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some guidelines for praying set prayers
Anglo-Catholic Prayers (Prayer of St Francis of Assisi) (Prayer of St Richard) (The Serenity Prayer) (The Grace Blessing) (Judeo-Christian prayer)
Celtic prayers (St Patrick's Breastplate) (traditional gaelic blessing)
Wedding Blessings
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May The Lord Bless You
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
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About "May The Lord Bless You"
This blessing is known in Hebrew as the "Nesiat Kapayim" and is performed in Jewish synagogues by the Kohanim. These are priests who are direct descendants of Aaron (the older brother of Moses). The text is a quotation from Numbers Chapter 6:-
v.24 "The LORD bless you v.25 the LORD make his face shine upon you v.26 the LORD turn his face toward you
In 1970, archelogists uncovered a silver amulet with this blessing etched upon it. The find is thought to date back to the seventh century B.C., making this the oldest known remanant of scripture.
Christians often refer to this blessing as the "Lord's Prayer of the Old Testament"
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Christian interpretation of this blessing
The biblical scholar Matthew Henry (amongst others) notes that this scripture foreshadows the Trinity revealed in the New Testament. The Lord is mentioned three times, and on each occassion, with a different type of blessing. The first concerns the Lords protection, associated with God the Father. The next blessing concerns God's face (in Christ) being gracious (forgiving sin on the cross at Calvary). The final line is a peace blessing. Here this may be compared with the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, which descended on Jesus like a dove. (Matthew 3:15-17). God's peace ("Shalom") is not essentially about "quiet" or the absence of noise, but about the gift of wholeness, health and well-being.
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