Blessing Your Children

by Randy Wilson

After Lisa and I married we had four children in a little over four years. We literally cried out to God to teach us and guide us in how to love these children in a way that would honor Him. Now we realize the greatest gift God gave us was to reveal our utter desperation for Him!

One Scriptural principle that has captured our hearts was the power of a father’s blessing. As we studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we saw the enormous impact of fathers blessing their children. The word "bless" means to bow and to lay hands on, to bestow favor. So we decided to create a blessing ceremony with our four preschoolers.

Lisa lit a candle to symbolize the presence of the Lord and I had the four little ones line up in front of me on their knees like a choo-choo train. As I looked at each of their faces tears filled my eyes at the incredible responsibility and power that I knew would come from the words spoken over them. I prayed and asked the Lord to come and reveal the hearts of each child. I took a deep breath, took Lauren’s face in my hands and began to bless her. I said something like this:

Lauren you are beautiful and a gift from God. Your name means Victorious one, Overcomer. You have been created by God to bring His presence and His victory to a fallen world. You will overcome difficulties and hardships as you run to God. Your beauty will be used by God to glorify Him and reflect His beauty to those around you. I can’t wait to see what God has for you. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and turn His face toward you and give you peace in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I can’t describe the look in her soft blue eyes or the overwhelming presence of God in that moment. But I knew it was more than I had ever experienced before. I blessed the other three children as I took their faces in my hands, one at a time and this changed our lives forever. It was so simple yet so profound.

Your children are starving for your expressed love and affection. Whether you are married or a single parent, you have the privilege and responsibility to bless your children. Maybe your blessing will be praying over them at night, or blessing them as they walk out the door for school, or speaking words of life at the dinner table. But do not miss the opportunity to shape the soul of your child through the power of the blessing.

It has been more than seventeen years since we started the tradition of performing this ceremony, and God has added three more children to our family. We continue to do the blessing, as much as possible, every Sunday. My five year old has been transformed into a 22 year old and just recently married, taking with her the cumulative impact of the words of blessing through the years.

Our children describe these words as giving them value, identity and a sense of being deeply cherished. I often still get tears in my eyes as I take their faces in my hands and ask the Lord for words to love and bless them. It has been such a privilege to share in this ceremony with my children week after week, year after year. These have been the greatest moments I've spent with my family.

I can’t wait for the grandchildren to arrive. A new generation of blessing will begin in grandpa’s lap after I light the candle and wipe my tears.

For more information regarding intentional parenting, visit the Web site of

Focus on the Family.