The Prayer of Jabez
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Introduction
Twenty three years ago, I was in the hospital checking in for a test on my lungs. The person who was registering me talked about a little book that changed her life.
The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson—a New York Times best seller.
The prayer is based on two verses of Scripture found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.
Text
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.
Transition
1. The Problem of Pain
1. The Problem of Pain
C.S. Lewis wrote in this book, “The Problem of Pain”...
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.
C. S. Lewis
The Problem of Pain (1947)
"His mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.”
How would you like your parents to have named you pain?
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 3258 יַעְבֵּץ, יַעְבֵּץ
יַעְבֵּץ [Yaʿbets /yah·bates/]
The pain the Jabez experienced was more than just his name.
Jabez asked God: “Would you keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!”
Something or someone was bringing grief to Jabez.
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.
Jericho was at the base of the Jordan Valley. It was a normal experience to see people in need seeking help.
Pain will either drive you to despair or it will drive you to God!
2. The Importance of Honor
2. The Importance of Honor
There was something about Jabez that made him stand out.
“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.”
Jabez was a man of integrity.
Although this passage seems to be a parenthetical within a list of descendants of Judah, the Holy Spirit drew the readers attention to this man.
May I suggest that our integrity impacts our prayer life?
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
The importance of honor does not just impact your prayers concerning your needs.
Honor impacts your identification with Christ and your testimony that can bring hope to others.
Remember the blind man in Luke 18? It appears that as he was begging, he could hear a commotion. The people around him...
37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by.
38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
An honorable character affects not only your prayer life, it affects your testimony and ministry to others.
The three most important ingredients in Christian work are integrity, integrity, integrity.
Charles Colson
3. The Privilege of Petition
3. The Privilege of Petition
The Scripture tells us that “Jabez called upon the God of Israel.”
Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, invites believers to pray!
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
It is not just okay to ask God for help, it is the expected thing to do for all who trust in Him.
In the story of the blind beggar, he calls out to Jesus.
40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him,
41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”
Remember what I read to you from James? “You do not have, because you do not ask.”
Jabez had to courage to ask!
1 Chronicles 4:10 (ESV)
10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!”
What did Jabez ask God?
Bless me! Jabez asked God for His favor—for his goodness to supernaturally envelop him.
Enlarge my border! Jabez asked God to increase opportunities. He was not interesting in settling! An honorable person seeks to be and do for the glory of God.
Your hand might be with me! Jabez asked that God’s presence and power would be with him always. He did not want to do life apart from God!
Keep me from harm! Jabez asked for God’s protection and deliverance (So that it might not bring me pain).
4. The Joy of Answered Prayer
4. The Joy of Answered Prayer
Once Jabez concluded his prayer, the Scripture simply and profoundly declares: “And God granted what he asked.”
Why did God answer Jabez’s prayer? He answered it because Jabez prayed the prayer that God wanted him to pray!
The prayer of Jabez is not this magical formula that dictates to the Sovereign God of the universe what to do.
We need to know what God wants us to do!
As Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted, the blind man responded obediently by asking: “Lord…I want to see.”
42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.”
43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.
What was the result of this miracle? Joy! He followed Jesus, praising God! And, all those around him praised God too!
The blind man believed—he had faith!
Jabez believed—he had faith!
What do we need to do? We need to have faith!
Faith in what? Faith, trust, confidence, reliance on God alone for His will to be accomplished in our life.
Conclusion
Pain will either drive you to despair or it will drive you to God! Pain is not just a problem, it is an opportunity for God’s miracle in your life!
An honorable character affects not only your prayer life, it affects your testimony and ministry to others.
It is not just okay to ask God for help, it is the expected thing to do for all who trust in Him.
We need to know what God wants us to do and what He wants us to pray!
There is joy in answered prayer!