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 indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

WOW! God granted Jabez’s request and removed the curse his mother spoke over him when she named him Jabez. Otherwise, what good would it have done to have had his territory enlarged, if all he would have done with the increase is cause pain. How many of us pray the prayer of Jabez to have our territory enlarged but stop there. The prayer of Jabez went on, “that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil.” Before God enlarges our territory we need His hand on us to keep us from evil. I know there has been a series of books, greeting cards and other memorabilia distributed about the prayer of Jabez; I have never read any of them. No one that I know that read the books and etc. have ever mentioned anything other than a prayer of prosperity. What I read is the prayer of a good man that does not want the testimony of his name to be true and was seeking God to remove the evil his mother spoke over him. “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, ” was spoken before “and enlarge my territory.”

In this modern day I would pray, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge your territory within me, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” God grants the desires of our heart, but that is not all that was written in the Psalm. “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Delight yourself in the LORD. If the desires of our heart are godly, God will grant them. It is not so strange a cry to say, “God, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge your territory within me” or “Make me more like You.” Jesus said, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). Jesus delighted in the Father and received the Father to Himself. The desire of Jesus’ heart was and is the Father and Jesus received the Father.

John the Baptist said “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). “God, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge your territory within me.” He must increase. His territory must be enlarged. His words must be heard. He must be exalted. Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things (John 8:28). When you exalt the Son of Man, then you will know He is the Son of God. “Oh, that You would bless me indeed.” What a blessing it is to know that Jesus, the exalted Son of Man, is the Son of God – the Christ.

Jabez prayed a wise prayer. He asked for God to bless him before he asked for more of anything else. After the request was made for an enlarged territory, Jabez asked for the presence of God in His life, “that Your hand would be with me.” Lastly, Jabez requested that the curse of his name be lifted. We are told that, “God granted him what he requested.” Some people want to make a message of prosperity out of the prayer – it is really a message of a humble man coming to God and “God granted him what he requested.” God did not just grant him the enlarged territory; God blessed him and God’s hand was with him and God keep him from evil so that he would not cause pain. Jabez may have been asking for isolation from everyone and that the hand of God would be his companion. He may have been saying, “enlarge my territory so I can keep myself from others and not bring anyone pain.” Whatever he was saying it was not just, “Give me for my sake.” Jabez was humble before God and God heard his prayer and answered. Praise God!

© 2005 Tim D. Coulter Sr.