8 Ways to Bless Your Home

This October marked two years that I’ve lived in my current home. It felt like a significant marker, so I lit a candle to represent Christ with me, and carried it through each room of my home praying blessing. It was the first time I’ve done that, and I found it to be a worshipful experience.

If you’d like to bless your current abode – be it house, hut, flat, dorm room, or no-label-suffices – there are eight prayers and blessings[i] below that you can choose from according to your home and situation. Make it work for you: it could be an anniversary or any ordinary day; you could gather your family or team, or invite Jesus to be your only witness.

Start at the door

Blessed are you, Welcoming God. As your people come and go from this door, be their constant companion on the way, and welcome them upon their return, so that coming and going they may be sustained by your presence. Bring to this door both friend and stranger who come in peace, and guard it from any who come in hostility. May every grudge or malice be left at the door, and may those who brought them be so touched by grace here, that they forget to collect them when they leave.

In the living room

Blessed are you, Gracious God, for you have provided this place for unwinding and enjoying company. Give your blessing to all who share this room, that they may find joy in their relaxation, and always be generous hosts. May all who gather here be knit together in fellowship on earth, and find a first taste here of the communion of your saints in heaven.

In the kitchen

May we welcome the poor and honor them, the sick and care for them. May we welcome friends, teammates, and family members, and we ask you, God, to bless and embrace us all. Seeing a stranger approach, may we put food in the eating place, drink in the drinking place, music in the listening place, and look with joy for the blessing of God, who often comes to our homes in the blessing of a stranger.

In the bedroom of a child

Child of my heart, the joy of God be in your face, joy to all who see you, the circle of God around you, angels of God shielding you. Joy of night and day be yours; joy of sun and moon be yours; each land and sea you go, be every season happy for you; be every season bright for you; be every season glad for you. Be yours the compassing of the God of life; the Christ of love; the Spirit of grace: to befriend you and to aid you, (Name), beloved child of my heart.

In the bedroom of a single adult

May God the Father be the guardian of this place and bring his peace, that fear may find no entry here. May Christ be a chosen companion and friend. May loneliness be banished. May the Spirit bring lightness and laughter, and be the comforter of tears. Courage be at each going out; rest be present at each return; each day, each night, each going out and each returning.

In the bedroom of a married couple

Blessed are you, Passionate God, for when you join two people in a covenant of love and desire, they are no longer two but one. Bless those who lie down here, with a holy passion and delight in their loving, and with deep rest in their sleeping, that they may rise to serve you all the days of their life.

In the bathroom

Blessed are you, Creating God, for you made us as whole persons – bodies, minds and spirits – and you called us good. Give us a proper respect and love for our bodies, keeping them clean and healthy, so that we may glorify you in them, as we confidently wait for you to clothe us in robes of righteousness.

In an office or craft space

Blessed are you, Creator God, for your Son Jesus sanctified our labor as he crafted wood with his hands. Be present, we pray, with those who work in this place, that laboring as workers together with you, they may share the joy of your creation.

Amen.

What rooms and blessings would you add?  

What are some ways that you connect with God in your home?

[i] Prayers and blessings are taken/adapted from:

A Liturgy for Blessing a House 

Occasional Prayers, A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hargrove, and Enuma Okoro.