May His Face Shine on You

Numbers 6:24-26

God gave this blessing to Moses for Aaron and his sons, the priests, to speak over the Israelites (Numbers 6:22-26).

Lord, bless me and keep me; make Your face shine on me and be gracious to me; lift up Your countenance upon me and give me peace. I sleep tonight under that light. Amen.

God gave this blessing to Moses for Aaron and his sons, the priests, to speak over the Israelites (Numbers 6:22-26).

The Scripture

“May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.”
— Numbers 6:24-26

Prayer points from Numbers 6:24-26

Thank God that He chose to bless His people and gave them the very words for it.
Ask Him to keep you tonight, and name what you most need keeping from.
Ask Him to turn His face toward you, especially where you have felt overlooked or forgotten.
Confess where you have assumed His face was turned away from you, and receive His grace instead.
Ask for His peace as you close the day and give Him what is still unfinished.
Pray this blessing by name over someone you love, as the priests spoke it over Israel.

About this verse

Numbers 6:24-26 is the priestly blessing God gave Moses to have Aaron and his sons speak over Israel — words so central to worship that they've been prayed over the people of God for more than three thousand years, and archaeologists have even found them inscribed on a small silver scroll from before the exile. 'Face shining' is Hebrew language for favor and attention, the opposite of a face turned away in anger or indifference. Spoken as a benediction to send people back into ordinary life, it moves in three steps — bless and keep, shine and be gracious, look up and give peace — from protection, to relationship, to rest. This is a prayer for closing the day and placing yourself under that same ancient blessing before sleep.

When to pray this prayer

As a bedtime prayer to end a long or heavy day
When anxious thoughts keep circling right before sleep
Over your children at night, blessing them before they close their eyes
After a day where you felt distant from God and want to reconnect
When you need a short, steady prayer instead of a long one
During a stressful week, as a way to close each night the same calm way

This verse elsewhere on the site

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