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 […]
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 […]
The Birth of Jabez The obscure Old Testament character Jabez is only mentioned in two verses in the Bible. A reoccurring theme (if two verses can have a reoccurring theme) is pain. The birth of Jabez is marked by pain and his mom gives him a name to let everyone know that. What a terrible […]
Pray That God Will Protect Us from Harm Do you ever ask God to protect you from evil? You can. It’s biblical. It’s part of my morning routine, and based on what I’m about to share, I want to be more intentional about making this request each day. There are two key prayers in the […]
God Grants Jabez’s Request My favorite verse in the Bible is about an honorable man. His name is Jabez. What did he do? He prayed. That’s it. Does that sound boring? It could be, except for the outcome. The result is profound. After Jabez prays, the Bible says that “God granted his request.” How reassuring […]
We Must Distinguish Between Prescriptive Text and Descriptive Text The Bible contains a lot of versus that tell us what to do and what not to do. These verses stand as commands from God. Bible scholars call these prescriptive texts, as they prescribe the behavior God expects from us. However, many more verses in the […]
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, […]
Pray with Intension As a kid I took seriously the warning in the Bible to avoid vain repetition when we pray. Even at a young age I knew that reciting a memorized prayer over and over did not impress God. In fact I suspected it sorely vexed him. Given this I was highly critical of […]
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 […]
God Takes Away Our Pain When I study the Bible, I use multiple versions (translations), depending on my mood and goals. One version that I seldom use, however, is the New King James Version (NKJV). There’s no particular reason, it’s just how things have worked out. There is only one passage that I have memorized […]