I love the Jabez prayer, but when I read your prayer, I was moved. This could be in any area e.g. “That he would keep him from evil, the evil of sin, the evil of trouble, and all the evil designs of his enemies, that they might not hurt him, nor grieve him, nor make him a Jabez indeed, a man of sorrow.”, Jabez’s Old Testament prayer can be aligned with the way Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6:5-15).
Everyone who seeks, finds. The key take-away is this. We are to pray faithfully, through our personal relationship with Jesus, for a godly perspective of our purpose on this earth. Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to be manifested in our daily lives. And, we do serve an awesome God!
I'm Melanie Redd, and it's my joy to encourage others to know & love Jesus more. Here we can compare the prayer of Jabez with the Lord's Prayer "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13). - Praise God for who He is.
It’s a wonderful little prayer, John! It was exactly what I needed. Photo Credit: GettyImages/pamela_d_mcadams. I also love to see others walk in their gifting and calling. Irish Wedding Blessing, The prayer of Jabez is an unusual prayer because Jabez asks for a blessing for himself. - Pray everything in Jesus’ name. Neia Lima, Amen, Neia! Excerpts by Melanie Redd. May God bless you~
Sources: Melanie. 1 Chronicles 4:10, NKJV
It’s one of my favorites as well. God’s blessings are the real things that produce real effects. E.g. This prayer could apply to many areas of the believers life - not just physical territory (as this seems to be in the case of Jabez). Somebody may be seeking something for selfish gain. I desperately wanted to effectively make this powerful prayer a (deeply) personal one. The aim is for God to transform our hearts to be like His so we can endure the trials of this life. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. there are new opportunities at work for career development. Each of us was created to have a significant place in that great scheme. The life of Jabez bursts from unbroken pages of genealogies in an audacious, four-part prayer that brings him an extraordinary measure of divine favor, anointing, and protection.
We can but wish a blessing: He commands it. may the lord bless you, Amen, Merceline! I’m going to ask God to bless the work of your hands. Jabez, in a single phrase added to his lineage, demonstrated how to pray God’s will over our lives. that I might "take more ground" in godly thinking about myself, and that the ground that poor self esteem has in my life would diminish. We are never alone, and that makes us blessed and prosperous. When the solution is simple, God is answering. Use my life to serve Your purposes.
We would be wise to ask God to keep us from evil and to keep evil away from us. “They think that they will be heard for their many words,” Jesus said in Matthew 6:7-8. To pray like Jabez is to submit our lives to God as a blank canvas. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. I have read the book but I have been blessed by your prayer. ", Rather, if we pray for a personal increase in some way, then it is important that are motives are pure. With the gifts, talents, and tasks you have set upon my shoulders, may my diligent work spread the truth of Christ to many who live without hope. I found this to be sincerely helpful to me! Jabez’s inheritance was by faith over heritage. Amen. • Share these thoughts with the group, then pray together and ask God to meet you in them. It’s a welcome prayer of balance for our turbulent times. The converse of this is that if you ask God for a beautiful holiday home or a Caribbean cruise and do not receive it then there is something a miss with your faith. -“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Why not pray and invite Him to turn your greatest sorrow into your greatest victory? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.
In Jesus’ Name, Melanie.
Thank you for sharing and may He enlarge your territory even more. Amen, Fran! However, this is not the only instance of a character from the bible asking blessing for oneself (compare the prayer of Jabez with that of Solomon's request for an understanding mind in 1 Kings 3:9. He left many disciples behind, not possessions. Ask God to bless you to overflowing! We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. We are never alone, and that makes us blessed and prosperous.
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Bruce Wilkinson makes the point that Christ expands our horizons - Christ calls us to make disciples of all nations, not just (as it was at the time) the Jewish people. In a recent interview he observed that Jabez can not have prayed the wrong thing in asking for his territory to be increased, because God never answers a wrong prayer. He enlarged my circle to include everyone I meet. Jabez lived in a time where God had promised destruction as a consequence for rebellion. Ideal for small groups or Sunday school, this resource is designed to help your church, family, or Bible study get the most out of each component of Jabez's cry. These are just some ideas - feel free to think of others! This was a valuable lesson for a people struggling with their own identity.” (NIV Quest Study Bible), “…the clans of scribes who lived at Jabez:” (1 Chronicles 2:55). So appreciate your kind words and encouragement.
All. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks for letting me know! God bless you too~ -“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Copyright © 2020, Bible Study Tools. In the prayer of Jabez, we learn that God blesses an individual after a direct request for "more" from God. One proclaims God’s strengths; the other lists your failures.”, “God is the God of the whole earth and all the nations and all of history and all of life and culture and all the universe from one end of the galaxies to the other. It “relates to the covenant promises to Israel that find their fulfillment in Christ.” For the rebellious tribe of Judah returning from exile, Jabez’s story was significant. • Discuss the four requests of Jabez. In fact, the city where the scribes lived was named after Jabez due to his knowledge of the law.
I’m so glad you were encouraged! Through Jabez, God teaches the importance of relationship with Him. “Despite his hard luck beginning, he was honored because of his relationship with God. Jan 3, 2016 - Explore Patti Proehl's board "Prayer of Jabez", followed by 219 people on Pinterest. “He discovered that ordinary, personal everyday needs can be brought to God: he 'cried out' and God granted his request” (New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters).