Baby Blessings
Spiritual Nurture is Needed
Obviously, a new baby needs food, shelter, safety, and lots of love. No one I know would argue that. What is not so obvious is the need for spiritual nurture: the nurture of their spirits.
In our busy goal-oriented world, a baby is seen as a project, a new responsibility. Rarely are babies seen as people. Many adults don’t truly interact with children until they are four or five years old and have some well-developed social skills.
What a pity!
Even in the womb, a baby is a human being with a spirit that hungers for spiritual contact and nurture. Just because these little ones have a lot of physical and social development ahead of them, doesn’t mean that they have no clue about the spirit realm. Au contraire!
Remember John the Baptist leaping for joy in his mother’s womb at Mary’s approach? Some commentators believe that John was baptized in the Holy Spirit at this point. Certainly something happened! The spirit of this unborn child recognized the presence of holiness and kicked up a storm.
So how do you nurture the spirit of your infant or unborn child?
It’s easy! But you need to be intentional and consistent for best results:
• Expose them to prayer, Scripture, worship music, lots of it! • Do your praying and Scripture reading aloud so baby can hear. • Play worship music as soft background, even through the night. Many fussy babies will sleep more soundly this way.
Parents are playing Baby Einstein videos for infants, confident that the children’s intelligence is being enhanced by the programming. Baby Einstein is good. I’m not knocking them. But, how much more benefit will those babies get from exposure to the things of the Kingdom as well? Encouraging the development of intelligence is a good thing. Encouraging spiritual development is even greater.
A selling point for the Baby Einstein videos is that you just buy them and stick them in a machine to play while you are busy with chores that never end.
Guess what?
Here are some CDs that you can put on to play that will bless and nourish your baby’s spirit.
Order Order
Baby Blessings: Joy – Baby Blessings: Peace
The author, Arthur Burk, started by praying for babies in the womb: at risk pregnancies. He would call at a set time each week. Mama would put the phone on her tummy and Arthur would speak blessings to the child. As the requests for such ministry became more than he could fulfill, Arthur recorded the blessings to be available to all.
The original intent was to encourage those babies to live, to fight for life. And live, they did! As years have passed, it’s been interesting to see the characteristics of these children that set them apart. They are
• bright,
• confident,
• strong-willed,
• and sensitive to spiritual things.
For Example
I live with one of those children: my grandson, Frederick. He had Baby Blessings played for him before and for a couple of years after birth.
His first month was difficult. His jaw was displaced during a c-section, but not detected. For four weeks this little guy could hardly eat. He would start to yawn (I had always loved to watch a newborn yawn!) and scream for several minutes. As the days dragged by, his screaming led to a scrotal hernia (more pain).
One night as I walked Frederick and sang to him (He was singing, too, but a different tune.) the phone rang. Arthur had a quick question for me. Before he hung up, I said, “Arthur, you need to talk to Frederick.” I put the phone to Frederick’s ear and said, “Sweetie, this is Uncle Arthur.”
Frederick knew Arthur’s voice from several months of recordings, but I was not ready for what happened. Arthur spoke blessings to Frederick who immediately stopped screaming, straightened up like he was coming to attention, his head held high and his eyes large. He was intent and focused…silent! I’ve worked in child development. I knew that what I was seeing defied the textbook description of newborn behavior. Ten or fifteen minutes later Frederick drifted peacefully to sleep and stayed that way longer than usual.
By the end of the first month the jaw problem was identified, fixed, and life with Frederick became a bit more normal. You can read a detailed account of this in his mother’s book
Rebuild From Depression.
By the time Frederick was six months old, we realized that he was a Geiger counter for identifying places that were spiritually defiled. He went off like a siren and wanted nothing to do with them. At times this was unhandy: like when that place happened to be the restroom at the zoo.
On the other hand, he loved some old churches. We took him into the mission at San Louis Obispo where he kicked and waved and made his very loud sounds of delight. For being small, he was VERY loud. He did the same thing in a number of other churches. Not all of them!
As he learned to talk, Frederick spoke very comfortably about God and Jesus. It took us a while to figure out about Jesus because that sounded more like “Duduts”. He was playing dress-up one day and wanted me to robe him like Duduts. “Who?” “Duduts, God’s Son!” “Oh, right! Duduts it is.”
At three and a half Frederick was listening intently to some Christmas music when he asked me about this Baby all the shepherds were going to see. (He continues to love worship music, especially if there are children’s voices.) “Jesus”, I told him. A shocked look came over his face. “Jesus was a BABY!” “Yes, Honey, that’s how he started out here on earth after he left Heaven.” “Oh.” He was silent for sometime with that faraway look he gets when thinking deeply.
Just having turned five, Frederick is very comfortable with the idea that he was with God before he came here and when he dies, he will return to Heaven. We had some helium balloons for his birthday party. He asked me to draw faces and clothes on them. He gave them each a name. A day later the gas was waning, especially from one. Frederick handled it and the balloon went almost completely flat. “Looks like this one is on its way back to Heaven.” “Yes indeed, Frederick, I can see that.”
So this is Frederick who does seem to stand out from his peers, not just for his spiritual sensitivity, but for his independence, confidence, ability to focus and stay focused, sensitivity to others and their needs, a sense of justice way beyond his years.
His mother and I were burning brush this winter as part of the fuel reduction program in our mountains. Frederick was enjoying watching the process until he looked up and asked, “Is that smoke? Is it making the earth sick?” Amanda and I looked at each other. We now have to find another way to deal with our prunings. In the meantime, we hope Frederick does not call Al Gore to tattle on us.
Watching this little guy develop continues to be a delight. How much of who he is can be traced to
Baby Blessings? We are convinced that it is a significant part. That is why I’ve let you into this special part of our life. Get Baby Blessings
• for your own infant,
• for the infants of anyone who can hear the need for blessing
• especially for high risk pregnancies (Speak blessing and life over those little ones!),
• as a baby shower gift,
• to keep on hand for those unexpected situations where Baby Blessings will be the answer to the problem.
Order Order
Further Resources:
Blessing Prayers from Scripture: informative and motivational article
Book of Blessing Prayers: Blessing Your Spirit by Arthur Burk and Sylvia Gunter
www.pray-the-scriptures.com
by Jacqueline (Texas)
I pray that my body is healed so that I am able to carry a child of The Lord to full term. I pray that my fear is removed and replaced with peace of mind, and that I do not miscarry again. I have had 5 losses due to miscarriage. I pray for The Lord to give me the blessing of becoming a mother.
I have waited and have learned to become patient within these last 3 years. I have come to understand that it is not when I want, but when you want, Lord. . I thank you Lord for this lesson that I learned and I ask you to not forget about me. I wish for my uterus to be healed, to become a mother, and to deliver a beautiful healthy baby.
Amen
Return to 7 Daily Prayers to Get You Through The Week
www.praywithme.com
God bless this precious new baby!
Fill every fiber of her being with Your Radiant Love, that she may be infused with a deep sense of Your Presence in her body, mind and spirit.
Help her to feel safe and welcome into the world, wrapped in total love and expectation of the good things You have planned for her.
Bless her ability to eat and sleep easily.
Allow her babyhood to be a blissful time, full of comfort and peace.
Heal any emotional memories of being born, that she may be cleared of any trauma and open to living the abundant life You promised.
Protect her natural connection to You from the very beginning, that she may be attuned to Your Love throughout her life.
Continue to pour Your grace into her as she grows.
Build Your strength into her, shape her character with Your love.
Give her an unshakable sense of Your purpose for her life, so she will have the courage to follow You always.
Protect Your Plans for her, surround her with an army of angels.
Bless her mother. Surround her with a community that nourishes her with love and support; give her confidence and the courage to ask for help when she needs it. Fill her with patience, perspective and guidance.
Bless her father that he can find ways to be helpful, supportive and involved through this postpartum period, doing what he can to ease the mother’s load. Help him to bond easily with the baby and step gracefully into his new responsibility.
Help their relationship to grow stronger, that they can be unified in parenting choices from the very beginning.
Bless their finances, bless their health.
Create a sacred safe place for this family to grow in love, depth and faith through the parenting of this child.
Protect them from adversity, but if a challenge does come, allow them to grow closer to You through it.
Through the blessing of this child, give the whole family the freedom of increased faith in You.
In Jesus Name, we pray.
What baby are you praying for today? Add the name below, and I’ll join you in lifting them up!
uniteinprayer.org
Blessed are the Children Please enjoy a selection of various blessings for ceremonies to welcome your new baby. You may choose one of these, or request or send me your favorite to add to the ceremony.
Jewish Blessing
In every birth, blessed is the wonder.
In every creation, blessed is the new beginning.
In every child, blessed is life.
In every hope, blessed is the potential.
In every transition, blessed is the beginning.
In every existence, blessed are the possibilities.
In every love, blessed are the tears.
In every life, blessed is the love.
There are three names by which a person is called:
One which her father and mother call her,
And one which people call her,
And one which she earns for herself.
The best one of these is the one that she earns for herself
Irish Baby Blessing May all the blessings of our Lord touch your life today.
May He send His little angels to protect you on your way.
Such a miraculous gift, sent from above.
Someone so precious to cherish and love.
May sunshine and moonbeams dance over your head.
As you quietly slumber in your bed.
May good luck be with you wherever you go.
And your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.
“I Am Love”
~ Author Unknown
“Some say I can fly on the wind, yet I haven’t any wings.
Some have found me floating on the open sea, yet I cannot swim.
Some have felt my warmth on cold nights, yet I have no flame.
And though you cannot see me,
I lay between two lovers at the hearth of fireplaces.
I am the twinkle in your child’s eyes.
I am hidden in the smile lines of your mother’s faces.
I am their shield as they guard your home.
Some say I am stronger than steel,
yet I am as fragile as a tear.
Some have never searched for me,
yet I am around them always.
Some say I die with loss, yet I am endless.
And though you cannot hear me,
I dance on the laughter of children.
I am woven into the whispers of passion.
I am in the blessings of Great Grandmothers.
I embrace the cries of newborn babies.
Some say I am a flower, yet I am also the seed.
Some have little faith in me, yet I will always believe in them.
Some say I cannot cure the ill, yet I nourish the soul.
And though you cannot touch me,
I am the gentle hand of the kind.
I am the fingertips that caress your cheek at night.
I am the hug of a child.
I am love.”
An Adoption Poem
Not flesh of my flesh,
nor bone of my bone, but very
remarkably, all my own.
And never forget, for a single minute,
that you weren’t born under my heart,
but in it.
From the Tao Te Ching
Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.
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“Every Person Born into This World” From a passage by Martin Buber (adaptation) |
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