It had been a tense and frustrating day. We had had it "up to here" with our son: his bad attitude and disobedience had made the day miserable for everyone. By bedtime, we didn't even want to speak to him anymore. My husband was in no mood to follow the normal routine of praying with Jacob and giving him a blessing before bed. So everyone just went to bed, good and mad. Well, about 10 minutes later, into our room stomped Jacob (about six years old at the time). Placing his little clinched fists on his hips, he angrily demanded, "I won't go to bed without my blessing!" Great request—but lousy attitude and delivery. What happened next? Conversation. Confession. Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Prayer. Daddy blessed his son. Hugs and kisses. Peace was restored. Bedtime. In his resource A Father's Guide to Blessing His Children, Pastor David Michael explains some of the fruits of making a nighttime blessing a regular routine in your home, including:
The blessing can help heal breached relationships. The blessing can give children assurance of parental love after a hard day. It is not uncommon for there to be days when a parent and child get irritated or angry with each other and perhaps say or do things that are hurtful. There are also days when a child disobeys and is punished by the same hand that blesses. At the end of such a day it can be a great encouragement for the child to hear words of blessing directed toward them. It provides a way for the parent to say, “In spite of what has happened between us today, I still love you, and the desire of my heart is for your good.” The blessing can have this effect on adults as well. It is disarming when a blessing is pronounced on someone in a relationship that is strained. It is very difficult to stay angry with a person who is sincerely blessing you. The defenses will often begin to drop while the doors of forgiveness and reconciliation will begin to open.
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