Jabez prayer: Short but great impact

Imagine a simple prayer that could turn your life upside down. 

Most of us think a long prayer with beautiful words could attract God and grant our requests. But for Jabez, he only used a four-sentence prayer for God to hear his prayer. 

What makes Jabez’s prayer different from others? Who is this Jabez?

In the book by Bruce Wilkinson, “The Prayer of Jabez,” he explained vividly how Jabez’s prayer could also impact our lives and change our mindset about prayer.

The book of 1 Chronicles has a long and tedious list of genealogies, but Chapter 4:9-10 describes who Jabez is and his short prayer to God.

It says, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 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.”

The scripture emphasized that Jabez differed from his brothers because he was more honorable than them. 

Although his mother named him “Jabez” because she gave birth to him in pain, Jabez did not allow his name to define his future and asked God to change it through a very simple and short prayer.

Understanding Jabez’s prayer

Although Jabez is less popular than Moses, David, and Abraham in the Old Testament, it is vital to understand his small and genuine prayer that greatly impacted his life. 

Once we understand the wonder in Jabez's small and simple prayer, it could significantly impact our lives.

Let us dive in and see how this prayer can be applied today as we desire God’s provision and leading in our lives.

Cried out to the God of Israel

When Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, he acknowledged what God could do for him. Having a name after pain could give you low self-esteem since your mother might not have been pleased while she was giving birth.

However, crying out to the God of Israel means everything to our Heavenly Father. Jabez showed his firm faith that God could turn his miseries into miracles. 

He might have heard of how God delivered the Israelites under Moses's leadership from the Egyptians' hands. 

Moreover, Jabez wanted to experience that kind of miracle, so he cried out to the God of Israel.

“Oh, that you would bless me, indeed.”

In other translations, “indeed” was added, emphasizing what the person was trying to say. 

If you could imagine Jabez’s situation during this time, we could see that he was tired of being such a pain for his mother or probably everyone, even himself. 

Thus, he cried out to God to bless him. He was desperate for God’s blessings because he wanted to change his future. 

In the first part of Jabez’s prayer, he did not ask for specific blessings such as wealth, wisdom, or material things. We could see that Jabez relied entirely on whatever blessings God wanted. 

He would be thankful no matter what kind of blessing it was as long as God blessed him.

Is there a time when we just ask God to simply bless us with whatever blessings He wants to give and not those things we specifically asked Him for?

There is nothing wrong with being specific in our requests. But God’s thoughts of blessings could be more incredible than we ask for. 

Sometimes, we just need to pray like Jabez and ask Him, “Whatever it is, Lord, just bless me.”

“Enlarge my territory.”

The next part of Jabez’s prayer asks for more than he can do. Jabez was unsatisfied with what he was doing for the Lord, so he asked God to give him more. 

When Jabez asked God to enlarge his territory, it meant he was asking for more influence, responsibility, and opportunity to impact the God of Israel. 

Besides, Jabez wants more room for growth. 

For mature Christians, we should also pray that God could enlarge our territories so we can serve Him more and expand our horizons for reaching people for Jesus. If we are eager to do more for God, we should ask Him to expand our territory.

However, others may think that it is selfish to ask our Heavenly Father for more, but the truth is God is more than willing to enlarge our boundaries for us to do more for His glory. 

Additionally, some may ask if it is wrong to ask God to bless their business, but if we were doing this for God, then there is no reason for Him not to bless and expand our business.

Thus, God is waiting for us to ask him to widen our horizons so more people can see His glory through us. 

Just like Jabez, he believes that the God of Israel is maximum and that he is born more than his current situation.

“Let your hand be with me.”

Another amazing part of Jabez's prayer is his third request. After asking for God’s blessings and enlarging his territory, he asks God’s hands to guide him in handling everything he asked for. 

Most of us forget to ask for God’s hand in everything we ask for, so sometimes, we waste the blessings and opportunities God has given us. 

Wilkinson noted in his book that asking for God’s hand upon us is our strategic decision to sustain and continue the great things that God has begun in our lives. 

Also, he calls this strategy the “touch of greatness.”

Jabez’s prayer tells us that no matter how blessed and influential we are, we should never be detached from God’s hands. Thus, without God’s hands in everything we do, it will all be meaningless and a waste.

More importantly, Jabez’s third request shows his dependence on God’s power. He could not handle everything he asked for without God by his side.

“Keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”

In another translation, Jabez asked God to deliver him from evil. Having a lot of blessings and opportunities and being so influential could be tempting. Evil could tempt you to abuse everything you have asked for and steal you from God until you are left with nothing.

Nevertheless, Jabez’s last request to God is to keep him from harm and free him from pain or danger. He knew the enemy was like a devouring lion, ready to attack him, especially if he already had more.

Thus, Jabez would not allow Satan to destroy everything he had requested, so he asked God to protect him. 

Like Jabez, we should never forget to ask God to protect us from evil, especially in this generation. We cannot fight the devil alone and will always need the Holy Spirit to lead us.

Why did God grant Jabez’s prayer?

We might wonder why this short and simple prayer made God grant Jabez’s request. At the beginning of the chapter, Jabez is described as an honorable man among his brothers. 

Therefore, God is more concerned about our character than the words we utter. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective, so we should always seek righteousness. 

Moreover, Jabez prayed for him to do more for God, and our Lord is more than willing to grant everything we ask to reveal His glory. This short and simple prayer greatly impacted Jabez’s life, and it could also give us incredible provision from God once we pray it from our hearts.