Tag: Prayer of Jabez

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.

[1 Chronicles 4:9-10]

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.

One final reflection on the Prayer of Jabez.

The scant bio for Jabez, describes him as a good man, saying he “was more righteous than his brothers.”  Righteous is a word that we don’t use too often nowadays but means to be morally upright.  Jabez then was a good, morally upright person.

Now, consider that characteristic with the final phrase in this passage, “So God granted him what he requested.”

That begs the question of causality.  Did God give Jabez what he asked for because Jabez was good or was Jabez good because God gave him what he asked for?

The answer, I suspect is “yes” — to both questions — which certainly gives us something to contemplate in respect to our prayers and relationship to God.

[Read more on The Prayer of Jabez and see 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.

After Jabez’s short and concise prayer comes encouraging words of confirmation and affirmation.  The Bible simply notes that “God granted him what he requested.”  How exciting!

Although I don’t know the mind of God, I suspect that had Jabez made his requests for selfish reasons, the results may have been different.

Indeed this is something to consider in our own prayers.  If we see things through God’s perspective and pray accordingly, the outcome will likely be different than when we selfishly give God our list of “gimmes.”

[Read more on The Prayer of Jabez and see 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.

The fifth and final line in Jabez’s prayer is

“that I may not cause pain.”

At first glance this is an unclear and somewhat wordy request.  However, it can be reworded for clarity.  To not cause pain, is simply to do good.

Here Jabez is reminding himself — as much as he is telling God — that the purpose of his prayer is not self-serving or self-centered, but to do good for others.  Indeed, his first two requests address this desire directly, while the next two are to provide for help and protection in doing so.

His motives are pure and his intentions are good.  His prayer’s conclusion confirms that.

[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.

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.

After Jabez asks for blessings so that he could be a blessing to others, he then adds:

“and enlarge my territory”

In Bible times, territory meant power via increased authority, responsibility, and influence.

As, such, a request for “more territory” is not a petition for more “stuff,” as much as a metaphor implying greater authority, responsibility, and influence.  Again, this is for the purpose of benevolence, to help and aid others, not to be used selfishly or for personal gain.

Jabez wanted to have greater authority to assist those in need of an advocate, to be responsible to aid those who were less fortunate, and to positively influence his culture.

That is the good and proper use of power — and Jabez asked God to give it to him.

[Read more on The Prayer of Jabez; 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.]

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.