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…”
But let’s look at his final request-
D. HIS FOURTH REQUEST
“Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, AND THAT THOU WOULDEST KEEP ME FROM EVIL, THAT IT MAY NOT GRIEVE ME! And God granted him that which he requested.”
He recognized something that a lot of folks do not recognize,
EVIL DOES NOT BRING GOOD THINGS INTO OUR LIFE, IT ONLY BRINGS BAD THINGS!
We have ample proof of that, just look around you and see the:
• Homes that evil has destroyed
• Churches that evil has destroyed
• Lives that evil has destroyed
• Careers that evil has destroyed
Evil has never brought nothing but misery to mankind.
It may bring momentarily pleasure, but the pleasure is short lived.
SOMEONE SAID, SIN ALWAYS COMES WITH A BIG PRICE TAG!
It always comes on the LAYAWAY PLAN. That is, SIN NOW and PAY LATER!
Jabez had come to recognize that evil will DESTROY OUR LIVES.
Notice, he prays for God to KEEP HIM FROM EVIL. WHY?
He says, “That it may not grieve me!”
He is simply telling God that he knows what sin will do to him. He wants God to keep the evil that would grieve him out of his life.
We have looked at THE REQUESTS, but also let’s look at-
II. THE REQUIREMENT
In order for God to grant our requests, there are some requirements we must meet.
Look at Psalm 1:1-6, we read, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Who wants to be blessed of God? Your presence here indicates your interest in God's blessing, your desire to be blessed of the Lord.
But just wanting the blessings of God is not enough, there are requirements we must meet.
• I want to remind you that the Bible says, in verse 10, “And God granted him that which he requested.”
• Notice, before the Word of God tells us that God granted all these REQUESTS in verse 10, the Bible tells us in verse 9, “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren.”
Here is the point I want to make; God is not going to BLESS THE UNGODLY!
A. THE FIRST STEP TO GOD'S BLESSINGS IS SALVATION
Now I hear lost people say, “I pray all the time for God to bless me!” But they fail to understand that God’s Word says, “IF I REGARD INIQUITY IN MY HEART THE LORD WILL NOT HEAR ME!”
If you want the blessings of God on your life, the first thing you need to do is become HIS CHILD.
B. THE SECOND STEP TO GOD'S BLESSINGS IS TO WALK RIGHT
Look at Psalm 1:1, we read, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
Listen, you can not have the blessings of God in your life if you are walking, standing and sitting around with the ungodly.
Many folks are wondering why they do not have the blessings of God on their life, and it is simply because God can not bless them because they:
• Hang out with the wrong kind of people
• Read the wrong kinds of books and magazines
• Watch the wrong kinds of things on television
Why do you think they call some of these shows on television TRASH SHOWS? It is because that is what they do on these programs, they dump TRASH into your homes!
Why do you think they call these afternoon shows SOAPS? It is because after you watch them, you feel so dirty that you feel you need to get a bar of soap and clean off the trash they have dumped on you.
If you want the blessings of God on your life, you are going to have to decide that YOU WANT THE BLESSINGS OF GOD MORE THAN YOU WANT THESE SINFUL THINGS AND SINFUL PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE!
God can not bless us SITTING IN THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL.
Our delight is in verse 2, we read, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” We find DELIGHT in the things of God. Look at verse 3, we read, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Conclusion:
Illus: On July 20, 1993, while cutting down oaks in a Pennsylvania forest, Don Wyman got his leg pinned beneath a fallen tree. No one could hear his cries for help.
After digging for more than an hour to try to free his bleeding, shattered leg, he hit stone. He would bleed to death unless he did something drastic.
Wyman made his decision. Using a wrench and the starter cord from his chain saw as a tourniquet, he cut off the flow of blood to his shin. Somehow he had the fortitude to amputate his own leg below the knee with his pocket knife. He crawled to his vehicle and drove to a farmer's home. The farmer got him the help that saved his life. (Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 1.)
This a decision that Don Wyman had to make. It was a difficult one; did he want to live or stay there and die.
The decision for you today is this:
• Do you want the sin in your life that is there today?
• Do you want the blessings of God more than the sin?
If you choose sin, then you need to realize this; you are going to spend the one life you have without the blessings of God.
If you choose the latter, you can pray this same prayer that Jabez prayed, and God will grant your request also.
We have looked at:
I. THE REQUESTS (Part 1)
II. THE REQUIREMENT
