After reading the prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson, I copied out the prayer and posted it on my bathroom mirror. I read it often.
“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 4:10)
I ponder it often and here are my thoughts. The first thing Jabez did was acknowledge the reality of God as sovereign in his life. What a great place to begin a prayer… as in The Lord is my shepherd (23 Psalm) or Our Father. (Matthew 6)
Jabez asks for the kind of blessings that God gives. You bless me, you enlarge my territory, you be with me, you keep me from evil.
Jabez is requesting increase in every part of his life. That means physical, spiritual, emotional and more. He asks God to take part in increasing every area of blessing possible. What a declaration of trust in God.
And he dares to invite God to be with him always. How would our lives change if we dared ask such a thing of God?
Imagine a mother calling a child ‘Pain’ pain and relieving a difficult birth her whole life and his! Jabez prayed against any negative influence that his name might bring into his life.
How will you pray today?
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