Blessings To Share

BLESSINGS TO SHARE

a prayer to open

Here’s my heart, Lord. Speak what is true.

Here’s my life, Lord. Speak what is true.

May God be merciful and bless us.

May his face smile with favor on us.

May your ways be known throughout the earth,

your saving power among people everywhere.

May the nations praise you, O God.

Yes, may all the nations praise you.

Let the whole world sing for joy,

because you govern the nations with justice

and guide the people of the whole world.

May the nations praise you, O God.

Yes, may all the nations praise you.

Then the earth will yield its harvests,

and God, our God, will richly bless us.

Yes, God will bless us,

and people all over the world will fear him.

This psalm was written well before Jesus walked the earth, but it’s hard not to hear in it echoes of Jesus’ words to us: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Indeed, the psalmist prays that God’s mercy and blessing would be upon his people, but not for the sake of his people alone. He prays that God’s blessing on his people will bring blessing to the whole world. The fact that Jesus has saved us and given us life in him is a gift to us, of course, but it is not for our sake alone. We are called to share the blessing we have received in Christ with everyone God puts on our path. How might our lives be shaped if we saw the blessings we receive from God as not just for ourselves but also for others?

• Read this passage again slowly. What word or phrase stands out to you? Why do you think that word or phrase speaks to you? What does it say?
• What blessings has God given you that you have shared with others? What blessings have you been a bit stingier about sharing? Why do you think that is?
• Consider all the places you frequent: work, stores, community centers, local businesses. How is God calling you uniquely to be a light in those places?

Lord, thank you for every good and perfect gift you have given me. Let me never take your blessings for granted or keep them to myself. Show me how to be a light wherever you have placed me, and give me the right words and spirit to point those I encounter to you. May your ways, love, and saving power be known throughout the whole earth. Amen.