Tag Archives: blessing

How to Bless A House

How can I pray for my home? Perhaps you have just moved into a new property and want to give this new chapter of your life to God, or home life is currently very stressful and you would appreciate some ideas on how to pray into this.

Our homes are significant places of sanctuary and shelter, growth and provision! Praying for our homes is not just about the physical bricks, mortar, clay or wood, but about the relationships, peace, comfort, adventure and community that happen within them. I thought I would give you three creative ideas of ways in which I have prayed for the homes I have lived in. Hopefully these might inspire your own prayers:-

Gathering together with friends, family or church community to pray around your new home is a great idea! This is the first and most obvious thing to do – try to do this soon after you have moved in. It might be it’s your first home adventure, a new home brought about by growth or change, or a new season that sparks a change of location or downsizing in later years. You can download a resource sheet on how to hold a house gathering blessing by clicking here. To begin with, ask those who are living in the new home to share their vision for this place. Ask them about their hopes and dreams for it and any concerns or anxieties they or their family may have about the move. The top priority is always to be real and vulnerable. I suggest if there are number of you then lay a sheet of paper in each room, split into two or three groups and move around the house praying in God’s provision and presence into each room you encounter. The paper can be used to write specific blessings and to note scriptures or pictures that God gives you. It is always lovely to have prayers written down to look back on at later times. Then gather together at the end, share the prayer sheets with the group and pray into anything that has come out of this as you feel led.
The second way of praying is by using oil or water to anoint various parts of the new home. This way of praying is often used when the homeowners are going through a hard situation or time. It could be a neighbourly dispute, trauma in the home, the homeowner experiencing fear or nightmares, or family conflict. A suggestion for this type of prayer is to take some oil and then move around the house praying and making the sign of the cross on the doorways and windows and the entrances and exits. As you enter each room ask the Holy Spirit how you should pray. You could place a visual blessing. For example, stand a picture in the room, or a vase of flowers or a blessing that is written up on the wall, or even written down and stored like a treasure in a secret place. A lovely idea if you are renovating a home is to tuck written blessings and messages of blessing into little places like under floorboards, or to write blessings on the walls beneath wallpaper. You are blessing the fabric of the building and leaving blessings for others to discover in future generations! The truth is that we stand on holy ground as children of the living God. Our homes will be blessed and our boundaries will be protected as we welcome the reign and love of God into these places.
The third way of praying is helpful if your life is quite transient due to studies, jobs, family or finances. Sometimes “home” is in multiple places and we need to carry God’s blessing freely from place to place. I went through times like this as a student. Here it can help to have a “house blessing prayer” that is spoken out, and then placed within each residence, be it a hotel room, digs, lodgings, guest homes or in different countries or locations. Try to develop a routine of carrying this prayer with you and laying it faithfully out as a blessing every time you lay your head down.

So that’s it! There are three ways that you can bless the place that you live – invite others round to share and pray for your new home, take some oil and bless the room and have a prayer written out in a visible place.

It’s great to share these thoughts with you – maybe you have some creative ways of praying for your dwelling? If so, please do leave them in the comments below and share them with the world. If you haven’t already, do take a moment to subscribe to Prayerscapes, and until next time, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

An Inspirational Blessing Prayer

Hi, having spent many years crafting prayers, songs and films for Prayerscapes, it feels like the right time to open up and get closer to those of you who have always responded to our creative offerings. So, in these short films, we will share with you some of our journey, prayer ideas, inspiration and wisdom we have found as we have sought to reveal the love and light of Christ. If you have not yet subscribed to our Youtube channel do take a moment to do so, as there are many more inspirational videos in the pipeline that we would love you to see and experience.

When we wrote and recorded ‘May The Road Rise Up to Meet You’, we could not have imagined the ways in which it would have been received, used and cherished by others. We’ve been overwhelmed by the emails and messages we’ve had about how this song has touched people, whether it be at baby dedications, or marriages, or as a blessing at funeral of a loved one. All this made me think – why has this simple Celtic Blessing been so powerful in effecting so many people?

I think one of the reasons is that proclaiming this blessing over another is a very powerful and releasing thing! We bless others with the authority that Christ gave us as children. Blessings change, they renew, and they create security and sanctuary. In a world filled with comparison, judgement, jealousy, competition, criticism and envy, it is a wonderfully unexpected thing! This simple prayer is such an inspiring blessing which rolls out like a beautiful and holy land, ahead of loved ones, soft grace soil on which to tread.

My husband wrote this little blessing song for me when my second son was a baby. For those of you who have lived through a similar season, you’ll know it’s messy! At the time I was often walking out very early in the morning with a crying baby, so as not to wake the rest of the household! It was just one of those seasons where I felt vulnerable, I felt ashamed to be pacing the streets in the dark mornings, not to have the answers, not to be the perfect family. I often felt myself welling up with tears as I pushed my baby boy around. I just trudged on as we all do sometimes. I remember I did cry as he sang me the song and its words did hold and keep me through that time.

So, if you are in this hard place, through illness, anxiety, grief, trial or loss, I sing this to you…. allow this little song to lay a soft blessing under your feet. And then go ahead of someone else and lay this blessing for them. It will become for them a lullaby, soothing and gracious. It might be that the Holy Spirit leads you to physically be this blessing to soften someone’s walk with service, understanding or generosity. And why not say the blessing in unexpected ways? Say it behind another, soaking your thoughts and feelings for them in love. Receive this blessing, give this blessing, be this blessing, live this blessing!

Thanks for connecting with us today. And as I said earlier, we’ve lots on new videos coming soon, so if you haven’t already, do subscribe at Youtube, and we look forwards to seeing you real soon in our next film!

A Birthday Blessing

The way we celebrate each individual on the day they were born into this world is a beautiful thing. Some of the most magical birthdays I can recall are the early birthdays of my children. When a child is one or two years old there is no past for them to worry over, no future for hopes or fears to enter, no anticipation, expectation or disappointment. The overwhelming feeling of wonder for them is enormous. The candles, the gifts, it is all received in great joy! Then maybe tears…. but great joy again! I guess this is the way God would like birthdays to remain for us all, and how he loves to bless us on our special day.

Sadly, I think that the fallen world and our fallen feelings and thoughts tend to ebb away some of this jubilant emotion. If we are honest, it is much easier to celebrate other people’s birthdays than it is our own. This starts quite young. Even young children start to feel the slide. Sometimes it is a toy that’s advertised to be the best thing ever that is a let-down or the party girl who sees another friend’s dress to be prettier than hers, or the lad whose friend had a puppy for his birthday. Suddenly the Scalextric is second best! It is not long before comparison kicks in. By our teens it has morphed into self-rejection, and the feeling of not matching up. As we reach adulthood it will probably have grown up into a more rounded awareness of one’s own failings, mixed with a pinch of regret, and a bucket full of anxieties about finance, relationships, health or world affairs!

So how do we reclaim the birthday feeling our Abba father intended for us? Here are three suggestions that may help you:

Firstly, let’s include Him from the moment we wake, then take time to open our bible and hear His voice in scripture. Allow God your Father to fill your mind with hope and truth and light. Do this in the way that is most natural for you. Also, remember to take care of yourself! For some of us, sometimes the traditions of gathering together with family and friends, receiving gifts, birthday cake and surprises can feel like an onslaught. If this is hard for you, focus on how much others like to give to you, and try to enjoy it for their sakes.

Secondly, build in something into the day that is a moment just for you. It needs to be tailored uniquely around your preferences, whatever they are – a walk in the country, playing your favourite song etc. – a blessing that is just for you.

Lastly, there will always be four loved ones present with you on your birthday, no matter how lonely your circumstances have become. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be celebrating the day you were born! Open your heart up to them. Allow them to guide you and have your own little celebration. The truth is, you are worth celebrating, for you are unique. There will only be one of you who walks on the earth and there is a place for you in heaven that only you can fill. That is good news!

If you have a friend or loved one that is about to have a birthday, you might like to consider sending this blessing to them. You can even receive these words for yourself when your special day comes round!

Here are the words in this film:-

A Birthday Blessing

May happiness and love encircle this day,
And every blessing from heaven come your way.
May the warmth of loved ones lift your heart,
And your cup overflow with the love they impart.

May fond memories bring you great joy and peace,
And hope fill your sails with the promise you seek.
But most of all, may you truly know,
How you’re treasured and loved wherever you go.

Prayer for my Family

Family is the most incredible place to reside, yet it is also the most difficult place to navigate. Living in close fellowship with others always requires us to become more real, more forgiving, more giving and more mature as individuals. There is much to be gained in terms of intimacy, security and nurture, yet also much at risk in terms of conflict, resentment and loss. It is as sons and daughters of the living God that we find the craving for this union, the search for oneness and the need for exclusivity. For we read in the bible that we are made after the image of our maker (Gen 1:27). Our very desires to be one in marriage echo the oneness that is central to the Trinity. And our longings to create a family and have children mirror the creative nature of the Holy Family (Gen 1:26).

Yet family is more than flesh and blood. It is those whom we walk with daily, the ones that get to know the real “us”, those with whom we feel bonded to and devoted to. The following prayer is one that covers and encircles those whom we call family. It is a blessing prayer, it rolls forever like a beautiful ocean wave over our dear ones. The extraordinary thing is that when we invite Jesus into our lives, he inhabits our daily family life by the power of his Holy Spirit, and his father becomes father over our families. May I encourage you to speak out this prayer of belonging, blessing and keeping over your loved ones now:-

Download this film in HD for a small sum by following this link.

Prayer for my family

Lord be beside us, every day
Guiding and leading us gently always.
Lord be above us, help us to see
The hope of the future, of all we could be.

Lord be beneath us, carry us when
We’re too shattered or tired to really have strength.
Lord be ahead of us, smoothing our paths
Protecting and blessing the places we pass.

Lord be behind us, healing our wounds,
Forgiving our mistakes and making us new.
Jesus, be within us, this family is yours
Now and forever, you are our Lord.

An Ancient Celtic Blessing

“May the Road Rise Up To Meet You” is a beautiful old Celtic blessing. Blessings are a gift and ancient ones like these help us to become open channels for the fragrance of Christ to surround those we give out to. I love the references to creation – the sun, the wind, the rain – that these elements are in God’s hands:-

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

A blessing is not a whimsical “I wish, I hope for” etc. It is more powerful than this because the faith of the one who blesses connects with God the Father, Jesus the Saviour and the Holy Spirit the comforter. Just as negative words can damage and corrupt us, there is power in a blessing to change lives. Words spoken in faith have an ability to change the emotional climate, to prepare the ground ahead, and to watch over our rest and our dreams. We hope that this song and film can become a gift that you can give to someone who needs a blessing from God. And we trust that if you are in a hard place yourself that you can receive this as a gift from us. As you watch this film we pray that you might deeply know that you are in the most secure place on earth – in the palm of your Father God, and that your heart may be able to rest in this life changing knowledge.

When we truly grasp the power of blessings we can indulge in blessing others wherever we go. We can speak out love, hope and faith over those who are enchained and see the transformational equation of Christ’s legacy in action. There is indeed power in the name of Jesus. Thanks be to God.

This track is taken from our new prayerscapes album “Dwell”, available by clicking here. It’s also possible to download the film for a small fee by following this link.

May The Road Rise Up To Meet You

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

(traditional gaelic blessing)

I love the words in this blessing. It is an outpouring of peace that I have used over and over again, and in giving it out I have found that most people can receive these beautiful poetic words regardless of their background, age or beliefs. Blessing others is so very important because simple words like these can have remarkable effect on peoples lives. Blessings create equality, a level place where we stand together. They create harmony where lives join and merge – there is no room for competition or comparison here. Blessings also tend to evoke the peace that we all crave for in our hearts. “Peace be with you” to which we respond with “and also with you”. Blessings are also words of declaration, and Christian blessings stand on the finished work of Christ. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, His victory was complete over the forces of darkness and the power of death. And now we can walk in this blessing, on this day and into eternity!

Here is the song we have created that is based on this ancient blessing:-

You can download the mp3 of this song by clicking here.