Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me indeed 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.

1 Chronicles 4 :10  (NIV)

This opening scripture is about an ordinary man that showed extraordinary faith…and God answered his prayer.

Jabez is highlighted right in the middle of a long list of names (a geneology) in 1 Chronicles. The only thing we know about him from the previous verse is that his mother named him Jabez because he was born with great pain. Jabez means pain. How would we like it if our mom gave us a name that meant pain? That would give me a self esteem problem! Then we never hear his name again.

Jabez asked God for His POWER in his life. Jabez wanted God to REALLY bless him AND to enlarge his sphere of influence in life (his territory). Apparently God likes those bold kind of prayers because He answered it.

I remember the very first year after my brain injury, a dear friend gave me a little booklet called, ‘The Prayer of Jabez.’ I certainly wanted God’s blessing at that time in my life. Most importantly, I wanted Him to enlarge my territory. Actually…I wanted God to GIVE me a territory…any territory. I had lost so much, it was hard to imagine what the Lord wanted my purpose to be now. How was I supposed to ever help people? They were always helping me!

God answered my prayers a dozen years later when I started teaching exercise classes for seniors. Yes, it’s a job…but it also defines my happiness. Being able to inspire these men & women everyday makes me look forward to Mondays every week. I am finally able to do something good for others. They’ve become like a second family to me. And be assured. I get more from teaching these classes than they get from attending!

What do we want God to do for us? Improve our health, our finances, our marriage, our influence? Just ASK HIM! He wants to give us our heart’s desires! We can expect Him to answer our prayers…many times not in the way we were expecting!

Remember that God is not a genie either. Time usually transpires between our prayer…and God’s response. Life will continue to happen, but keep asking and keep trusting that our heavenly Father’s timing is never wrong. So pray for patience. God is never late. He may even end up changing our heart’s desires.

The 2^nd thing Jabez asks for is God’s PRESENCE in his life. (Let your hand be with me.)

They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”

Luke 7:16  (NIV)

When we ask for God’s power in our life…it will most likely come with added responsibility AND tests. Jabez realized this too. That’s why he prayed for the Lord’s presence to guide him and keep him on the right path.

The 3^rd thing Jabez prayed for was God ‘s PROTECTION in his life.

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Psalm 5:11  (NIV)

With God’s POWER & PRESENCE in his life, it only made sense to also ask for His PROTECTION over his life. Just like us…Jabez was only a man capable of getting full of himself and not thinking of the greater good. So he asks God to keep him from evil and harm that he may not receive OR inflict pain.

The more territory we have…the more successful we are…the more we open ourselves for others to challenge us. They won’t bother us much with just a little bit of influence (a small territory). Jabez was wise to ask God to protect him!

We can do the same! We can ask God to protect our belongings and reputation as we lean into Him…trusting the He will show us how to enlarge our borders by staying in constant contact with God…and expecting Him to protect what we do.

Dear Lord,

Show us how to be influencers for Your kingdom by allowing our personal boundaries to grow. We invite Your presence in our life so we don’t start believing we did it all by ourselves.

We know that all things are possible with You. Help us to never forget the…wih You…part of that promise.

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