Aaron Prayers

I have to be honest, I have never heard of Aaron Prayers.  I've been reading a couple different books on prayer and happened across this in my reading yesterday.  The idea comes from a passage of scripture found in Numbers 6:24-26 when God promises Aaron and his sons that when they prayed for Israel, he would listen to them.  This was their prayer of blessing for Israel.

The passage is very familiar, as it is often used as a doxology in many churches.  I'm sure you have heard it before.

24‘May the Lord bless you and protect you.

25May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.

26May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’

It looks like a simple enough prayer, but look at what is packed in between the lines that we can be praying for others:

24‘May the Lord bless you and protect you.

protection from spiritual danger, physical danger, illness, temptation, and other difficulties

25May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.

show His kindness by actively blessing with needed-food, clothing, shelter, spiritual wisdom and strength, healthy families and relationships

26May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’

Pray that your friends will find peace. For your unsaved friends, ask that God will show them His salvation so they can be at peace with Him. And for fellow believers, pray that God will protect them from spiritual discouragement and help them to grow in their knowledge of Him.

I love having a solid structure and scripture to pray for my friends and family.  I'll admit, sometimes I don't know how to pray for them.  Even more, I will be incorporating this into the prayers I say for my children and husband.

What are some of your favorite scriptures to pray?