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 what he requested. (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)
I think most of the confusion and most of the stress over the prayer of Jabez comes from the name-it-claim-it theology that has been so popular lately. I must confess that initially I was hestitant to get caught up in the Jabez hype for percisely that reason. I didn't want to get caught up in a simple prayer that tries to manipulate God to do what I wanted [as if that would be possible]. I knew God wanted the best for me, but I had so connected "bless" with comfort, wealth, and prosperity that I was concerned about becoming seduced by the "dark side" of prayer.
I've been re-reading this little book and with a new passion and intensity. I don't know why now should be any different, but it is. Maybe I've changed, or maybe I have just a little more faith now than I did before. Whatever the reason, I would like to share with you, in all humility, where I am with this little prayer and where I believe God wants me to be.
"Oh that you would bless me, indeed"
First it is important to understand that Jabez "cried out" to the Lord. Some version translate it prayer, called, or cried out to God with a passion. Jabez's prayer was heart felt and with a desire to fulfill what God wanted. Jabez does not ask for wealth, health, or prestige but to be blessed by God.
Jabez's prayer is honest and open. It is passionate and yet humble in its acceptance of God's will. It presuppose that God wants to bless His children with good gifts [Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"] and is willing to ask for what the Father is waiting to do. Personal change begins for each of us when we cry out to God for what God wants for us with open hands and expectant hearts.
Are you willing to take the incredibly bold step and accept what God wants to give you? Or are you still hedging your bets by praying for very specific needs so God doesn't get carried away? [God bless my finances, but what I do with it. Bless my job promotion, but not my attitude to those I work with. Bless my health, but not what I fill my days with. Bless my family, but not the time I spend with them.]
Let us pray,
Bless Me -- Use Me -- Transform Me -- Lead Me -- Heal Me -- Save Me -- Inspire Me -- Touch Me -- Show Me -- Teach Me -- Know Me -- Forgive Me -- Bless Me as You will, not as I will. amen
Why do you want to be blessed? What will you do when God does bless you? Why would God want to bless you?
Expect to be blessed by your Heavenly Father who longs to be gracious.
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If, as we are told and I believe it is true, that every word in the Bible counts, that every word is present in every account, every story, every parable, every everything because it carries significance and becaus IT is the most right word for the job, then what is the significance of our being told that Jabez was named as he was by his mother “…because [she] bore him in pain”? There must be a reason for its inclusion. How easy it is for the reader to gloss over the presence of the explanation of Jabez’s name and go right to the prayer so named for him. Exegestically speaking, what are we to know? What are we to understand? What are we learn? Anything?
Given the fact that the prayer is submerged in a genealogy is the fact that the name indicates “pain caused during child birth” designed to take the reader back to Genesis and Adam and Eve and God’s promise that because of their sin woman would suffer pain during child birth? If this is the case, does such a statement add credibility to Jabez’s lineage and thus to the validity of the prayer? Or… What is the possibility that our being told that Jabez caused pain for his mother is designed to tell us that although God WILL bless us that He has not “…given us a rose garden,” and that life WILL be a mixture of blessings and pain? Or… What is the possibility that our being told the meaning of his name is designed to tell us that no matter what we have done (caused your mother pain at birth), no matter how bad it is or what it is, you can still approach the Lord and believe that if you ask with sincerity because you believe in Him that He will bless you — that you don’t have to be perfect to be blessed? Or… What about the possibilty that the definition of Jabez’s name is designed to help us recognize that he himself personifies one of the basic tenets of the prayer — that blessings can and often do involve pain, that it is through pain (if we CHOOSE to perceive it that way) that we are actually being blessed so that we can use our experiences to bless others?
Does the lack of a concrete answer to this question negate the significance of Jabez’s prayer? No! If we understood the significance of including a definition of his name, would it add further meaning to any or all of the prayer? I don’t know and won’t know until the explanation is provided and I have a chance to think about it. Questions concerning clarity and purpose of wording will not stop me from praying the Prayer of Jabez any more than questions concerning clarity and purpose of wording will stop me from reading the Bible. I would just like to “…see through the glass [less] darkly.”