Prophesy blessing over your children! - December 19th, 2011

⁷⁶“ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited^[e] us;
⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
⁸⁰ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Luke 1:76-80

History and Context:
Of the four Gospels, Luke gives us the most thorough account of the life of Jesus. Luke was a doctor, an educated man, who was careful to study out all writings and testimonies (most likely using Mark as a main source) and compiled an accurate account of the life of Jesus. He addressed his letter to Theophilus, a roman, although it is still debated whether this was a real name or simply a representative of the church as a whole. Theophilus simply means "friend of God" so many historians believe that Luke was using the name to address all of "God's friends". As Matthew seemed to emphasize the royalty of Christ and Mark seemed to emphasize His power, Luke seems to emphasize the love and compassion of Christ. Although there are some historical points of Luke's Gospel which are still debated, archaeology has generally proved him to be an accurate historian.

The Text:
This text comes from the prophecy of Zacharias directly after his son John was born. Zacharias was a priest who was visited by an angel and was told that his wife, Elizabeth would become pregnant. Due to how old Elizabeth and he were, Zacharias didn't believe the angel and because of his unbelief he was made mute from that point until the baby was born. This prophecy was the first words out of his mouth after he regained his speech. He prophesied first a blessing and praise to God in verses 68 - 75, but then he prophesied blessing over his son. Of course this very son became who we know as John the Baptist, the one who prepared the way for our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Challenge:
Today the challenge is specifically for fathers. When I read this I thought how important it is what the father says over his children, especially at such a young age. It is time for the fathers of our generation to start prophesying over their children and over their family. Prophesying blessings and not curses. There are so many families in this society who have been broken because the father is not doing his job, and a lot of it comes from the father's words. We men are called to be the spiritual head of the family and we are to lead our families through prayer, the Word, and prophecy. Step up and take your role!

The Prayer:
Lord, help me to take the role in my family that you have prepared for me. Help me to prophesy good things over my future children and over my wife. Help me to be the spiritual head and leader over this family. In Jesus' name, Amen!