The Legacy Of Jabez

Illus: For example, a man in Columbia, South Carolina, was led to the Lord late in life. He was a slow talking southerner. When he prayed publicly, everyone enjoyed listening to him because of his slow southern drawl, and because he was sincere.

When he prayed it sounded like he was having a private conversation with the Lord, and you felt like you were a fly on the wall listening in on the conversation.

One Sunday, the pastor called on him to pray, and in that slow southern drawl he prayed a simple prayer to the Lord.

When he got through with his prayer he said, “Lord, that is all I can think of now, I will talk to you later!”

It is so refreshing to hear some folks pray. They are simply talking to the Lord the way we talk with our best friend.

Illus: They are like the man who prayed in church, and when he got through, a man stood up and said, “I could not hear you!” He said, “That’s because I wasn’t talking to you.”

But prayer, like so many other things in God’s church, it is often abused.

Let me illustrate what I’m talking about.

For Example…

Illus: You are a parent of little children who have absolutely driven you crazy all day long.

• They haven’t listened to you.

• They have been disobedient and disrespectful to you and their siblings.

• And now it’s time for family Dinner and the family dinner prayer.

It goes something like this: “Dear God, help my children be more respectful. Help them to love one another. Help them to realize that when they treat other people rudely or disrespectfully, they are disobeying you God. God, you command us to love one another, and when we don’t do that, we sin. God, please help my kids be more loving. Amen!”

You were not talking to God you were talking to those brats at the table who probably were not listening!!!

This is not a prayer, this is a speech, or teaching session directed at the listeners instead of a prayer focused on and to God.

That is prayer abuse!!!

Illus: Or consider this family prayer : “God, we are going to see the grandparents today and I pray that you help my children be loving and respectful to them. Help them to put down their iphones and to give their grandparents the attention they deserve. And when I drive, I get very distracted by all the noise from the kids. And so God, please help my kids to keep it down in the back while I’m driving so we don’t have an accident. God I pray for safe travels. Amen!”

Now, on the surface, these might seem like reasonable “intercessory” prayers. And if you were in a private place praying just between you and God, It would be perfectly fine.

However, in group prayer situations is all too often a speech or teaching session directed at the listeners instead of a prayer focused on and to God.

When we pray these abusive prayers we are teaching our children how to mis-use prayer.

Sometime we can hear prayer in the congregation that is abusive.

For example, we see and abuse of prayer in the life of a Pharisee.

Look at Luke 18:11-12 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

This is prayer abuse in the form of bragging not praying!!! This abuse is often done in God’s church.

While many mis-use prayer others have use it for the right purpose.

One of the greatest prayers in the Bible is found in our scripture text today.

These two verses concerning Jabez is broken down in two sections:

(1) In verse 8 we are told about the man Jabez.

(2) In verse 9 we are told about the prayer .

So let’s look first at…

I. THE PERSON

Notice how we are introduce to him as the man called Jabez…

The name Jabez means I BARE HIM IN SORROW!

We do not know the particular reasons which influenced the mother of Jabez to call him by that name, a name which means "I bare him in sorrow."

WHAT DID SHE MEAN THAT SHE BORE HIM IN SORROW?

(1) Could it be she brought forth this son with more than common anguish in child bearing.

(2) Could it be the time of his birth were the time of her widowhood. There is no mention of the father perhaps he died and she is now left with a child to raise alone.

We could go on and on speculating but whatever the reason Jabez came into the world with a dark cloud hanging over his head.