Prayer of Jabez

Jabez prayer is a simple, yet powerful prayer & if you are

like me, desiring all of what God has planned for you, then you have come to the right place. Here I will give you a

deeper understanding into this little prayer that reaps giant

rewards. The Prayer of Jabez is tucked away in the one of

the most unread sections of the bible; 1 Chronicles chapter

4, in fact the first eight chapters of Chronicles is nothing more than a list of names that we could spend hours trying

to figure out how to pronounce. These names make up the

genealogies of Israel, from Adam to Judah. What's

fascinating to me is how the historian pauses right in the

midst of this role call to briefly mention a man named Jabez and his little prayer. He then picks right back up and

continues on for four more chapters, as if nothing happened.

What does this mean you ask? Well, I can tell you when God

wants us to know something, He will find away to make it

stand out, just as He did when He broke the monotony in 1 Chronicles 4:10, giving us the Prayer of Jabez.

Prayer of Jabez

As far as we can tell from scripture, Jabez lived in Israel

during the time of Judges & he was born into the tribe of

Judah where he eventually became the leader of a clan. But

his real story begins with his name, in the verse just before

The Prayer of Jabez begins, it reads; his mother named him

Jabez saying, "Because I bore him with pain." In Hebrew,

the word Jabez means “pain.” A literal rendering might read,

“He causes (or will cause) pain.”

Prayer of Jabez

Now we all know that most, if not all, mothers go through

some type of pain during pregnancy and delivery, however, Jabez mother must have went through some serious pain.

This pain could have been from financial worries, a missing

father, or perhaps he was born breech, the type of pain is

unknown. Regardless of the type of pain, it is obvious that it was so bad that she chose to memorialize it in her son's

name. In Bible times, the Hebrews viewed a person's name

as the equivalent to the person himself, it signified his

character, worth and reputation. Can you imagine growing

up with other kids picking on you and reminding you that you were the “cause of pain”?

Prayer of Jabez

Despite this daunting label he had placed on him, he grew up and became” more honorable than his brothers” and

acknowledged God as the true center of his life. He knew

God had freed his forefathers from slavery, rescued them

from powerful enemies, and established them in a land of

plenty. Now, all grown up, he too wanted God's favor and

blessings, and all he did was asked. He prayed the biggest

most powerful prayer now known as the “Prayer of Jabez”, starting with “Oh, that you would bless me indeed”. I don't

know your circumstances, or what pain you grew up with,

but I can tell you, it does not define you, it is not your

destiny, or is it the end. If you want more, then cry out to

the one who knows all you have endured, Your Father in Heaven, and just ask. God is a giving God, he has blessings

in store for you waiting to give them to you, but you must

ask in order to receive! One of my favorite verses is, “You do

not have because you do not ask God.”

Prayer of Jabez

The Prayer of Jabez continues with him asking God to

expand of his territory (some translations read borders) and then believing God will does this, Jabez moves on asking

God to keep his hand on him. Why, you ask because Jabez

knew that once God blessed him with more he wouldn't be

able to manage on his own strength or knowledge, and

would be totally reliant upon God and His wisdom. It's the same today, rather you're a business owner, Minister, or a

stay at home mom, when you're area of influence increases,

you could easily get overwhelmed, start to feel afraid,

mislead and even doubt if you're doing what God had

planned. But if we pray like Jabez, and allow God to guide us, His power can take over and success will then be

imminent.

Prayer of Jabez

We have reached his last requests in the Prayer of Jabez, he asked “Oh that you would keep me from evil! What a

brilliant strategy for sustaining a blessed life. Jabez knew

that once he became a greater influence for God, & received His “hand” in his life, he would experience more attacks and

distractions. Without a doubt success brings greater chances

for failure. Sometimes more power at work could bring

pride, or more money may bring greed. What better way to

keep from sinning, than asking God to remove the

temptation and keep the devil at bay in our lives.

Praying the Prayer of Jabez

I was introduced to The

Prayer of Jabez during Sunday school when the

teacher opened with a

little fable “Mr. Jones

missed blessings.” I knew right then I wasn't going

to be like Mr. Jones. It

was at that moment

Jabez became my

favorite, I had The Prayer of Jabez engraved on jewelry, signs made, purchased books

and anything else I could get me hands on! Now more than

15 years later, my life continues to be blessed beyond

anything I could have asked for, my circle of influence has

become bigger, I've been victorious in battle, experienced financial miracles, and supernatural healing that can only be

attributed to God and praying the Prayer of Jabez prayer

over my life.

Owning the Prayer of Jabez

No matter what your needs or struggles are, remember the

battle is already won. God created you for a purpose, He

knew you before you were born; your life was planned out

before you were formed in your mother's womb. Think about that for a minute…you are where you are for a reason, good

or bad, God has kept you there as part of His plan. Don't let

the enemy try to trick you into believing you're not smart

enough or experienced enough, or because of where you came from you can't go where you feel led to go. Satan's

goal is to distract us with “Feelings” so we stay in that self

imposed prison. If you have never prayed the Prayer of

Jabez or still don't see how it can be of significance in your

life, then I encourage you to read the fable of MR Jones, (just click the link) and give the Prayer of Jabez a shot, I

challenge you to take the 30 day Jabez challenge

outlined here.