“And God (Elohim-plural of El) blessed them saying, ‘Blessed’ (barak-a primary root to kneel, by implication to bless God as an act of adoration, and vice versa, man as a benefit.) But in this case it was all the living things that moved in the air like birds, etc and all the living things that moved in the water like fish, etc. But in Gen. 1:28 God/Elohim Blesses-Barak man and tells him to, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill, subdue and have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth.” What a beautiful blessing, and what a precious privilege has been granted to us by our Creator. Now if a Blessing (Barak) is a prayer and to Pray (Tefillah) is a blessing, then God not man was the first to pray. Gen. 1:22 God blessed the birds and the fish; Gen 1:28 God blessed man; Gen. 2:3 God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, set it apart; Gen. 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons; Gen. 12:1-3 God blessed Abraham.
Eph. 1:3 speaks of believers today, the Church, the Bride of Christ, which has been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. Not only has God blessed us but He has given us the privilege to bless Him and our fellow man and His creation by means of prayer. “Blessed art Thou, Oh Lord, our God, Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them is. Hallowed and Holy be Thy name above every name that has ever been named.”
What more can mortal man want, ask for or expect, than to be ‘Blessed” by the God of creation; the God of the universe? We have been blessed by God, what a shame we live the life we are living in light of this eternal truth, and God wishes for us to be blessed more now than we desire to be blessed. The half brother of Jesus sums up our dilemma with these words, “You have not because you ask not!” I wonder how many more blessings await the child of God who fails to ASK! Didn’t Jesus Himself say, “Ask and you shall receive!” Matt. 7:7-8 But we need to Ask with a beggars humility; Seek with a servants carefulness; And Knock with a friends confidence, and still those three words form the acrostic for the word ASK!
“O, LORD, Bless me, fill me with Your Holy Spirit, draw me to your bosom, quench my thirst for You, O Lord, fill the void in my life, the emptiness I feel, the vacuum that still exists in the recesses of my soul. I want to bless You, Oh LORD, with king David of old; Bless the LORD O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. God I love You, fill me now with Your Holy Spirit and Lord, teach us to pray.”
The power of the ‘Blessing’ instituted by God, WOW! He blessed the fish, the birds, the animals and man and said, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth.” Who thought up birth control? Where did that come in? I bet that pleased God. To bless God is an act of adoration, to bless man is an act of benevolence. Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek because he knew he had the power to invoke a blessing on him, Gen. 14:19-20. Eliezer of Damascus invokes a blessing on God in Gen. 24:27 but it is never mentioned that Abraham blessed anything or anyone but his servant did and his son Isaac did, but where did they learn it? God’s blessing was put on Abraham in Gen. 12:1-3 then reconfirmed in 13:14-18 after Lot left; then again on Mt. Moriah in 22:15-19; then given to Isaac in 26:24; then to Jacob in 28:13; and to Jacob again in 35:11.
The ‘Blessing of The Blessing.’ The Orthodox Jews are aware of its power and benefit and invoke its benevolence, especially on the Sabbath on their children, as I am sure the early church did as they incorporated most all of their early traditions and customs from Orthodox Judaism. But as time has evolved so has Biblical customs, some to our spiritual benefit and some to our spiritual detriment. I for one do not believe the loss of the ‘Blessing’ was to our benefit. Just about every one of their prayers begins with, “Blessed art Thou O, L-rd our G-d king of the universe…” How beautiful it would be for the fathers to go around the dinner table every Sunday before or after dinner, lay their hands on each child and pray a blessing over each one individually. Do you think they would remember that, when they grow up? Would you? I was 37 when my father told me he loved me for the one and only time, it was Thanksgiving morning, I was standing in the basement of our home in Guilford, CT my cousin Carol was making him a drink, its like it happened yesterday, it was 30 years ago. It would change their lives forever! ‘Between The Lines’ “Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Adam – Part #2)
the scarlet worm 
I so very much agree. What would it have been like to have had my dad pray over me in my growing up years? What a ‘blessing’ it would have been to pray over each one of our children each Sunday, out loud, before them and the family……it would have made a powerful difference in their lives as well as ours I believe…. But I also reflect on the fact that I am thankful that we did pray for our children (though not as much as we’d have liked), and that did make a difference….