I Chronicles 4: 10…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.
This prayer, particularly the part about enlarging territory, was popular some years back, prompting marketers to make bracelets, coffee cups, tee shirts and the like to promote the idea that all we need to do is pray and God will give us material blessings.
What happened to this notion? I see neither confirmation that Christians are more affluent than their counterpart in the non-Christian world, nor do I see evidence of the once-trendy marketing tools these days. It seems odd that Christian believers who may have diligently prayed that prayer seem to be suffering through this economic crisis at the same rate of non-believers. Perhaps the prayer was not prayed in faith; perhaps that prayer was only meant for Old Testament times; perhaps it’s all a myth. I do wonder if perhaps the prayer we pray in our day should be, not for personal material gain, but for a deeper spiritual relationship with God.
I pray my own paraphrase of this prayer:
Oh, God of Israel, I pray that You would bless me indeed; help me to reach beyond my self-imposed borders to others with the gospel and for Your Kingdom; may I walk in Your presence each moment today; keep me from the evils of this world; may I never cause harm or pain to those whose lives touch mine.
Another odd tidbit: the name Jabez means “sorrow”. We must be sorrowful for our sins before we can expect the joy of Christ to reach out beyond those self-imposed borders.
It is not about what we have…the things that feed our greed; it is about the advancement of God’s Kingdom. It’s not about me; it’s about Him. Pray to be more and more like Christ and God will, indeed, grant you what you request.
