Pray Such That God Answers

1 Chronicles 4:9-10: 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.

Many prayers are recorded in the scripture;

- intercessory prayer of Abraham for Sodom and Gomorroh

- Moses for the nation of Israel

- Jesus taught his disciples to prayer

- Prayer of Solomon during the dedication of the temple

This is a prayer of a man named Jabez.

Many believers do not know that there is a man named Jabez in the Bible because there are only two verses about him in the whole of the Bible and these two verses also appear lost in the list of genealogies all the way back from Adam (ch 1:1) and so many of us just skip these pages without reading.

However, amidst this list of genealogies appear a beautiful prayer of a man named Jabez.

Who is this Jabez and why does he pray this prayer?

Although there are only two verses about Jabez, they tell us a great deal about him.

He belonged to the nation of Israel and probably to the royal tribe of Judah since he appears in a list of people from Judah. We know he had some brothers because the Bible tells us he was more honourable than his brothers.

There are over 500 names mentioned in 1 Chronicles chapters 1 through 9. In the first eight verses of chapter 4, 44 names are mentioned, all without commentary and then for whatever reason the Spirit of the Lord makes mention of man named Jabez. And then after writing about 71 words about this man, the list of people without comment or commentary continues.

There are so many people who live and die without really accomplishing anything. In fact, the scripture does not specify one meaningful thing done by the man who lived the longest years, Methuselah (969 years).

But when you get to chapter 4 of 1 Chronicles, the Word of God pauses to tell us a few things about him. Centuries have gone and we are still meditating about this man.

What made him so special?

Was he a great prophet or preacher, like Isaiah or Jeremiah?

Was he a wise ruler over the great nation of Israel like Solomon?

Was he a man of war like David?

No.

What made him special was the prayer that he prayed.

Before meditating on his prayer, let us first look at his name.

I am sure all of you would agree with me that names are very important. Do we give any random names to our kids? No. We always seek for the meaning of the name and give a name that has a good meaning. A name is our identity and as parents, we care for a children’s identity. In fact, it is common believed that our name reveals our character.

- Nabal – his name means “A fool.” And so was he.

1 Samuel 25:25 - Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

- David’s name which means “Beloved”

He was beloved of the Lord and the beloved king of Israel.

- Jacob means supplanter or one who tricks – We all know the story of how he tricked his brother for his birthright and his father for his blessings.

There are also instances in the Bible when God changed people’s names to give them a new identity and reflect His specific mission for their life.

- God changed Abram’s name to Abraham meaning "father of a multitude" (Genesis 17:5) and his wife’s name from “Sarai” to Sarah meaning “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:15). And today, Jews and Muslims claim Abraham to be their father. We, Christians, call Abraham as our father of faith.

- God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel” (Genesis 32:28).

- Jesus changed Simon’s name to “Peter,” "rock" (John 1:42).

Coming to Jabez, what does his name mean.

We read in verse 9 that his mom named him “Jabez” because of the pain he caused her at childbirth. Was it because her labour pain and delivery was hard or was it because times were hard for her at the time of his birth?

We are not sure of the exact reason. However, one thing is certain, Jabez entered the world at a sorrowful moment in the life of his mother. So much so, that she goes on to name her baby - PAIN