A Simple, Powerful Prayer!

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. – 1 Chronicles 4:10 

If you have been around Christian circles for a few years you have probably heard of the bestselling book by Bruce Wilkinson called “The Prayer of Jabez”.  In that little book Dr. Wilkinson takes this little and simple prayer and breaks it down into several different sections for the purpose of teaching us how to pray better and more effectively.  I would strongly encourage you to pick up this “bathroom” book, it’s powerful, short, and can be read in about an hour…my kind of book! 

In the meantime, let’s break this verse down together: 

Bless Me – sometimes we feel guilty asking God to bless us, but the reality is that this coincides with the heart of God.

May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you – Psalm 134:3

 Enlarge My Territory – put simply, “God give me greater influence.”  Now, if this is asked for purely selfish motivation God will not answer.  However, if this is asked with a desire to be more effective in doing what God has planned for you than look out if you start praying this!

Let Your Hand Be With Me – Simply ask for God’s guidance every day.

Keep Me From Harm & Pain – This is a prayer that all of us could heartily say “Ya, me too”.  Nobody wants pain, but sometimes pain is a part of the plan of God for our lives.  What Jabez is saying, keep me from unnecessary harm and pain, normally this is brought on by our own poor decisions.

Take a few minutes today and pray these things to your heavenly Father.  Why you ask…

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. – Matthew 6:8