The third line of Jabez’s prayer is:
“that Your hand would be with me”
Having just asked God for greater blessing — in order to bless others — and more influence — in order to help others — Jabez realizes that he needs God’s direction and guidance so that he may proceed wisely and justly.
Indeed, having more blessing and more power can easily become a heady thing, distracting or even corrupting the recipient, but Jabez, being aware of this risk, makes his third petition one of soliciting God guiding hand.
[Read more on The Prayer of Jabez and 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, NKJV.]
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
