May
28, 2001
The Prayer of Jabez
Now
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name
Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “oh, that You would bless
me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that
You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!”
So God granted him what he requested. (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)
One
of the greatest gifts I have received since beginning to write weekly messages
for Awaken The Soul is the correspondence from readers. Sometimes messages come from people whom I have known only
through business and our relationship has been just that: business.
Awaken has altered several business relationships making them deeper,
more meaningful. One relationship that I now cherish is with a colleague from
the telecom industry who recently asked me to read a book by Bruce Wilkinson
titled, The Prayer of Jabez.
There
seem to be many different ways that spiritual seekers communicate with God.
Based on religious influence or personal discovery, that communication
might be called meditation, contemplation, chanting, fasting, or prayer.
I have found that within each of these methods there are vast differences
in how an individual performs or executes their conversation with God.
In
Judeo-Christian faiths, not only how you pray can differ, but also what is
acceptable prayer is up for interpretation.
Many of us have been taught that prayer should not be about God blessing
us, but rather prayer should be centered on others and about giving thanks for
what we already have received. I
have read several books lately that insist this is not the case and that
manifesting blessings are not contradictory with our relationship with God.
In these books this concept appears to be a new revelation.
Now that I have read this new book, I see this concept is very old.
The
passage from Chronicles supports this recent view that asking for blessings from
God is not only acceptable, but might well be answered.
Dr. Wilkinson does an excellent job of putting this prayer into context.
The passage is sandwiched between the listings of names or lineage of
historical figures in the Bible. The
4th chapter of Chronicles lists 44 names and then pauses with the
verses printed above. Then, without
missing a beat, the verse goes back to a listing of names within a given
lineage.
This
pause to discuss Jabez makes one wonder what was so special about Jabez that
caused the biblical author/historian to single him out and tell us about this
man who asked to be blessed and “God granted him what he requested”.
Quoting
from the book: “What was the
secret to the enduring reputation of Jabez?
You can search from front to back in your Bible, as I have, and you
won’t find any more information than we have in these two brief verses:
- Things
started badly for a person no one ever heard of
- He
prayed an unusual, one-sentence prayer.
- Things
ended extraordinarily well.
Clearly,
the outcome can be traced to his prayer. Something
about Jabez’s simple, direct request to God changed his life and left a
permanent mark on the history books of Israel.”
Dr.
Wilkinson has been speaking on this passage for years and encouraging others to
repeat this prayer daily then watch for increased blessing in their lives.
By the testimonials that are part of the book, others believe that this
has been the case. It should be noted that these believers in the effectiveness
of repeating the prayer see it as a part of living a spiritual life.
I
really enjoyed the perspective my friend shared with me in his note after
reading the book. “This
has great meaning in as simple a form I have ever seen, and it directly applies
to guys like us. Sometimes (a lot of the time) we forget about us, read the
opening line of the prayer about a hundred times, you'll get it eventually- it's
really ok to ask God to bless ourselves, he actually wants us to, it is no
different than asking your wife to do something for you, it's all about the love
in a relationship, whether with a spouse or your God. Check it out buddy, I know
you'll find it a worthwhile couple of hours, which is all it takes to read.”
I am certain about one thing after reading this little book.
It reinforces the need for us to remember to have communication with God
as part of our daily spiritual ritual to remind us who we really are and why we
are here. As long as my prayers for blessings come from, as my friend
says, love in a relationship, then I do feel comfortable with this type of
prayer and can understand how God will welcome it.
With respect, acceptance, and love,
Richard
To learn more about the prayer of Jabez, check out the Suggested Reading Page and the Links Page