Today’s Scripture: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, NKJV- “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.”
To receive the full blessings of God and to give Him full blessings we must study His Word. It is impossible to remember all the thirty-one thousand scriptures in the English versions of the Bible.
Several months ago, a new follower of my blog sent me a message recommending the reading of the prayer of Jabez. I did recall reading the prayer and I do believe I read the book that was all the rage when Bruce Wilkinson published his book The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life back in the year 2000.
Yesterday, I tripped across 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 again and my heart desired to call on God as Jabez had. Today, I was drawn back to 1 Chronicles, and I recognized the oddity of the Jabez Prayer. The first four chapters of 1 Chronicles are genealogies. Don’t you love reading genealogies? The writers of the scriptures take great pains to make sure we understand the lineage of the family of God.
The prayer of Jabez seems to pop into the genealogies out of left field. Trusting that God inspires all scriptures we must recognize the reason He placed this here for us. 1 Chronicles 4:9 breaks into the lineage to say “ Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” (NKJV)
Wait, what? Where did this come from? Jabez had not even been listed in the name after name provided. We still do not know any more about Jabez to this day. I am convinced that this passage was given to us, not to know who Jabez was, but to know how we are to honor God in our own lands.
In 1 Chronicles 4:10 we are told that “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.”
- We must call on the God of Israel.
- It is ok for us to ask God to bless us.
- Recognize that it is God alone who enlarges our honorable territory.
- We should ask God for His hand to be with us.
- As Jesus also taught us in Matthew 6:13, we must ask God to deliver us from evil.
- We should ask God to keep us from causing pain to others.
- We must have faith that it is God who grants what we receive.
If we are to be honorable, like Jabez, we must live and pray for that which honors God. We do not need anyone to remember our names either. However, whatever has been born through our pain and sorrow will be used to direct others to call on the God of Israel. As we continue to study His Word, we learn how to bless Him and to be blessed. God does open new territories for us. We can trust that the hand of God is with us and protecting us all from pain. It is God alone who grants our requests.
Will you join me in crying out to the God of Israel as we have been instructed?
Today’s Prayer: God of Israel, You are my God. Please bless me as I bless You with my life. Please enlarge my territory so I may bless others with the knowledge that Your hand is with us. Please protect me from evil and keep me from causing pain to others. Thank You LORD for granting my requests. Amen.
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