The book of 1 Chronicles begins with chapters of genealogy all the way back to the very first man, Adam. Long lists of strange names that today seem rather unimportant to us. 4 chapters in, after reading over names of fathers and their sons, sprinkled with a few wives and daughters names, there’s a surprising detail included about one man that truly stands out. Tucked in the middle of genealogical lists, it seems almost out of place. He wasn’t a king. He wasn’t a mighty warrior. He was a man who prayed.

1 Chronicles 4: 9-10, “There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “‘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.”

And that’s it. After this verse, we go right back to genealogical lists of long strange names. If you’re skimming through, just trying to check this book of the Bible off your list, you’ll miss it. Today, we’re not missing it.

Why would God’s word include this otherwise seemingly unimportant man’s prayer? Why would his prayer be preserved for us to read today?

In the early 2000’s, I was given the gift of a tiny book called “The Prayer of Jabez”. This book was kept in our hall bathroom to let guests know we were “spiritual people”. I read the book, and began praying the prayer as if it were some sort of hidden key to unlock the storehouses of heaven, and after a few days of nothing major happening, I forgot about it.

The Prayer of Jabez became a popular prayer for people seeking material blessings. A sort of ‘name it and claim it’ prayer that seemed to be working for others, but wasn’t quite paying my mortgage. Was I not doing it right? Not praying it enough? Not really believing?

All these years later on my spiritual journey, I come back to that prayer of a man named Jabez and I see it completely different. He wasn’t a man with a secret key to the riches of heaven, he was a man seeking God for guidance and making his life fully available to be used for the purposes of God … and to that, GOD GRANTS HIS REQUEST.

I must admit, my prayers began from a place of wanting something from God. And my sister, it’s okay if your prayers are there right now. Our God is such a good, good Father. He understands his daughter who comes to him for blessings, and he also knows he has sooooo much more for his girl! Oh how he is patient with us through our selfish seasons. Oh how he graciously allows our prayers to start wrong, and grows us to make them right.

The prayer of Jabez isn’t a hidden formula of magic words to be repeated for mysterious miracles. The prayer of this honorable man of faith is an example of God’s work within us to align our hearts to his. Jabez isn’t trying to get something from God, Jabez is calling on God to help him accomplish the promises of God in his life.

God has promises for you. Promises of purpose. Promises of grace and mercy. Promises of joy and fulfillment. Promises of peace and power. It’s time to learn how to pray for God to help you live in the fullness of his promises.

The prayer of Jabez pleased God, and God granted his requests. His heart was right. His desires were pure. He wasn’t reciting magical words, he was trusting fully in God’s goodness and power. So, let’s look at the 5 parts of Jabez’s prayer:

1. Before he speaks a word, he knows who God really is. He is the Lord. He is all powerful. He is untouchable, yet approachable. He is high above all, yet he bends down to hear the whispered prayers of the soul seeking him as Lord. Jabez believed God moved in response to his humble prayers.

2. “Oh that YOU would bless me, indeed.” Jabez recognizes all blessings come from God. We don’t need the blessings of anyone or anything else, only God. All that is good, right, working and coming together in your life is from God alone. You didn’t create it. It wasn’t luck. You can’t earn your blessings. And you cannot sustain your blessings. They continue only by the grace of God. If you have that blessing again today, it was held in place by the mighty unseen hand of God. That’s a miracle.

My friends, we already have our miracles. We’re always looking for the next miracle, but life itself is a miracle already. None of this would be ours if God wouldn’t have ordained it and held it in place for us.

Blessings are God’s to give. When he gives them, let us be grateful we have them. And when the time for those blessings has passed, let us be grateful we had them.

Blessings teach us to hold life with an open hand. We don’t control them and we can’t force them to remain. Blessings flow from heaven, and only God knows what is coming next. Keep your hands open and see the blessings from God as they flow.

3. “Enlarge my territory.” This is where we get a little confused. God give me more. More money. More business. A bigger house. More followers. Give me more.

Honestly, that’s a hard prayer for God to answer because it reveals a heart that’s chasing after things of the world. And our Father, in all of his wisdom, knows the world will only leave us wanting more and trading our lives to get it.

Jabez wasn’t praying “God, give me more”, he was praying, “God, use me more.”

Lord, use me more for your purposes. This is a surrender of your time, your talent and your treasures to be used fully by God. Lord, less of me, more of you! I give you everything, now reveal to me what I’m still holding back. Show me what is getting in the way. Go to work on my heart, Lord, so I can be used more by you for your purposes.

Mother Theresa prayed every day a beautiful little prayer that goes like this:

“Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Shine on others through me.”

Mother Theresa and Jabez’s prayers sound different, but at the heart they are they same … God, use me more. That’s a prayer God grants!

4. “That your hand would be with me and keep me from evil.” Jabez seeks God to be in every moment of his day. He’s seeking the Lord’s presence and guidance.

And here’s what Jabez knows – he knows blessings become curses if God is not guiding them. How many times have we seen fame and fortune absolutely destroy a good person? We get the blessing, then the blessing gets us. Lord, we need your hand on us in our blessings to keep us from evil.

I don’t care how good you are, you have the potential of evil within you. In the past year, I’ve seen some of the best, most generous and genuine people get twisted with evil and lose their way. Never think it couldn’t happen to you. The devil is always looking for the cracked door to sneak into your life and twist things.

Lord, please keep me from evil. I know I’m not too good for it or above the tricks of the enemy. Only with you can I live this life well and stay on the right path. Be so careful with your statements of “Oh, I would never …”, lest you one day catch yourself “never-ing like never before”.

5. “That I may not cause pain.” To understand this part of Jabez’s prayer, look back to our introduction of him. Scripture says his mother named him Jabez, which means “born with pain”. A name was very important. It says who you were and who you would become. He was labeled with the shame of causing great pain. So, the genuine prayer of Jabez comes to God letting go of past shame and guilt. His prayer invites God’s glory into his weakness.

Lord, I don’t want to be who I used to be. I don’t want to do what I used to do. I don’t want to be held back by my past. Use my weakness for your glory. Be in my story.

And now we see, the prayer of Jabez is far from a name it and claim it prayer. It’s not about riches. It’s not about getting more. It’s about surrendering your life fully to be used more by God. It’s about asking God to help you live in the fullness of his promises.

With a heart that is right, recognizing the power and glory of our good God, we pray together:

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!

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