Jabez – Part 2

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

Jabez prayed that God would bless him in three specific ways: 1) ‘Enlarge my territory.’ He had a dream of owning more land, and he asked God to bless that dream. When you stop dreaming you lose direction. When you stop setting goals you stop growing. You must have something you’re pushing towards. As long as your horizon is expanding, you’ll be spiritually and emotionally healthy. 2) ‘That Your hand would be with me.’ God’s hand represents His power. Jabez realized that if he got more territory it meant he would have more responsibility. He would have greater demands and more pressure, and he would really need God’s help in his life. So he requested God to be with him. And when you ask for God’s presence in your life, you can be sure He’ll answer. 3) ‘That You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.’ Jabez asked God for His protection. Why? Because in those days the more land you owned, the more influence you had, and the better known you were. And that made you a bigger target. It’s still like that today. The more successful you are, the more critics you have. The more territory you own, the more your enemies will attack you. The closer you grow to the Lord and the stronger you become as a Christian, the more the devil will harass you because he doesn’t want you to grow. But you can be sure, as Jabez was, that with God’s protection you don’t have to fear anyone or anything. Do you want to break out of mediocrity? Then pray the prayer that Jabez prayed.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to keep growing closer to You, my Savior and protector, and as I grow, by Your grace, to be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen