Bold Prayer

July 2

I Chronicles 3-5

Psalm 77:16-20

Proverbs 17:1-2

Acts 27

Bold Prayer

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’  Then Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’  And God brought about what he asked.”  2 Chronicles 4:9-10  LSB

There was a popular book written by Bruce Wilkinson published in 2000 called “The Prayer of Jabez.”  The entire book dealt with these two verses.  In it he recommended that we pray this prayer over our own lives and experience the blessings God has for us.  If you know me at all, you know that I believe wholeheartedly in the power of prayer.  God is our only source of help and hope in this fallen world. The more time we spend in prayer and Bible study,  the closer we will be to Him and the better we will be able to deal with any issue or problem that comes our way.  Any encouragement to pray and seek God is good, but I have some hesitancy recommending this book because it makes prayer about a formula.  It came dangerously close to suggesting that if you pray the words of Jabez your life will be blessed as his was and if you are not experiencing blessings then it is because you haven’t prayed in just this way.  It has a name it and claim it vibe that is unmistakable.  This prayer by Jabez was an outpouring of his heart.  He was not providing a specific example of how we should pray.  Our circumstances are different from Jabez’ and so the prayer from our heart will be different from that of Jabez.  If this was how we should pray, Jesus would have used it as an example when His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. Prayer should be a discussion between you and God.  You can tell Him your thoughts and desires.  You don’t have to use a formula.  Prayer is about relationship. 

I do believe that everything in the Bible is important, so this prayer was included for a reason and there are some lessons we can take from it.  It is always a good idea to ask for God’s blessings and that He would be with us.  His presence is a promise He made to us and we can have faith that no matter what happens to us, God is always going to be with us to give us strength, peace, hope, guidance, etc.  He also asked for relief from pain.  His name means sorrowful or grief.  In Biblical times, the meaning of names was important.  Naming him Jabez suggests that his life would be marked by sorrow and pain.  Perhaps Jabez was asking God to spare him from the fulfillment of his name.  Jabez prayed boldly, trusting in God’s provision and goodness.  We can approach God with that same boldness asking God to take care of us and provide for our needs.  The other thing Jabez asked for was that God would enlarge his territory.  He isn’t just asking for material blessings, but also for a wider influence.  I don’t think Jabez was asking for power and prestige, but rather a greater spiritual influence on those around him.  We should all ask God to grow our faith so that we can influence those around us, not for our benefit but that He would be glorified in our lives.