The Real Prayer Of Jabez

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Your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the truth. Podcast network. This is good Truth Network encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything on encouraging prayer Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling peripheral product and many other books on prayer provides weekly biblical insight help you learn to love and now James the way and just two verses and first Chronicles chapter is a prayer become very ocular in recent years.

It's called the prayer of Jabez about a memory no very little about really became the subject very popular book a few years back so popular in fact that it was the fifth best-selling book in Christian history apart from the Bible. A lot of people loved that book released the message it gave them but Robbie, I believe there was a problem with it and I want to speak gently here because I know this may be a surprise to some message. The book laid out I believe was a misinterpretation that doesn't fit well with the larger message of God's word and if we find ourselves praying that way we could also find ourselves facing some unexpected disappointment. You got me wondering now that's okay. Let's go to the text itself, and what it actually said here it is in first Chronicles 4, nine and 10, Jabez was more honorable than his brothers is moderate mood and Jabez saying I gave birth to him in pain. Jabez cried out to the God of Israel all 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 for two verses and that's all we have about Jabez in the Bible so we don't know too much about them and it's a bit of a tall order to save it the way he prayed, can be transformational for Christians who have the prayers of Jesus. Most of all, but what we do know is he was more honorable than his brothers, and I believe that the reason for that may be because he prayed so it's it's been a while since I've read the book that is understand that the author basically said that if we ask God to bless us to a Jabez or Jame as they will, we would be blessed in it he recommends praying that prayer right regularly. Yeah that's right that's right, but that also raises the question we need to add we already been blessed because of Jesus more than anything else. Don't we already have everything that we need him him honestly if it a short book, and the truth is it doesn't mention Jesus until about page 47 close to the halfway point. But our focus for life is to be on him.

He is our source of life and salvation what the book basically says is that we can have all these other blessings all the stuff in larger territory. If we ask, but the problem I have is that Jesus isn't the starting point and he needs to be wheat we shouldn't pull verses of Scripture and then make them some kind of formula for living the life God wants us to live. Scripture isn't formulaic. It's living and active and that's true list, look at that prayer Jabez you know let's talk about what yes that that's important because there are a lot of good things in this prayer that we really can learn and make our own and and the first is let's look at Jabez, not Jame, as it gave his name if it's derived from the word painting in Hebrew because his mother had a painful delivery my house and his mother name that she likes a lot mom I know it. Can you imagine being stuck with a name like that for the rest of your life and that's a beautiful thing about this prayer. Basically, he said, no matter what others have said about me. Even my own mother.

Lord II want you to define my life.

I want to be what you say I am, and that's a really good so you're saying this prayer is not about being blessed with stuff as much as it's about it. Our identity with God. That's exactly it in and not just that if it's about our relationship with God.

Overall, praise, let your hand be with me. In other words, I want to be close to God and and I want you to be with me. He wants God to protect him in and not only keep him from pain, but I believe keep him from causing pain to others as well. I basically think I don't want to be in pain and I don't want to be a pain.

So once again, really, we come back to the place relationship right in prayer and that's a real prayer is all about so I can see what you mean when you say it's not about the stuff, really. There's so much more than that in the relationship with Jesus is the critical part of any prayer I really is and if we boil this prayer down to bless me, blessed me and make it all about that were missing the point. To be fair, the author tries to bring the gospel in a little later expanded Terry expanding our territory for God, you know, but that's I should. Jesus really reading meaning into the text that isn't there and we have to be careful to think about the context of God's word going to understand it and pray it correctly, and that's why he wanted to talk about this today because you feel this prayer really is been misinterpreted and misapplied in another state.

Faith really to be harmed because that's right, Robbie. II haven't made the author even just because I don't want to be overly critical. I'm sure he means well but think about it. If someone believes if I just pray this prayer will be blessed you login like a formula they pray that they aren't blessed with all this material stuff for expansion of their ministry and the way the imagine they can wonder where is God in all of this can start to doubt or question their faith in God is good and will lead them through that but that the prayer was never meant to be prayed that way is some kind of a life altering principle for believers in Jesus today. If it's a great prayer.

If we look at it from the standpoint of a new identity with God in a relationship with him.

But that's just the thing. It should be about him and about him defining our lives not all about us.

Thanks, James, and I'm glad we really we had a chance to talk through this prayer, you know, I know many like me of always you know looked at this and thought about it but you know when we wrap up this position with that relationship for that prayer and let let's do it. Lord, we do thank you, praise you for your word and how it teaches us to pray, we ask that you will help us to to rightly understand and cauterize. Thank you that you long to bless us with your son. Most of all we do pray for bless us like to know you love you to make our life all about our relationship. In Jesus name. Hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you to pray. This is the Truth Network