grammaticality - Why to use "May" before using "May God bless you"?


I heard it many times but I haven't really pondered on that. We can hear these following sentences in our daily lives:




  1. May God bless you.

  2. May God be pleased with you.

  3. May God accept your prayers.



But why do we use "May" at the beginning of the sentence? Apparently, it doesn't make the sentence a question but more polite and respectful towards the God maybe? I cannot tell I heard this structure in any other sentence but religious ones. Which grammar rule does it belong to? And how do we use it in different forms?



Answer



See meaning 4 of may at dictionary.com



(used to express wish or prayer): May you live to an old age.



It follows the same grammatical pattern as let (and is almost a synonym).



Let their children grow up happy!


May their children grow up happy!



The usage of may in this sense is not restricted to prayers, although one could say that it's formal, if not pompous, in modern usage.


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