How to Understand the Prayer of Jabez

The Prayer of Jabez is found in the Bible in 1 Chronicles 4:10 “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.” This is a great teaching about praying. Let’s walk through the verse and see what we can glean from it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Bible

1. "Oh that You would bless me indeed."
   Should we ask to be blessed? I think it may depend on our motives for being blessed. God told Abraham that he would be blessed to be a blessing to others. God granted Jabez’s request because I think God knew the request was for good--his prayer was kingdom focused.
2. “Enlarge my territory.”
   What territory does God have you in for you to glorify Him? Every ministry should be praying this prayer. Do you want your territory to grow for Christ?
3. "That your hand would be with me."
   Can we do it without God? The hand of God helped many in the Bible including Moses and the Israelites. They escaped Pharaoh and his army. This shows that God gives us the opportunity to allow Him to shine through us. If our hearts are aligned to the purposes of God, and we pray that He uses us for His purposes, our weaknesses will not be seen, but God’s glory and power will be.
4. "That You would keep me from evil."
   Evil is not hard to find these days. Keeping away from it can be difficult without the power of God. He promises to give us a way out away from evil when we are tempted in 1 Cor. 10:13. The decision needs to be made by each one of us. Wwho are we going to serve? Joshua had the answer. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
5. “so that I would not cause pain.”
   Evil causes pain. We may think that we aren’t hurting anybody, or it’s my right to do this. Truthfully, there is always pain being experienced when evil happens. Sometimes we experience pain by our own choices. Sometimes we experience pain by choices others have made. Our response to the pain felt is our choice. I challenge you to pray the prayer of Jabez everyday. You will go beyond your own strengths and plug into God’s power.