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
Imagine being called Pain by everyone. He probably would have been a mockery among his friends. In fact, his prayer reflects the pain he had to deal with when growing up.
Jabez prayer:
Let’s concentrate on this prayer he prayed.
His prayer uncovers the fact that he was not very happy with things the way they were.
Let me meditate on four aspects in this prayer of Jabez,
1. Oh, that you would bless me!
It was probably his cry to God saying, ‘Lord, I am tired of the pain and I want to be called blessed - not pain!’
Everybody in this world definitely wants to live a bless life. Nobody likes to live a cursed life and Jabez wanted to break the curse on him which was “pain!”
He wanted God to bless him despite what his name meant. In fact, it is the desire of the Lord to bless His people. Numbers 24:1 says - It pleased the Lord to bless Israel.
Jabez was also aware that God would bless him if he just asked for it. James 4:2b says ‘you do not have because you do not ask.’
Illustration - There was a man who died and went to heaven. An angel took him to various places in heaven. There was particularly one spot that caught his attention. That spot had many boxes; each box labelled with a name of a person. He anxiously began to search for a box with his name. And true enough, there was a box with his name. He opened the box and was shocked to find all the blessings that he so desperately wanted when he was on earth. Furiously, he asked the angel why he wasn’t granted them when he was on earth. The angel simply replied, ‘It’s because you never asked for them.’
How sad! Many of us lose our blessings simply because we do not sit at the feet of God for them. We try all human ways possible to be blessed but fail to do the most important thing – taking it to God in prayer.
Wasn’t it true in the life of Jacob? He desperately wanted blessings. He cheated Easu for the blessings of the birthright, he cheated his father for his blessings. But then he had to run to his uncle Laban who cheated him more than he did. He didn’t feel blessed. He had to run away from Laban with his family only to know that Esau was coming with 400 men. He realized that all his efforts to stay blessed were a failure. But now for the first time, he set aside his family, and he cried out to God for blessing. His plea was so desperate. He cried out – I will not leave you unless you bless me. He struggled all night with God. Finally, as the day broke, he got what he wanted. He was no more Jacob, a deceiver. He was Israel – the blessed one. So blessed that a nation is named after him.
We need to ask God. Matt 7:7 - Ask and it shall be given
Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.
Does God give us everything that we ask for?
1 John 5:14 - Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
We need to ask according to His will. It is the will of God that we are blessed. But not if we envy our brothers and pray out of jealousy, it will not be heard. God doesn’t hear prayers for destroying anyone. Even if someone wrongs us, God tells us that we must not curse them but bless them.
2. Enlarge my territory!
Jabez wanted to reach out beyond. Many a times, we think that it refers to property and land. However, enlarging the territory means much more. It refers to greater influence, more opportunities and responsibilities.
We must pray God to expand our influence on others in such a way that we can impact many lives for the glory of God.
John Hyde better known as Praying Hyde was a missionary to India. His burden for souls was so great that he prayed for for the salvation of at least person, each day in India. And God answered with an enthusiastic yes, he started to pray for two souls a day, yet he wasn’t satisfied—he still wanted more. He was so burdened for souls that in his life time, he is believed to have brought a large number of souls to Christ.
He was never content, he kept asking God to enlarge his spiritual territory.
Many times we think too small for what God wants to do in our lives. Let us also ask God to enlarge our boundaries so that we are of greater use to him.
In fact each of our prayer should be. “Lord, help me to do more for you than I am doing now.”
3. Let Your hand be with me
We often read in the Bible about “hand of God” or “hand of the Lord”. This represents God’s power and presence in the lives and works of His people.
Joshua 4:24
that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
Exo 13:3 - “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
Isaiah 59:1
Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
In Acts, we read that the success of the church was because of the hand of God.
Acts 11:21
And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
There is power in the hand of the Lord. It is this power that works through us to fulfil the will of the Father.
A young missionary, Herbert Jackson, was given a car to help him in his work. The car was a major asset, but it had one difficulty—it would not start without a push or a jump-start. Jackson devised a system to cope with the car’s inability to start. When he was ready to leave his home, he went to a nearby school and asked permission to bring some of the children out of class to help him push-start his car.
Throughout the day, he was careful to always park on a hill or to leave his engine running when he stopped for short visits. For two years the young missionary used what he believed was an ingenious method to enable him to use the car.
When poor health forced the Jackson family to leave the field, a new missionary arrived to lead the mission. When Jackson explained to the new missionary his methods for starting the car, the young man opened the hood and began inspecting. “Why, Dr. Jackson,” he interrupted, “I believe the only trouble is the loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, pushed the switch, and the engine roared to life.
For two years, Dr. Jackson had used his own devices and endured needless trouble. The power to start the car was there all the time—it only needed to be connected.
(https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/the-power-must-be-used)
Just a missing connection deprived Dr. Jackson of the best use of his car. Same is true with us as well. If we fail to connect ourselves with the presence of God, our talents cannot be used effectively in His service.
4. Keep Me From Harm
Jabez had not finished his prayer yet. He had one more request and that was for God to keep him from harm.
Blessings of God, enlargement of our territory of influence coupled with the good hand of the Lord upon us brings success and fulfilment of divine will in our lives. Obviously, this is not something that would make Satan happen. So, the more the Lord works in your lives, the more you can expect the attack of the enemy. In fact, if there is ever a time that you are not under attack, you would need to be concerned.
We are redeemed and commissioned for the front lines. That is why it is very important to pray this prayer of Jabez, “keep us from harm.” To effectively continue doing the will of God, we need His supernatural protection from harm.
Jesus taught a similar prayer. We read it in Matthew 6:13:
Matthew 6:13 - And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Jabez finishes his prayer and verse 10 ends beautifully! It says, “And God granted his request.”
It simply means that God gave him what he asked for.
We read in verse 9 that Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. I believe that it was because Jabez asked of God and that God favors those who ask. Matt 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you”
God who blessed Jabez and enlarged his boundaries is willing to bless us too. Numbers 24:1 says, “It pleased the LORD to bless Israel.”
Are we ready to spend time with Him in prayer? Are we willing to pray committing to His perfect will?
