Psalm 27:10 says “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”

For the single mom.

There are a number of successful adults raised by single mothers. One of the most notable is Barack Obama, the President of the United States. He was raised by his mother because his father left him when he was 2. He was blessed to have had the help of his grandparents who poured everything they had in helping his mother raise him up with his sisters.

I remember one of his father’s day speeches where he said this about growing up without a father. “… It’s something that leaves a hole in a child’s life that no government can fill.” Because of that void, he said that if he could be anything in his life, he would be a good father to his girls. Despite being one of the busiest men in the planet, he has vowed to have dinner with his family five nights a week as part of his commitment to his girls. This was a highly unusual rule for a president. Even his aids rarely dare disturb him during the sacred dinner hour.

How do I bless my children?

A blessing is a spoken word usually accompanied by a gentle touch or laying of hands. It pictures a good future for your children.

In our family, I’ve written it down so that my girls can get used to hearing it from their Dad. I want the blessing to remind them of their purpose and for them to know that they have a destiny. I pray that if they are reminded of these things often enough, that the enemy will not be able to ruin the foundation of knowing the truth of their identity and purpose in life.

If you want to find out more about how to bless your children. I’ll be writing more about that in the next Growing Girls Tips. 5 powerful ways to bless your children.  Subscribe by clicking on the FOLLOW button so you can receive more information in the next article.