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 1st 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.
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