Getting Our Requests Granted 2 Of 2

Why do I call this prayer a pearl? Because a pearl is found in unlikely places.

This prayer is found in a very unlikely place.

The Book of Chronicles is the official family tree of the tribes of ancient Israel. In fact, there are nine chapters of “so and so begat so and so.”

Most of as, we read through our Bibles, just skip over them because we consider them to be boring.

Illus: One man said, “These chapters are as exciting as watching paint dry on a wall.”

In the middle of these nine chapters, we come to 1 Chronicles 4, where we find Jabez and his famous prayer.

That is why I say this prayer is a pearl; it is found in a most unusual place in the scriptures, and I want to share it with you.

• Only God knows how many sermons have been preached from this honorable man’s prayer.

• Only God know how many books have been written about this great man’s prayer.

We have already looked at the first petition of this prayer. He prayed, “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed.”

This petition taught us a number of important things, such as:

(1) WE SHOULD PRAY FOR THE BLESSINGS OF GOD ON OUR LIFE

Certainly we should pray for God to bless others, but we also need to ask God to bless us. We can not survive or function in life without the blessings of God.

Every day of our life, we have to take time to pray for OTHERS, and for OURSELVES!

Illus: I am reminded of the woman who prayed one morning:

“Dear Lord, So far today, I am doing all right.

• I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, nasty, selfish, or self-indulgent.

• I have not whined, complained, cursed, or eaten any chocolate.

• I have not charged anything on my credit card.

• However, I am going to get out of bed in a few minutes, and I will need a lot more help after that!

...Amen.”

This prayer teaches us that we need to pray for the BLESSINGS OF GOD ON OUR LIFE!

(2) WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT UPON GOD FOR HIS BLESSINGS

Illus: I am reminded of the little boy that was saying his prayers one night, and he prayed:

“Dear God,

• Take care of Mommy

• Take care of Daddy

• Take care of my brothers

• Take care of my sisters

And dear God, take care of yourself, because if anything happens to you, we are sunk!”

Jabez’s prayers show that he is dependent upon God.

We have looked at two of the four things that Jabez had prayed for, but let’s consider-

C. HIS THIRD REQUEST

“Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and THAT THINE HAND MIGHT BE WITH ME,”

There is an old saying that is still very true, and that is, “The hands that rock the cradle rules the world.”

Of course this speaks of the influence of a mother on her child.

There is no greater human influence then the influence of a mother.

• She can mold and shape a child for good

• She can mold and shape a child for evil

• She can shape the child she holds in her hands into anything she desires

Illus: When Scott Peterson brutally killed his wife Lacy and their unborn baby, everyone wanted to understand how a man could do such a thing. Many people who have researched his life, believe that much of the evil in this man came from his mother.

The old saying is so true, “The hands that rock the cradle rules the world.”

Oh, I am not saying that dad does not have a place in the child’s life, I just trying to make a point here of how much of an impact the mother has on a child.

But the greatest hand on a person’s life is the HAND OF GOD.

God’s hand can be WITH us or AGAINST us. This is why Jabez is praying that the hand of almighty God might be with him.

This is why Jabez prayed, “AND THAT THINE HAND MIGHT BE WITH ME…”

• God’s hand can open doors that have been shut and seem to be impossible to open

• God’s hand can shut doors that seem to be impossible to shut

Every day, God controls everything in this universe:

• He decides when the sun will shine

• He decides when the rain will fall

• He decides when the sun will set

• He decides when the wind will blow

• He decides when the stars can be seen

• He decides who will sit in the White House

HIS HAND CONTROLS EVERYTHING

No wonder that Jabez, realizing how mighty God is, prays, “AND THAT THINE HAND MIGHT BE WITH ME…”