Wednesday, March 21, 2001
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Wednesday, March 21, 2001 |
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We can all learn from the 'Prayer of Jabez' By REV JOHN HATCHER Bruce Wilkinson, founder of Walk Through the Bible Ministry, has become very effective in calling the church's attention to two verses of the Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 4: 10,11. The two verses contain what Wilkinson has popularized in a book as The Prayer of Jabez. The New American Standard Bible (Update Edition) translates the two verses as: "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, 'Because I bore him with pain.' Now Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm that it may not pain me.' And God granted him what he requested." Get a hold of this prayer: Lord, bless me a lot; Lord, enlarge the area of my influence; Lord, keep your hand on me; and Lord, protect me from all danger. Now this is the kind of prayer that anyone living on the planet would love to pray. Can you just see the Christian realtor praying, "Lord, bless me with a lot of new sales this month and Lord, give me more listings more than I have ever had." Can you hear the Christian office worker praying, "Lord give me a raise in salary and make it such that my boss listens to me more concerning the daily operations of the office." Will you look in on Christian parents praying on their knees, "Lord, give us more influence with our children as they make life-altering decisions." Who would not want to pray, "Lord, keep me in safety as I travel, as my family goes to school and work, as my enemies plot against me. Keep me safe, Lord." How about a pastor praying, "Lord, enlarge my church that we would be more effective in proclaiming the Gospel. Lord, give me more influence with my board. Lord, keep your hand of blessings on our church." What makes the prayer of Jabez so very inticing and inviting comes at the very end of the two verses, "And God granted him (Jabez) what he requested." I hear Christians all over the country saying, "Let me pray that prayer!" But! And this is a strong "but." We have to direct our attention to the character of Jabez: the Bible says he was "more honorable than his brothers." The word "honorable" in Hebrew (as that's the language of the Old Testament) carries with it the meaning of being a "heavy weight." Jabez was a heavy weight in God's eyes. He was not a light weight capable of being carried about by every kind of wind blowing through the church or community. Jabez, as a heavyweight, had spent time with God. He knew something of the character of God. He didn't blush in asking God for favors for he and God had a relationship. He also had a reputation outside of his relationship with God. His fellow believers knew him to be a man of integrity and faith. So, in praying the prayer of Jabez, let us all be willing to be the price of God granting what we request. In 2 Chronicles, there's a dynamic verse that promises healing for our beloved America: "If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray, seeking my face, and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land"(2 Chronicles 7:14). These verses found in the Chronicles promise so much, but their requirement are also so much. "Lord, give us hearts that hunger after your heart and tongues that give honor to your kingdom, and lives that are lived nobly before you and our brothers and sisters."
The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville. |
