Prayer of Jabez Answered

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. – I Chronicles 4:9-10

Some of you might remember when “the prayer of Jabez” was a thing. A book had been written on the subject, suggesting that this was the kind of prayer that pleases God, that we should all be praying daily. I do like Jabez’s boldness in coming out and just saying what he wanted.

“Oh, that you would bless me!” Jabez made this request, with no apparent long introductory speech, long before Jesus encouraged His disciples simply to “Ask, and you shall receive.” Such a prayer shows Jabez’s faith not only that God could bless him but also the confidence that He would bless him, in whatever way He willed. That confidence in God’s goodness must have pleased Him.

“Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm …” Again, Jabez prayed in a way similar to Jesus’s model prayer, “Deliver us from evil.”

“… so that I will be free from pain” has also been translated, “that I may not cause pain.” That second interpretation makes more sense to me, since Jabez was given a name that sounded like the Hebrew word for “pain,” apparently what his mother remembered about giving him birth. I can see where such a name would make a virtuous man plead with God not to let him cause any more pain to anyone.

But the part of this simple, one-verse prayer that caught my attention and has stayed with me all these years is where Jabez prayed that the Lord would “enlarge my territory!” Did Jabez just want more land? Maybe. Maybe he was just continuing with the “ask and you shall receive” theme. But I believe it was much more than mere ambition or greed.

When I envision the “territory” of a believer, I picture that person’s sphere of influence, the reach of his or her ministry.

When I was a young wife and mom, my “territory” was largely our home. I had three little people to raise up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” From the basic tasks of diapering them, feeding them, rocking them to sleep, and caring for them when they were sick, to singing to them, reading to them, having daily devotions with them, disciplining them, and modeling the Christian faith, my “territory” was limited but of great importance.

When I taught school, my territory expanded to the classroom. I now had influence over other people’s children as well as my own, and I remember regularly praying for my students by name. More times than I can relate, the dialogue with them seemed to be guided by Someone Else in the classroom, and I would silently thank Him as I could see the eyes of some light up with new insights.

Writing has expanded my territory considerably. Whether I was writing a short story for a Christian magazine, a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, or posting something on social media, I saw myself planting seeds that God would possibly see fit to grow in individuals I’d never met, in ways that I may not know until I meet them in eternity. I had similar thoughts when I would call in to a radio show to present a perspective none of the other callers had yet brought up.

When the Lord began to lead me into writing books (My first book started with a dream.), I found a new way to be used to reach people, although feedback from readers of books is fewer and farther between than comments on Facebook posts.

Blogging opened up a whole new world for me – being able to reach people all over the planet and communicate with them in a matter of minutes. It gave me an expanded view of the “territory” I had been assigned. God can communicate messages through me to anyone He chooses!

.., as long as they can read English.

Some years ago, I was befriended on Facebook by a pastor in India named Lalit, whose passion was to bring the gospel to “the least of these.” His ministry was to the poorest of the poor, outcasts, prostitutes, and prisoners. He had seen that I was a Christian author and inquired about my books. Loving the idea of my books being in India, I sent him a copy of each of my books and later learned that he was using them in some of his sermons.

In India there are not a lot of Bible colleges, and where they do exist, most people can’t afford to go. Consequently, aspiring pastors often go online for their “training,” some of which is insufficient, some of which is downright heretical! Lalit found this disturbing and started a ministry to teach what the Bible really says – in context! – with free weekend conferences. He teaches the men, feeds them, houses them, and in some cases, even pays for their transportation there.

Here’s what blew me away. Lalit told me (apologetically, because he had not asked my permission) that he was using my book BARRIERS (So, if prayers are so powerful, how come mine don’t get answered?) as a textbook, since barriers to prayer have always been the same barriers to a relationship with God that is biblical and God-centered, as opposed to self-centered. At the time about thirty of his students were proficient in English, so I sent him thirty copies of BARRIERS. I have sent more copies since then, but for years Lalit has been dreaming of having BARRIERS available in Odia, the language of the other people in his region.

And now,

[drumroll …]

It has been translated into this beautiful language. My “territory” (potential access) has been expanded by another 48 million people.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for answering our prayers, even those that are not eloquent. You want to do so much more for us and in us than we can imagine or put into words. You are amazing. Help us to stay in the center of Your will and cooperate with all Your plans, whether or not we know where they are going. In Jesus’ name, amen.