Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 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. 1 Chronicles 4: 9, 10, NKJV.
Dear God, please teach us how to pray, and may the words of our mouth, and the meditation of our hearts be accepted in Your sight, Oh God, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
As we continue our study on the life and prayer of Jabez, there is not much information on which to build. Yesterday we spoke about his name, what it meant, and what, if any, effect, it may have had on his life. Because of the nature of his prayer, it would seem that Jabez had been seeking a change of heart and life when he offered this prayer, and his change came, his breakthrough came, his destiny changed, when, “ God granted him what he requested.”
Today, let us look at this life-changing prayer: “ ‘ “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!” This is a rather short, but significant prayer. I do not know from which angle Dr. Wilkinson, the author of the bestseller, The Prayer of Jabez, developed his analysis of the prayer. I will, however, share my thoughts on this prayer with you, in a rather summarized form.
“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory[.]” There is so much that can be said about a blessing. Blessings bring about changes in our lives – positive changes. It is a wonderful thing to pronounce blessings on our loved ones. In the act of blessing, the power of our words becomes very evident. Yesterday, while in conversation with the mother of a little girl, she shared with me how her daughter reacted to the act of blessing. Whenever she would call her (she is less than two years old) for a blessing, her little daughter would come and bow her head before her mother and wait for her to place her hands on her head, and bless her. The hope of receiving something special, was evidenced by her posture.
Peaple receive hope, encouragement, and power, when someone blesses them. Many blessings are pronounced. They are in the form of a wish. In Numbers 6 we find a typical example of a blessing:
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ” ‘ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘ ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: ‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”’ ” ‘ ” ‘ “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them” ‘ ” (Numbers 6: 22-26). Emphasis supplied.
Notice what God said about the effect of that spoken blessing, in pronouncing the blessing, “they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” They were declaring that God would bless, keep, make His face shine upon them, be gracious to them, lift up His countenance upon them, and give them peace. He would be their keeper by day and night. The light of His approval would shine upon them. They would be the recipients of His grace. He would look upon them and give them peace. It was a complete overshadowing of the Almighty upon His people. They were to request the blessing, and God would bless them!
Could it be that we do not see more blessings bestowed on our loved ones because we are asking, but not declaring, these blessings upon them? Jabez asked God to bless him, and according to Scripture, “God granted him what he requested.” God speaking through Moses, to Aaron and his sons, told them what to say to Israel, “and I will bless them.”
So the blessing begins to flow when we, First – Request the blessing! Second – Declare it! In the case of Jabez, he asked God to bless him, then he call the desired blessing by name: “Enlarge my territory.” This was a part of the desired blessing. I believe that, in keeping within the context, he probably was referring to property, most likely. But applied to someone else, it could mean, enlarge my ministry; or, extend my scope of influence to do good. Or, increase my finances.
Tomorrow we will look at some other areas of blessing in this prayer.