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Bible Insights

What the Prayer of Jabez Means To Me

In my prior post, I made a couple of tweaks to the prayer of Jabez. The original text reads: “Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ “And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me […]

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: The Prayer of Jabez

Breaking Through to the Blessed Life By Bruce Wilkinson (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life, is a short work and a compelling read. It is based on a brief, two-verse Biblical account of an obscure ancient man, named Jabez. All that is known of Jabez is recorded […]

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Bible Insights

The Prayer of Jabez

The prayer of Jabez is a short prayer and is found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10; it is also the subject of a recent popular book by the same name. After a short, very short, bio of Jabez, his equally short prayer is given, followed by a concise commentary. Jabez’s five line prayer is: Oh, that […]

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Bible Insights

God Answers Jabez’s Prayer

After Jabez’s short and concise prayer comes encouraging words of confirmation and affirmation.The Bible simply notes that “God granted him what he requested.” How exciting! Although I don’t know the mind of God, I suspect that had Jabez made his requests for selfish reasons, the results may have been different. Indeed this is something to […]

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Bible Insights

Jabez Asks God, That Your Hand Would Be With Me

The third line of Jabez’s prayer is: “that Your hand would be with me” Having just asked God for greater blessing—in order to bless others—and more influence—in order to help others—Jabez realizes that he needs God’s direction and guidance so that he may proceed wisely and justly. Indeed, having more blessing and more power can […]

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Christian Living

My Favorite Prayer in the Bible

Discover How God Reacts to the Prayer of Jabez Last week I wrote about The Most Dangerous Prayer in the Bible, at least the prayer containing the most risky line. It’s a reminder that we must forgive quickly and fully. Now let’s look at my favorite prayer in the Bible. It’s the prayer of Jabez, […]

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Bible Insights

Women in the Bible: The Mother of Jabez

Though an entire book was written about his prayer (The Prayer of Jabez), we actually know little about Jabez. The Bible only mentions him in two obscure verses, buried among a lengthy genealogy. We know even less about the mother of Jabez, not even her name. We do know his birth is difficult, and the […]

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Bible Insights

Jabez Was More Righteous Than His Brothers

One final reflection on the prayer of Jabez. In the scant bio for Jabez, it describes him as a good man, saying he “was more righteous than his brothers.” Righteous is a word that we don’t use too often nowadays, but means to be morally upright. Jabez then was a good, morally upright person. Now, […]

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Bible Insights

Jabez Asks God: Not Cause Pain/Do Good

The fifth and final line in Jabez’s prayer is “that I may not cause pain.” At first glance this is an unclear and somewhat wordy request. However, it can be reworded for clarity. To not cause pain, is simply to do good. Here Jabez is reminding himself—as much as he is telling God—that the purpose of […]

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Bible Insights

Jabez Asks God: Keep Me From Evil

The fourth line in Jabez’s prayer is: “that you would keep me from evil” If this request sounds vaguely familiar, there is good reason. In the best known prayer in the Bible, often called “The Lord’s Prayer,” there is the line “deliver us from the evil one.” Just as Jesus taught his followers to pray, […]