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I Bless You, Lord: The Language of Reverence
Encounters in Prayer Series
Today, I shifted how I spend time with God. In a conversation with my watchman, I realized I needed to intentionally spend time in worship and invite the Holy Spirit to pray through me. I began with praise and gradually transitioned into worship. During the refrain of Speak Lord from God Is Here by Martha Munizzi, I found myself on my knees before the Lord. When I rose, a simple phrase began to flow from my spirit: "I bless You." It wasn't something I planned to say or had rehearsed. It simply poured out.
As I continued praying, new language for addressing the three battle zones (land, sea, and air) began to flow. The Holy Spirit led my intercession in ways I had not anticipated, and no matter what I prayed about throughout the session, the phrase "I bless You" kept returning. Then another familiar song, Because of Who You Are, began to play. Instantly, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Jehovah Nissi and took me back to one of the defining moments of my walk with Him. My thoughts returned to Exodus 17, where Moses built an altar and declared, "The LORD Is My Banner." Years ago, I often said Jehovah Nissi was my favorite name of God after I wrote my book, Tumultuous Thursday (IYKYK). It is deeply connected to one of the colors within my spiritual identity and to foundational truths the Lord established in me regarding my Kingdom identity. It was a beautiful encounter in His presence. I had to take a minute and study the power in the phrase that had been flowing from my spirit this morning: "I bless You."
At first glance, it almost seems backwards. Scripture repeatedly tells us that God blesses His people, so how can we bless the One who possesses everything? The answer is found in the biblical meaning of the word bless. When God blesses us, He imparts favor, life, strength, fruitfulness, protection, and covenant promises. When we bless God, however, we are not giving Him something He lacks. We are responding to His greatness with reverence, honor, gratitude, and worship. To bless the Lord is to acknowledge His supreme authority, to speak well of His name, and to declare that He alone is worthy of all glory.
David understood this well when he wrote, "I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1). The second half of the verse explains the first. Blessing the Lord is expressed through continual praise. It is not simply an emotional response to answered prayers. It is a posture of the heart that magnifies God regardless of circumstances. Throughout the Psalms, David repeatedly calls both himself and the people of God to bless the Lord because worship reorients the soul toward God's sovereignty.
As I reflected on today's encounter, I realized that the Holy Spirit was teaching me something about prayer. So often we approach prayer focused on what needs to change around us. We bring the battle before we bring the King. Yet today, the Lord shifted my attention away from my circumstances and fixed my eyes on Him. Before discussing strategy, before addressing warfare, before covering the assignments of the day, my spirit continually responded with, "I bless You." It was worship establishing the throne of God in my heart before engaging the battlefield.
There is also something profoundly covenantal about blessing the Lord. In Scripture, blessing acknowledges authority. God blesses His children through covenant provision, while His people bless Him through reverence and obedience. It is the appropriate response of sons and daughters who recognize the greatness of their Father. Every declaration of "I bless You" becomes an act of surrender that says, "You alone are worthy. You alone are my Banner. You alone receive the honor."
Looking back, I also recognized why the Holy Spirit brought Jehovah Nissi to my remembrance. A banner is raised over victorious armies. It identifies who they belong to and under whose authority they fight. Before Israel celebrated victory, Moses first recognized the Lord Himself as the Banner. In much the same way, before I prayed through the battles before me today, the Holy Spirit taught my spirit to exalt the One under whose banner I fight. Worship came before warfare. Reverence came before requests. Honor came before strategy.
Perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons hidden within the simple phrase, "I bless You." It is more than beautiful language. It is spiritual positioning. It is the heart bowing before the King. It is the soul acknowledging that every victory, every assignment, every strategy, and every promise begins and ends with Him. When we bless the Lord, we are not increasing His greatness. We are aligning ourselves with it. In that posture, the Holy Spirit often speaks more clearly because our hearts have first learned to adore before they ask.
Assignment: I challenge you to search the scriptures and look up the original text in both Hebrew and Greek for the meaning of "bless."
Remember… It’s real in these spiritual streets!
Dr. Melinda Michelle Jefferson
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