The Priestly Prayer of the Blessing

The Hebrew word nasa, which is translated in our English Bibles as the word lift, literally means “to lift, carry, or take.” When this portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is pronounced over you in the name of Yeshua, our High Priest, your heavenly Father begins to lift you in His strong arms and carry you. When you are lifted up, nothing can harm you, but more importantly YHWH is imparting Himself to you, transferring everything He is and has for you as your loving Daddy.

There are many scriptures in the Tanakh (Old Testament) that convey the concept of YHWH (our heavenly Father) lifting us up and carrying us.

He delivers me from my enemies. You [YHWH] lift me up above those who rise up against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.

—PSALM 18:48

The above scripture says YHWH lifted Israel through their journeys and through the proclamation of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing. You can apply this same scripture to your own life. He will lift you up in His strong loving arms to deliver you from your enemies, and He will give you divine protection from those who rise up against you! This alludes to those who may be close to you, in your own family, or your brethren, but who rise up against you to do you harm.

Here is another great scripture that talks about our heavenly Father lifting us up.

For in the time of trouble [YHWH] will hide me in His pavilion; in the shelter of His tabernacle He will hide me; He will set me up on a rock. Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies encircling me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

—PSALM 27:5–6

The above scripture conveys how YHWH (your heavenly Father) through the proclamation of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing will lift us up in His strong arms:

• He will protect us in our times of trouble and hide us in His pavilion (His dwelling place).

• He will transport us into the shelter of the Most High (the “secret place,” the heavenly holy of holies), hidden, and set high upon a rock (Yeshua), lifted above every enemy, including Satan and his minions.

Having your head lifted up above your enemies means that all who desire to harm you shall know that you are favored by the one true G-D, YHWH. This is further signified in the scripture from the Brit Hadashah (New Testament).

And He raised us up and seated us together in the heavenly places in [Messiah Yeshua], so that in the coming ages [YHWH] might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in [Messiah Yeshua].

—EPHESIANS 2:6–7

Your response is to humble yourself and offer yourself to your heavenly Daddy as He carries you. You respond with joy and sing praises to His name (His very person). Even when you face the most hopeless situation, G-D will lift you up:

Be gracious to me, O LORD; consider my trouble from those who hate me, O You who lifts me up from the gates of death.

—PSALM 9:13

The above reveals that even when you face death itself, He will be the One who lifts you up and delivers you. He truly views you as His son or daughter.

Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. [YHWH] who goes before you, He shall fight for you, just as all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you saw how the LORD your [G-D] carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”

—DEUTERONOMY 1:29–31

You should not be terrified or fear those who are against you and against G-D. Even Israel who was disobedient was protected by YHWH when they were in the wilderness. The most powerful statement is that G-D carries you “as a man carries his son.” His carrying you is a statement that you are His eternal inheritance (Eph. 2:6–7). It’s comforting to know how your heavenly Father views you, no matter how young or old you are.

Listen to Me [YHWH], O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who are borne by Me from birth and are carried from the womb: and even to your old age I am He, and even to your graying years I will carry you; I have done it, and I will bear you; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

—ISAIAH 46:3–4

G-D views you as a child even when you become old and gray. He still carries you in His divine arms without fail. Your heavenly Father carried you when you were in your mother’s womb and knew who you would be before the foundation of the world.

Blessed be the [G-D] and Father of our Lord [Adonai] Jesus Christ [Yeshua the Messiah], who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in [Messiah], just as He [YHWH] chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ [Yeshua the Messiah] according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace which He [YHWH] graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved.

—EPHESIANS 1:3–6

What does your heavenly Father do as He holds you up in His arms and walks with you? The picture is likened to what a good father would do when carrying his newborn son or daughter in his arms.

[YHWH] your [G-D] in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

—ZEPHANIAH 3:17, NKJV

Can you envision yourself as a little baby as your heavenly Father walks with you, carrying you in His arms, singing over you, perhaps dancing?

• He openly rejoices over you with gladness. Imagine His saying over you wonderful and uplifting words, renewing you with His words of love.

• He will quiet you with His words of love. This alludes to a father comforting his child who is crying. Your heavenly Father wants to comfort you in times of distress, kissing you on the forehead and your cheeks, emoting His love and empathy toward you.

• He will rejoice over you with singing. This is a beautiful image of the Father’s intimacy with you.

I remember when my two children, Tara and Joseph, were babies. I carried them in my arms on a pillow. They would look up at me as I talked quietly to them words expressing my deep love. I would sing Scripture songs over them. Both of them would begin to smile and try and make sounds. They could sense the love I had for them. When I carried them, and we gazed deep into each other’s faces, there was no one in the world except my child and me. They had all my attention.

This is what your heavenly Father desires to do with you as a result of this portion of the divine prayer. In our Bibles we read concerning this portion:

We’ve discussed what is meant by the word lift in this portion of the divine prayer. In the next chapter I will expound upon the rest of this portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing—what it means concerning His countenance being upon us.

KEYS TO THE BLESSING

The most intimate expression of your heavenly Father’s love for you is when He lifts you up in His arms and carries you. You receive His full attention and His outpouring of love in the most intimate way.

STUDY QUESTIONS

Are you ready to submit to the love of YHWH as expressed when He lifts you up and carries you? Are you ready to receive His full attention and His outpouring of love in the most intimate way?

I discussed many scriptures in this chapter concerning what it means for YHWH to lift you up and carry you. Which ones do you relate to the most?