Day 3, August 10, 2021
Prayer of Jabez - 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NIV)
10 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.
Jabez stands out in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles with this powerful prayer and person.
Generation after generation people did their own thing. However this one stands out and deserves our attention in this one verse.
Blessing
The opening statement “oh that you would bless me.” For some that might seem to be a selfish prayer for those that already feel blessed. But those are just our feelings and miss the Biblical meaning of blessing.
It’s really just a prayer for reassurance. It’s not for material provision, or permission, but a blessing. A yes, a reassurance for a covering to be a part of God’s family. A blessing is deep and hard to explain, but it’s God saying “yes” to us.
Let’s go after God’s blessing. Let’s go after God’s covering. Let us seek God by submitting to God. It’s a prayer of submitting to God. A prayer of needing God. A prayer that seeks God’s blessing that we might be a blessing to others.
It’s a desperation of how much we need God. That he would increase our area of influence and that he would protect us. A prayer of blessing, influence, presence and protection.
