The Prayer of Jabez

Prayer of Jabez: What is it?
The Prayer of Jabez comes from the Bible. In 1 Chronicles 4:10, we read: "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." The prayer is composed of four parts. First, Jabez asks God to bless him. Second, he asks God to enlarge his territory or increase his responsibility. Third, he prays that God will be with him and stay close. Lastly, Jabez asks that God keep him from harm so that he will be free from pain.

 

The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life is an inspirational book published in 2000 by Bruce Wilkinson as the first book in the "BreakThrough" book series. It is based on the Old Testament passage 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

    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 evil, that it not be to my sorrow! God granted him that which he requested. (WEB)

In the book, Wilkinson encourages Christians to invoke this prayer for themselves on a daily basis:

    I challenge you to make the Jabez prayer for blessing part of the daily fabric of your life. To do that, I encourage you to follow unwaveringly the plan outlined here for the next thirty days. By the end of that time, you’ll be noticing significant changes in your life, and the prayer will be on its way to becoming a treasured, lifelong habit.

The book became an international bestseller, topping the New York Times bestseller list[1] and selling nine million copies. It received the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Gold Medallion Book of the Year award in 2001.

Does the Bible justify using "the prayer of Jabez" as a formula for success? If so, why would Jesus give us the model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 ("Our Father, who art in heaven….") rather than the prayer of Jabez?

In the days of Jesus, rabbis would often use prayer outlines. Today, many faithful students of Biblical history believe that "the Lord’s prayer" was such a prayer — one that provided a pattern or outline for longer prayers. Then as now, its short parts were reminders that God would be pleased if we would include certain points in our quiet times with Him: 

• Praise to our heavenly Father who hears and provides.

• Confession and cleansing as we bow before a holy God.

• Thanks for the goodness and glory of His Kingdom.

• Confidence in His perfect plan and readiness to yield to His will.

• Trust that our Provider will meet our needs each day.

• Faith that through the cross, we have forgiveness for every sin.

• Prayer for grace to forgive others and be filled with His love.

• Prayer for wisdom to recognize and resist any temptation or evil.

• Praise for His sovereignty, love and faithfulness to those who follow Him.

MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY:

The most remarkable person in this chapter is Jabez. We are not told upon what account Jabez was more honourable than his brethren; but we find that he was a praying man. The way to be truly great, is to seek to do God’s will, and to pray earnestly. Here is the prayer he made. Jabez prayed to the living and true God, who alone can hear and answer prayer; and, in prayer he regarded him as a God in covenant with his people. He does not express his promise, but leaves it to be understood; he was afraid to promise in his own strength, and resolved to devote himself entirely to God. Lord, if thou wilt bless me and keep me, do what thou wilt with me; I will be at thy command and disposal for ever. As the text reads it, this was the language of a most ardent and affectionate desire, Oh that thou wouldest bless me!

Four things Jabez prayed for.
1. That God would bless him indeed. Spiritual blessings are the best blessings: God’s blessings are real things, and produce real effects.
2. That He would enlarge his coast. That God would enlarge our hearts, and so enlarge our portion in himself, and in the heavenly Canaan, ought to be our desire and prayer.
3. That God’s hand might be with him. God’s hand with us, to lead us, protect us, strengthen us, and to work all our works in us and for us, is a hand all-sufficient for us.
4. That he would keep him from evil, the evil of sin, the evil of trouble, all the evil designs of his enemies, that they might not hurt, nor make him a Jabez indeed, a man of sorrow. God granted that which he requested. God is ever ready to hear prayer: his ear is not now heavy.

 

What is it then, to pray in the name of Jesus?

To pray "in Jesus’ name" then, is to pray exactly how Jesus would have us pray. This conclusion is confirmed in 1John 5:14, where we read, "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." In other words, we can expect God to grant our requests when we pray as Christ would have us pray.

This, my friends, is the merit of the prayer of Jabez. The petitions Jabez offered were not disunited with God’s own purposes for Jabez.

Jabez wanted to know the fullness of being in a relationship with God. Jabez also wanted to personally progress and develop in this relationship, and so he asks for God’s assistance. Not only did Jabez know that he needed help going forward, but he also knew he needed God’s help to prevent him from going backwards in this relationship.

What Jabez wanted for himself was precisely what God wanted for Jabez. When we can say that, then we can say that we have prayed like Jabez. When we can say that, then we can say that we understand what it means to “pray in Jesus’ name” . Amen.

On this day…

• Mathew 24 – 2024
• Mathew 23 – 2024
• Be Ready for Many Trials – 2011
• Ubiquity – 2009
• Origen – 2009
• Saint Peter – 2009
• Song of Solomon 4:7 – 2008