THE PRAYER OF JABEZ (with Fred Omoregie)

1 chronicles 4:9, 10, “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 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.”

This prayer is found in the book of 1^st Chronicles, it doesn’t seem to match into the rhythm of the passages, it was brief barely four lines but it is magical and pure manifestation of God’s ability to answer our prayers.

Who was Jabez? There’s no mention of him anywhere else in the scriptures, from the context, it does appear that it was from the tribe of Judah. There are theories as to who or where he came from but our purpose is to see the lesson we can learn from the passage.

First, consider, the attitude of Jabez. He was honourable why was he honourable than his brothers, we were not told, but it may have to do with the nature of his prayers. There are two characteristics that are needed for one to be honourable in prayer. One of them is being earnest, which means intense, zealous, sincere and determined. We are told that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much“(James 5:16). The second of these characteristics is humility. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, For He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). The earnest, fervent prayer that is prayed in true humility is honorable before God. Another aspect of the attitude of Jabez is that he directed his prayer to God. Because we are to worship the Lord our God and serve Him alone. Jesus taught us to address our prayers saying “Our father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 4:10, 6:9). To direct such a prayer to God demonstrates that one I trusting in Him and thus dependent on Him for everything.

Second, consider the characteristic of Jabez’s petition. He requested a personal blessing. To ask God’s blessing is to ask Him to bestow divine favour. There is nothing wrong in asking God to bless us specifically. The Psalmist did (Psalm 28:9). Jabez also asked God to enlarge his borders. These seem to relate to material prosperity. Thus it is scriptural for us to pray to God to bless us materially (Matthew 6:11). Then Jabez beseeched that God’s hand would be him; no doubt to provide protection and guidance. Should we not pray with the Psalmist, “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are God of my salvation; on you, I will wait all day (Psalm 25:5).” Finally, Jabez expressed a petition that God would keep him from evil. Jesus also indicated that His disciples should pray for God’s preservation and deliverance as He taught them to say, “And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13)”

The reason why Jesus prayed thus was so that He might not be caused pain. One commentator expressed it this way. Let me not experience the grief which my name implies and which my sins would well produced. Another commentator phrased it thus “Grant that the grief implied in my name may not come upon me.” Finally, consider the response of God who granted him that which he requested. The Lord has promised us “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you shall find, Knock and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7,8).” God has said that He will hear and respond to the prayers of His people. Oh, He may not always give us what we ask for, when we ask for it, in exactly the same way that we asked.

But He is the source of every good and perfect gift. Therefore, we can trust Him to answer our prayers by providing what He knows best that we need in harmony with His will, Just as He did with the prayer of Jabez.

Therefore brethren, “make the prayer of Jabez for blessing a part of the daily fabric of your life. The prayer is simple, straight forward and it gained the favour and blessing of God.

THE KING'S BUSINESS (with Tomilola Kemi-Olaitan)

Not slothful in business but fervent in spirit serving the Lord, Romans 12:11. One of the names by which we believers are called is “sons of God” Romans 8:14, Philippians 2:15, John 1:12, 1 John 3:1, Lamentations 4:2 and Hosea 1:10. That is the name that we share with Jesus Christ (Matthew 17:5, Matthew 3:17).

So you and I are Sons of God. Actually, under the Old Testament one name that the collective nations of Israel were called is Sons of God (Exodus 4:22). Being a Son is a position of privilege, honour and power. Another name that we are called is servants of God (Psalm 116:16, Psalm 14:31, Psalm 119, 125). Jesus was also called servant (Matthew 12:18) even though He was earlier called a Son in Matthew 3:17 the same way Israel was called a Son in Exodus 4:22 and also a servant in Leviticus 25:55. So you and I are Sons of God and at the same time servants of God. Our position as servant is a position of duty. It is a position of obligation – Psalm 119:21. “We are all thy servants”

Thus, SOG does not only mean “Son of God.” It also means servant of God. Son-ship describes the position that helps us get things from God, while servant-hood describes the position that helps us give things to God, Sons receives, servant gives.

The God we serve is a great God. He is mighty and wonderful. He is both our Father and our Master. Malachi 1:6. The God we serve is a God who is at work all over the world even denominations that are not charismatic or Pentecostal. Proverbs 14:19.

Christians now have meetings in China, Iran and many other Countries that hitherto were considered non-Christian territories. However, God want us to join Him in His work, not only in the Church but also in the world. We need that vision. Our vision should not be tunneled, limited, or parochial. God want us to join Him in doing three things;

1.       He wants you to work for Him. Isaiah 6:8

2.       He wants you to work with Him. Mark 16:20

3.       He wants to work through you. Psalm 17:14, Jeremiah 5:1, Ezekiel 22:30.

If we are going to work with God in His business, God will have to do two things;

1.       Work on you and

2.       Work in you.

Without God working on you and in you the following things will happen;

a.        The volume (quantity) of work that will be done will not be good enough.

b.       The quality of the work that will be done will not be good enough.

c.        The rate at which the work will be done will be too slow.

d.       The impact of the work done will be too little.

The work of God does not begin through us. It actually begins in us and on us. The more you allow Him work in you and on you, the more He will eventually work through you.

If you see anybody God is working through, God has finished working in him and on him. Philippians 1:6. If you don’t allow God to work in you and on you, you will only be able to do very little for Him and He would also do very little for you and would also do very little through you. The more you allow Him to work in you and on you, the more you make it easier for Him to work through you. Philippians 2:13. What He wants is for His good pleasure to be done. Hebrew 13:12.

A DICHOTOMY OF RESTLESSNESS

I ended the last issue with David Oyedepo’s quote “Show me a lose youth in the Kingdom, and his star may never rise.” The age of the youth is an age of strength, when restlessness arises in the majority of the population. In a population of one hundred and twenty million (120,000,000) people with young people twenty-five years and below taking seventy percent (70%) you can see we are a nation bursting with energy and that is why Economist forecast India’s economy will be far stronger than China because of the population of their young ones who take over 70% compared to China’s policy of one child per family. So this age of restlessness, as a youth, what you use it to do doesn’t just affect your life but other people, and the Nation and the continent’s economy. Checking the Biblical history of restlessness, from Genesis 27:33-40. In verse 40; “And by the sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck (KJV).” In other versions of the Bible the word ‘dominion’ means ‘Restlessness’. ‘By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother, and it shall come to pass when you become restless that you shall break his yoke from your neck.’

Now, let’s go a bit further in Genesis 33:1, “And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men.” and a bit more in verse 9, “And Esau said, I have enough.” And just one more before we delve into this insightful teaching of restlessness. In Genesis 36:6, “And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.”

All Nigerian youths know the wealth-riches statistic of their country because it is obvious and glaring except those of course who were born rich. This means majority of youths are restless. Looking at the Biblical passage I have often wondered myself how come this guy, Esau was able to break that yoke and become a resounding success just like Jacob who got the blessing of wealth and prosperity when he got only the blessing of restlessness. From inception, Esau was a strong man. He hunts, kills and destroy. He is a muscle man just like Africans since we are a direct descendants (third world nations) of Esau. Jacob was a thinker always conserving what he has. If Esau saw a goat, he hunts it down and kills it, if Jacob saw the same goat he keeps it and nurtures it. Most probably he gets what he keeps from Esau like United States storing away petroleum sold them or exchanged by third world nations.

You must learn to cultivate as a youth, not spend all you make or all you’ve got. Don’t be a squanderer. Be a keeper. That’s the difference between first world nations and third world nations. And always ask question. The right question, the right question always breeds the right answer, insights and revelations. When Esau discovered there was nothing for him. He asked for just one blessing. Just one. And he got it even though it was a blessing-in-reverse, but at the time he doesn’t care less. I’ve met several youths on my life’s journey asking these questions about life. What life has in stock for them? How to become a success? I write the answer in just three simple steps.

1.       Be restless, hungry-filled and always ask question.

2.       Be a keeper. Save like it’s the last time you’d have the opportunity to.

3.       Never ever be satisfied with your achievement because you can always do more.

If you think you need more information, you can get the book “25 THINGS YOU MUST HAVE BEFORE AGE 25.”

Tobi Delly

OPEN HEAVENS, SEPTEMBER 15, 2013.

Everything that has a beginning also has an end. The only reason God has no end is because He has no beginning. If your problem has a beginning, it must surely end one day. The woman with the issue of blood suffered for 12 years but finally, it came to an end (Mark 5:25-34). In Luke 13:11-13, a woman was sick for 18 years but finally, the sickness ended. In the same vein, the man who was born blind was blind for 40 years but after this, his sight was restored (John 9:1-7). If you can trace the beginning of your problem, then it will surely end. The man at the pool was there for 38 years. He kept hoping for healing kept eluding him. He was looking out for an angel but the creator of angels personally showed up, and that was the day went he went home (John 5:2-9). Have you been expecting a particular breakthrough or healing or deliverance or blessing which has been eluding you over the years? This season, your desire shall be granted. That problem is ending now and your new season begins now!

However, it will amaze you to know that there are some people who do not want anything new. Some of them are afraid that it is better to continue with the impoverished lifestyle they grew up with than to enter a period of abundance that may erode their faith in Christ. Be encouraged and fear not. The new is always better than the old. No matter how good an old car is, it cannot be compared with a new one. Light is far better than darkness. Light is new while darkness is old. Some people have become so used to suffering, lack, failure or barrenness that they have not only adjusted but have also resigned to fate. Don’t! Never accept any condition that God does not want you to live with. Reject it and accept the new and it shall be well with you. Something new is coming your way.

YOUR BRAIN AND THE BIBLE 2 (with Tobi Delly)

What makes the difference when exactly we use the same brain to read and analyze, but we interpret the Bible in different ways according to the challenges we are facing or our present state of mind. The difference is brought about by our perception. We focused more on attention in the last edition but will be focusing more on perception in this section. First, let’s quickly analyze attention. There’s what scientist calls a top-down attention, this is your decision making attention, take a second to look from your bible to the closest doorway.  You’ve taken a conscious decision using your decision-making attention to look away at the doorway. And there’s what scientist call bottom-up attention; this is used to explain when something grabs your attention. E.g. when a phone rings and you think it is your phone. This has shown that in a split second when your focus is shifted from the Bible your brain can be manipulated and you can begin interpreting the Bible in a completely different way from what it should be.

Now this article, “Your brain and the Bible” will only graze what you should know about how your brain takes limited information from your senses to build you a trustworthy reality. And we can’t complete that without talking about our perception. Perception is internal. Most time our perceptions are the same. It is possible to interview a hundred people about a passage in the Bible and they’ll all say the same thing about the passage. Why is this? When you read the Bible, whether your eyes are very sharp or you use glasses, light is transmitted. The light reflected by what you’re reading. I.e. the letters is converted by your eyes into an electrical signal and is sent down a neurological pathway called the optical nerve to the back of your brain. Starting in a region called the visual cortex the image of what you’re reading is cross-referenced with memories of past experience stored throughout your brain as you try to interpret and define what you’re reading. Thus, you can understand why when you were listening to the Radio or watching a channel on Television and you saw a Pastor preaching, and after listening for five minutes you said, oh! This is wrong . . . this man is not preaching the true thing. And you change the channel. Focus, experience, and context are what create the contrast or difference between what the Pastor is reading from the Bible and what the congregation is reading. Therefore, the issue of the Bible is not physical or can be scientifically transmitted or concluded because God works in miraculous and personalized ways. So it’s always good to let your brain be in attunement in Christ. You might not believe it but this determines a lot of things when you are praying to God. What one man can pray to ask God in five minutes, another can ask for one hour. Why? The answer is in our understanding of attention, focus and perception. Last week I explained if you want to read the Bible, then make sure you don’t do anything but read. It is better to read for just five minutes than to stare for one hour just punning through the words. But now am telling you that whenever you’re reading the Bible with all that focus and attention. Don’t analyze, or interpret with your brain. The Bible is a book in existence for over a thousand years now. It is the most complete book you can ever hold with everything in just one book. From mystery, history, mythology, wisdom, proverbs, motivation, to prophecy, gemology, romance, songs, revelations, building, construction, etc. is contained in the Bible. Of recent it was announced a runaway bestseller. So take this book seriously and train your brain not to interpret but listening from the heart what God is really telling you or inspiring you to do. Shalom!