How many people have heard of Jabez? It’s not a name that immediately springs to mind, but he has a very simple prayer that can be found in the book of Chronicles. The early chapters of Chronicles appears to be a list of the various clans from Adam to Abraham, and then suddenly this short prayer appears over two verses, (1 Chronicles 4: 9-10). In two verses Jabez asks God for much, and we learn at the end that God grants him his requests.
‘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 him his request.’
In this short prayer Jabez asks for four things:
1.. Blessings
2.. Responsibility
3.. Guidance
4.. Protection
These are all huge requests! And God grants Jabez each one of them. We don’t know in what way. He certainly wasn’t one of the great prophets with a book named after him or her in the bible. He only gets 2 verses in the whole of the bible, yet those two verses tell us so much.
We may not make the headlines, (for good or hopefully not bad reasons). We may not get a chapter or even a mention in any book.
However, God bestows His blessings on each one of us every day. His blessings have the power to completely change us.
God has a purpose for each one of us. He wants to stretch and challenge us, but He will not leave us. The Holy Spirit is there to strengthen and empower us to carry out God’s will, and also to protect us from any harm as we do His work.
So today, think about those four requests of Jabez, and perhaps make them your own. You will be amazed at what God can do, but don’t expect to make the headlines!