“So God blessed (barak) Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” Gen. 9:1. In chapter one remember God blessed the animals and man, and in chapter two God blessed the Sabbath, but in chapters 7 & 8 God destroyed everything that had breath on the face of the earth except for what was in the ark. So, now God re-institutes His blessing (barak – to speak or invoke words of divine favor). As I said earlier, a blessing is a prayer and a prayer is a blessing. So, here again God prays for His creation and gives them a sign of the covenant He established with Him, ‘The Bow in the clouds.’ “The Rainbow.” Gen. 9:13

What a comfort to know we have been blessed by God and Eph. 1:3 reminds us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in, “heavenly places in Christ.” We have also been given that same beautiful privilege of blessing others as well. In fact Noah later in Gen. 9:25-27 curses Canaan or Ham and blesses the LORD, Shem and Japheth. It almost makes you want to cry out with the Psalmist in Psalm 103, “Bless the LORD, Oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” Bless the LORD, O my soul, what a privilege to bless not only man but God, not only the creation but the Creator as well. You see this principle, this privilege given to man by God throughout the rest of the Bible, right through the book of Revelation. In fact the last verse in the Bible is a blessing, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!” Rev. 22:21

You can see this beautiful truth and concept continually if you study prayer for yourself throughout the scriptures. The awesome power of prayer; to be able to ask the omnipotent Creator to bless someone and He does, it’s mind blowing. Why do we use this privilege, this power so little? Why? Noah did it, Abram did it, Melchizedek did it, Eliezer, Abram’s servant did it, Laban did it, etc, this was a common thing in scripture. Why have we lost sight of this privilege? May God help us to see what we have lost or are neglecting and cause us to not only be a blessing but to pray and ask God for a blessing on those we come in contact with.

However, the church is asleep in the midst of this crucial hour. While Christ is in the ‘Garden of The Olive Press‘ sweating great drops of blood (hematohidrosis) His disciples are asleep, Luke 22:45. Why? What is the reason or the chief cause of the church’s prayerlessness at this critical time? Many reasons could be suggested I suppose, but the chief one is, ‘Lack of faith in the integrity of God’s Word.’ IF we were really convinced that what He said in His Word was really true, I believe we would really pray more. Like John 14:14, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Matt. 7:7, “Ask and it shall be given you, Seek and you shall find; Knock and it shall be opened unto you.” Jer. 33:3, “Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you know not.” If we really believed the promises in God’s Word, prayer would be the main business of the Church today. Unbelief in the integrity of God’s Word; not programs, not missions, not economics, not culture, not busyness, ‘Unbelief’ is the chief cause of prayerlessness. And this unbelief is so deep-rooted in our hearts and minds today we are not even conscious of it, but it is ensnared and exposed by the feeble, anemic prayer life of the Church and Christians today. “What could you not watch with Me one hour?” Oh how that would change the world we live in if we all showed up for prayer meeting, to pray! That’s why He asked them to watch, Matt. 24:40-41, “Watch and Pray!” The spirit is willing but the flesh; oh that flesh is so weak! That is why He says we need to pray my friend!

“Blessed art Thou Oh LORD our God, Creator of heaven and earth, truly You and You alone are worthy and deserving of all our praise, all our worship, and all our blessings. Oh Lord, truly bless our families, our churches, the nation of Israel, our nation, and our ministries. Bless those Oh LORD that we come in contact with today and every day, and bless Your chosen Jewish people and the Bride of Christ and make us a blessing today.” In Jesus Precious Name. Amen!

‘Between The Lines’   “Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Noah – Part #4)