Faith

by Debbie Wallis

battle or erect a great building, he prayed a simple prayer His prayer was in four parts: He prayed that God would bless him He prayed that God would enlarge his territory He prayed that God’s hand would be upon him and he prayed that God would keep him from evil

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bore him in pain ' 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," 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.

The Hebrew meaning of Jabez is pain His mother had great pain during childbirth and obviously she never let him forget it! Sometimes parents still do similar things by rehearsing the disappointments they have felt with their children, and the pain it has caused them. Jabez seemed to come from a dysfunctional family, with a mother who brought guilt on her children But in spite of all that, he overcame the obstacles created by his childhood The Bible says that he was an honorable man more honorable than the rest of his family That speaks of Jabez heart for the Lord over riding his negative childhood.

The verse on Jabez is buried in a long list of genealogies I have to admit I’ve either slept through or skipped over those verses until the book written by Bruce Wilkinson entitled, The Prayer of Jabez was published The list of names goes on for nine chapters in 1 Chronicles. It is significant that what Jabez is remembered for is not some outstanding achievement, but a prayer He didn’t win a great

The Lord said to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing,” Genesis 12:12 Jabez prayed for God to bless him He wanted God’s blessing on his life He wasn’t worried about being viewed as selfish; he wanted God’s best and believed that God wanted to give it to him. Jabez desired the blessing of God so he might be a blessing to the world The Bible tells us that our whole reason for existence is to be a blessing to God and a blessing to the world You are not here for you The world does not revolve around you Your whole purpose for existence is to be a blessing to others After you were saved it that was all it was about God would have taken you instantly to be with Him. As a Christian, your purpose is to live in such a way that it directs others to Jesus

I have read through the Bible numerous times and know many others who have, also It does no good unless you are using what you have learned to bring honor to God. If it is not creating a new passion within you to know God better and serve Him more effectively, then please ask yourself why not If you aren’t closer to God this year than you were at the beginning of the year, then somehow you have missed the blessing of God’s Word Pray that God would bring a new fire in your soul, a passion for Him, a desire to serve Him, and a desire to have your life be a blessing to the people you do life with. Being a miserable, sad or mad Christian is an oxymoron in my opinion What would a miserable, sad or mad nonbeliever need from your God if your life is just as bad as his/hers? The surest sign that you are a growing Christian is that you have a growing love for people. Our lives become shallow and self-centered when we wake thinking of ourselves and lay down thinking of ourselves Have a purpose larger than yourself and God will surely use you

Jabez prayed that God would enlarge his territory Jabez was from the tribe of Judah, which was the ruling class among the

Hebrews. To increase his territory meant that his people would have more area to live in and that he would have more people to serve as a leader He wasn’t thinking of himself, he was thinking about the welfare of others A leader is a servant of other people Our culture has gotten that reversed Our president is a public servant along with all government position from small town USA to Washington, DC Jabez wanted to be used by God Pray for God to enlarge your life and your domain of influence Ask Him for something so big that you cannot possibly do it by yourself Ask Him to enlarge your territory. In a time of great discouragement, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah saying, “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes,” God wants to use you beyond your circumstances Jabez prayed for God’s hand to be upon him Jabez knew that what he was praying for was bigger than what he could accomplish himself. He was praying for something so big that only the hand of God on his life could accomplish it Pray for the hand of God to be on your life so that you can accomplish something great for Him When it comes to pass, you and everyone else will have no doubt that it was God who made it happen.

Jabez prayed that God would keep him from evil The New King James is my favorite, “Keep me from evil that I might not cause pain ” Jabez’s name meant pain and he was praying for that to never happen again He not only was tired of being asso i t d with pain but he longed for legacy. He wanted his life blessing. He wanted to be protected from the harm of by not sinning Jabez knew sin causes pain It brings p into the life of the one who commits it, and it brings pa the lives of those whom the was committed against

“The Lord saw how bad the people on earth were and th everything they thought and planned was evil The Lord was grieved that He had made them,” Genesis 6:5-6 Sin grieves God Look at what Jesus paid on the cross for our sin The cross was an instrument of torture Sin caused Jesus physical pain He was naked and the flesh on His back and chest had been shredded by Roman whips His body was filthy from the jail where He was kept There were deep bruises from the beatings and a painful crown of thorns caused blood from His head to stream down His body God poured upon Him the sin of the world and separated Himself from the Son. Sin causes pain. David said, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You,” Psalms 119:11 Jesus taught us to pray like Jabez in the Lord’s Prayer, “And do not lead us to temptation but deliver us from evil ” Matthew 6:13

Sin causes pain It may seem worth it for a season but havoc plays out in the consequences. Sin takes you were you wouldn’t think you would go and keeps you longer than you wanted to be It’s like a cancer eating its way through your life It will strip you of God’s blessing and destroy your effectiveness It will tear apart your relationships and leave you alone It will alienate you from God

“Don’t be afraid I am with you Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with My arm and give you victories,” Isaiah 41:10 Whatever you have done, where ever you have been, God is for you Change your life in one short conversation with your creator then spend your life following after Him to change your effectiveness on this mission field of earth He is just a prayer away and He hears all heartfelt requests. He listens to your heart but desires for you to express it with your words

“ So God granted him what he requested," 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

If you don’t have a Bible please contact me at sfadebbie@yahoo com and I will provide you one