Update 8/25

This week Pastor Satsuki shared with us from the prayer of Jabez. The prayer itself can be found in I Chronicles 4:9, 10.

This is a great story with message that applies to everyone. Jabez was born and given a name (and destiny) of pain. He prayed that God would change his destiny and it says that God granted his request. We can have our destinies changed too.

Pastor Satsuki shared some of the points from the book, "the Prayer of Jabez." As well as some thoughts from another book that she had been reading in the last week called, "Faith" by Dave Duell (published by FGBMI… sorry, can't find it on Amazon).

The prayer of Jabez has four parts:

That you would bless me greatly

Jabez didn't limit the blessing he could receive by asking for something specific. His prayer was to be blessed with everything that God had for him.

Enlarge my territory

Enlarged territory is not just about being blessed financially and in objective ways. It's about broader horizons, more connections, or as the Japanese say, a wider face. Once he'd received blessing from the Lord it wasn't enough to just hold it. The next step is to spread it; let others experience a flow of blessing through you.

Let your hand be with me

Jabez didn't stop with asking for blessing and broader connections, as many of us might. His prayer recognized that he would need the ongoing power of God. This comes back to not relying on his own strength but looking for divine help, divine power and supernatural ability.

Keep me from harm

Jesus taught his disciples to pray this way as well. Keep us from evil. Jabez recognized that when evil comes he could lose all that the Lord had supplied, so he asked to be kept from harm. The prayer of Jabez was not to have power to stand against and combat evil, but to be kept from it. We face many kinds of temptation as we live on the earth. Our prayer needs to be that God would keep that temptation away from us.

God granted his request

In the New Testament we know it Jesus teaches us to seek that we might find. In James it says we have not because we ask not. Let us ask, that we might receive. Let us ask that our borders could grow that we could have influence in the world as a channel of grace. Let us never forget that we need the strength of the Lord and that we never completely get past the need for a savior. Let us pray that we can be kept safe from harm.

God bless you!