GOSPEL CORNER: “THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU; THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE ON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU; THE LORD TURN HIS FACE TOWARD YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE.”Numbers 6:24–26, NIV

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES

TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24–26, NIV

THE BLESSING
Today, I declare that you are blessed with wisdom and that you make good choices in life. I declare you are blessed with courage, with strength, with great vision, with an obedient heart, and with a positive outlook. I declare you are blessed with good health, with vitality, and that you will live a long, satisfied life. I declare you are blessed with a good family, good friends, healthy relationships, and that your children will be mighty in the land. I declare you are blessed with protection. I declare you are blessed with promotion, with good success, with ideas, with creativity. I declare that whatever you put your hands to will prosper. You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. I declare you will lend and not borrow; you will be above and never beneath. I declare a new sense of freedom from whatever holds you back, a new happiness, and a new fulfillment. If you receive the blessing, say amen.

SECTION TWO

A Prayer for Today

“Father, thank You for setting me apart with Your distinctive blessing and for shining Your face upon me. Thank You for guiding me, protecting me, favoring me, and giving me an advantage. I believe that I am blessed to be one of Your own special people. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

The Hebrew word qarah is often used in the Bible to explain God-ordained happenings. The first time qarah is mentioned is in Genesis 24:12, when Abraham sent his servant to get a bride for his son, Isaac. The servant did not know which girl would be the right one, so he prayed, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham” (boldface mine).

The phrase “please give me success” is the word qarah. The servant asked God to give him qarah—right happening. Doesn’t that remind you of pega qarah or “prayed happenings”? If you follow the story, you will see how Abraham’s servant was successful in his task.

What I want you to focus on here is the posture of the servant. He prayed for God’s help, intervention, and leading. He had a posture of humility.

We all need the Lord in our daily lives. No matter how intelligent we are, we can’t put ourselves at the right place at the right time a hundred percent of the time. Only the Lord can do this for us.

If we stay “low” and lean on the Lord for wisdom, guidance, and understanding, He will guide us and protect us. To pray is to adopt a posture of humility. It is saying to God, “Father, I can’t, but You can.”

A lady who attends our church regularly shared that on one of her overseas trips, she got so engrossed in her quiet time with the Lord that she missed breakfast in the hotel at which she was staying. But while she was in her room, a horrific terror attack took place in the hotel’s restaurant. She was dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and was supernaturally led to linger in His presence that morning. She humbly prioritized her time with the Lord over the scheduled time for her breakfast. If she had gone down to eat, she would have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

That is why I like to call Psalm 91 the prayer of protection. When we pray this prayer, we are saying, “Lord Jesus, we can’t protect ourselves, but You can. We humble ourselves before You. Be our refuge, our fortress, and our God. Surely You shall protect us and deliver us from harm in these dangerous times. Lead us to be at the right place at the right time and to be with the right people.”