In my prior post, I made a couple of tweaks to the prayer of Jabez. The original text reads:
Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
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.
Consider my paraphrase:
Jabez was a man of honor and integrity, but his mother had nicknamed him “hemorrhoid’ and always called him a pain in the butt” because his birth was so painful.
Jabez pleaded with God: “Bless me abundantly — so that I may bless others — and grant me much influence; keep me on the right track, so that I may do good things, and no longer be viewed as a pain in the butt!” And God said “yes!” to his petition.
That’s what the prayer of Jabez means to me.
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.
