The Prayer of Jabez 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, NIV 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. I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Prayer of Jabez,” which is based on 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. Please repeat after me: The Prayer of Jabez. The greatest blessing and miracle that we can receive in the course of our lives is to believe in Jesus. Nothing is a greater blessing or miracle than believing in Jesus. If we do not believe in Jesus we are born in sin and hopelessness to live and ultimately die in sin and hopelessness. Thanks to His wonderful grace, God chose us, led us to believe in Jesus, saved us, and renewed us. We must give constant thanks to Him throughout our lives. One of the marvelous blessings we have received as children of God is the power to pray. God gives us the privilege to pray to Him. Prayer is a channel through which we can communicate with God. In fact prayer is our spiritual breathing. It is the vehicle of God’s blessings to us. So many contemporary Christians are too busy and tired to pray to God. However, the busier and more tired we become, the more we must pray. We cannot solve problems in our lives if we do not pray. Instead we will live in a state of hopelessness, locked up by our many problems. We must kneel down in prayer when problems arise and when difficulties come. We should never neglect to pray no matter how busy and tired we get. I urge you to begin the first hour of your day with prayer; in faith believing that when we pray, God will listen to our prayers, and pour His wonderful grace upon us. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, His life was a life of prayer. He fasted and prayed for forty days before starting His public ministry. He prayed before dawn. He prayed in the mountains at night after He performed great things. He prayed through the night when he chose His disciples. The night before He was crucified, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears and His sweat was like drops of blood at Gethsemane. And in his final hours, He accomplished His ministry with prayer on the Cross and then breathed His last. If the life of Jesus was a life of prayer, so should our lives be a life of prayer. Regardless if we are asleep or awake, if we are standing up or sitting down; we must open the door of our hearts towards God in prayer. When we pray, the Lord will hear our prayers and answer them. I pray that you will be God’s people of prayer, always asking for His help. Many famous prayers are written in the Bible. The prayer of Jabez in the Fourth Chapter of the First Chronicles is one of them. Jabez was a man who found honor with God. 1 Chronicles 4:9 says, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ ” The Bible says that Jabez was more honorable than his brothers because his mother gave birth to him in pain. Jabez means ‘giving birth in pain or in suffering.’ From Jabez’ name, we can assume that his birth was a very difficult process. His mother’s hard labor is an indication that she loved Jabez very much. So he was more honorable than his brothers. We are honorable before God because we were born to Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We were purchased by the crucifixion of Jesus. God did not bear us without paying a high price. In ultimate pain on a cross of wood, and through the shedding of His blood; Jesus, as the one and only Son of God, paid the price for our birth. We are honorable before God because He bore us in so much pain. It should not matter whether people in this world approve of us or not. What matters is whether God will endorse us or not. The Lord cherishes us and says to us, “I love you. I will never forsake you. I will take care of your life.” We are loved by God. We are honorable children of God. Some may say, “I have no parents. I was very poor. I do not have much education.” Such things are not important. Since God sees us as honorable, we are then indeed honorable. It is time for us to know who we are. We must be proud and confident enough to enjoy God’s blessings. We must give glory to God. We must understand His will in calling us. We must work for the glory of God. There is one former American President who was not very popular while in office but widely renowned after leaving office. He is President Jimmy Carter. His popularity rating was low when he worked in the Blue House. Most presidents enjoyed re-election after the first term of office, serving a total of eight years, but Carter was not re-elected. However after leaving office, he became very well known, gaining the respect of Americans. After leaving the presidency, most presidents enjoy a comfortable, safe life, surrounded by bodyguards. Carter was different. He left the comfort of retirement to go to people who were suffering, sad, and troubled. He served the poor by building houses through Habitat projects. Carter went to the poor and ministered help and life to them. People remember and honor Carter for his life of compassionate service to the poor. Since we are already honorable before God, we must be forerunners in honorable work, reviving, healing and changing the lives of people around us. One day a reporter asked Carter, “Why do you think God made you the President of the United States?” Carter replied, “I think He wanted to give me the title ex-president. Now that I have this title, I could do more and greater work than I could do without that title.” As an ex-president, Carter is able to solicit many people to help the needy. “God gave me the job as the U.S. president, intending to use me more greatly as an ex-president than as a president.” Even though Carter was in office for only four years, he is able to do greater things for people for a much longer period of time. I pray that you will be greatly recognized as an honorable person before the Lord. Jabez was a man of prayer as well as a man of honor. 1 Chronicles 4:10 says, “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel.” Jabez cried out to the Lord in prayer. God stays with those who pray. There is a big difference between those Christians who pray and those who don’t. When we pray, God answers our prayers and performs His great work in our lives. Some people say to me, “Pastor, I do not know how to pray. I cannot remember anything to say even if I try to pray to God.” Then I reply to them, “That should be your prayer. Tell God that you do not know how to pray. Ask God to help you. It will be your prayer. Tell God everything that is in your mind. It is the prayer you should begin with.” If all a child thought about was grammar and structure of speech; there would be no conversation between parent and child. When a child is hungry, he or she will say to their mother, “I am hungry. Give me something to eat.” When they need money, they will simply say, “Mom, I need some money.” No child will bother to think about eloquence of speech. The same is true with our prayer to God. We simply approach God and ask like a child, saying, “God, have mercy on me. Help me. Be with me. Pour Your grace upon me.” God will pour His grace upon us when we pray. We do not experience miracles from God because we do not pray. Bruce H. Wilkinson wrote a book The Prayer of Jabez. In this book, a guy called John went to heaven. Guided by Peter, he was given a tour of heaven. When they arrived in front of a storage room, Peter told John they did not need to go into that room. Because Peter discouraged John from entering that room, John became very curious and wanted to especially go into that room. John entered the room to find many boxes wrapped with beautiful ribbons. He found a box with his name on it. He opened the box. Do you know what was in the box? There were the blessings that God had prepared for him but could not give him because he had not prayed. John could have received these blessings if he had prayed. John sighed in regret of his lack of prayer. Wilkinson’s ‘storage box of blessings not received’ may only be an illustration but one with a clear message. We cannot receive God’s answers to our problems if we do not pray. Cry out to God. Pray fervently to God. When we seek the help of the Lord, He will hear our supplications and answer them. Pray for yourself, your homes, your children, your work and business. When we pray, God listens to our prayers and answers them. E. M. Bounds wrote a book The Possibilities of Prayer. He wrote: “The story of prayer is the story of great achievements. Prayer is a wonderful power placed by Almighty God in the hands of His saints, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and to achieve unusual results.” Bounds emphasized the importance of prayer. It is true. God wants to hear our ardent prayers to answer them. We must cry out to the Lord when we pray, “Lord, I cannot do anything. Help me. Have mercy on me. Be with me.” When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, He will hear our prayers and answer them. When the sick and the hopeless came to Jesus, they did not bring their requests to Him in eloquent speech. Blind Bartimaeus went to Jesus and said, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! His one sentence prayer brought sight to his eyes. It is true. Ardently ask for His help and pray when you come to the Lord. “Heavenly Father, have mercy on me. I am in such and such trouble. Have mercy on my child, for my child is wondering around. Lord, help me!” When we cry out to the Lord, He will answer our prayers. When Jabez cried out to the Lord, God granted his requests. I want to speak about the blessing that God gives. 1 Chronicles 4:10 says, “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 asked God to bless him, saying, “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.” His first prayer was, “Bless me and enlarge my territory!” He prayed that God would enlarge his territory. Since God is the source of all blessings, when we cry out to Him for blessings, He will answer our prayers and perform wonders for us. When Jabez prayed and asked for his territory to be enlarged, in essence, he was asking God to enlarge the territory of God’s blessings. “Heavenly Father, I want to be used greatly for Your glory. Enlarge the territory of my faith. Enlarge the territory of my love. Enlarge the territory of my holy dream and hope. Since I want to be used greatly for Your glory, enlarge my territory every day. Expand my boundaries.” I want you to understand what God’s purpose is in calling you in the course of your life. I want you to be greatly used by God. I want you to pray, “Heavenly Father, enlarge my territory every day since I want to be used greatly for Your glory. Be with me wherever I go and enlarge my territory so that I will make a significant influence on other people’s lives.” Then God will be with you and will perform wonderful things wherever you go. God said the following when He called Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1:7 says: “But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.’ ” God tells us to go and say whatever He commands us. Therefore we must bow down in prayer before the Lord and pray to Him, “Lord, speak to me. I will preach Your Word to all the people you send me to.” God also tells us to aggressively ask for His blessing. Psalm 81:10 says, “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” Mark 16:15 says, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’ ” The Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples to enlarge their territory to the ends of the earth and preach the gospel wherever they went. God gives us faith that is big enough to change the whole world. Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." I pray that your territory of faith will be enlarged to the ends of the earth. I pray that your footsteps will carry your witness of the gospel wherever you go. I pray that your footsteps will carry the love of the Lord. I pray that your footsteps will bring changes and healing to people wherever you go. “Heavenly Father, make me a tool of Your blessings so that I can enlarge the territory of the blessings of the Lord, the love of the Lord, and forgiveness of the Lord. Pour Your grace on me so that I can change, heal, forgive, and renew others wherever I go.” Why does God bless us? He blesses us so that we can share His blessings with others. When we keep a blessing to ourselves, it is no longer a blessing. Do you know that a blessing is meaningful only when it is shared? Collected water rots. On the contrary, when we draw water from a well, more water springs from it. When we share God’s blessings with others, God will bless us more and more. So we must share blessings with others. Then we will be more blessed. What is the fundamental reason United States has become a super power? It is because the United States has followed the commands of the Lord by giving, sharing, and doing missionary work. As Koreans give, share and does missionary work, God will bless us as well. To do the work of the Lord, we definitely need the help of the Lord. Verse 10 continues to say, “Let your hand be with me.” “Lord, help me with Your hand of authority, power, miracles, and blessings. I want my territory to be enlarged. I need Your help for this purpose. Help me with Your Almighty hand so that I receive my territory of love, faith, missionary work, and giving to be enlarged. May Your hand of power be with me.” You cannot do the work of the Lord with your own power alone. You need the power of the Lord. The Lord has to be with you. When the Lord is with us, we can witness His miraculous power. As Christians, we need to be faithful in our daily lives. We must be diligent. We must do our best. But our best is not enough; we need the help of the Lord. No matter how hard we work and no matter how good we may be; unless the Lord helps us, we cannot bear much fruit. Therefore, we must pray, “Lord, I want to take footsteps of faith. Be with me and receive glory from me.” Then the Lord will hold us with His Almighty hands and stay with us. Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “I will uphold you!” The Lord will uphold us. So, do not be dismayed but in confidence march forward in faith. When the Lord is with us, we can handle insurmountably difficult problems. Because the Lord is with us, because His Almighty hands are helping us, we can be more than conquerors. We can overcome all problems by the power of the Holy Spirit which the Lord has given to us in fullness. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. Who does God strengthen? He strengthens those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. For this reason, throughout our lives, we must fully commit ourselves to the Lord. “Lord, be with me. Lord, help me. Show Your power to me.” Jabez continued to pray in 1 Chronicles 4:10,“…keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” From time to time, without prior notice, suffering and trouble does come to us. Because Jabez knew this, he prayed that God would reduce his sufferings. He prayed to God to keep him from harm so that he would be free from pain and hopelessness. When we lose heart, we lose everything. What kind of suffering is the most difficult? It is the suffering in our hearts. Worry is the worst suffering. Even the healthiest person collapses if he fails to guard his heart. We must guard our heart. When we march forward with strong and bold faith, tightly guarding our hearts, the Lord will help us. “Keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” We must shout to worry in our hearts. “Worry, get away from me.” I am not unique in the pain, shock, or memory of past sufferings! Everybody has wounds and bad memories from the past. We must pray to come out of this agony. “Heavenly Father, cover me with the precious blood of Jesus so that all the wounds from the past will go away and that I will be filled with the joy and peace from the Lord.” Charles R. Swindoll wrote a book Laugh again. In this book he suggests worry is one of three common joy stealers. When we are deprived of joy, we will lose the power to live. We will lose the heart to give thanks. When we are deprived of joy; worry, if not checked, will take root in our hearts to gradually occupy until we finally collapse. When worry enters into a person’s heart; it will cause psychosomatic diseases, it will take hope away, and ultimately defeat a person. Therefore we must guard our hearts before the Lord, “Lord, keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. Worry, anxiety, and trouble, go away from me. Lord, fill me with Your joy and peace.” When we cry out to the Lord, He will answer all our prayers. Psalm 50:15 says, “…and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. God promises to hold and sustain us forever so that we will not fall. Joni Eareckson Tada is a remarkable woman. At the age of 17 she was rendered paralyzed from the neck down in diving accident. I read her autobiographical book Joni. It was a hot July day and Joni was to meet her friends at the beach of Chesapeake Bay to swim. She was a very good athlete, especially enjoying horseback riding, swimming, and tennis. On one fatal day, she dived into shallow water in haste, and once under the water immediately knew something was wrong. She lay face down, briefly unconscious at the bottom of this shallow water part of the bay. She came around to realize that she could not move any part of her body. People ran to her aid, called an ambulance and Joni was rushed to the hospital. She went through this shocking, terrifying ordeal completely conscious. She could hear the sirens but she could not move any of her body parts. She began to recite Psalm 23. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters.” As she was placed under Intensive Care, she continued to recite Psalm 23. Many of the ICU patients around Joni were severely injured or incurably sick. The very next day one patient died, than a few days later another patient died. During her one month stay in the ICU, Joni witnessed the death of many other patients. She continued to hold onto the Lord, and overcame her many dangers with faith. Through faith, Joni drove fear from her heart. Fears in times of troubles are a direct line to utmost hopelessness. With courage, Joni overcame her fear by trusting in the Lord. God’s Almighty helping hands were with Joni. She challenged her disabilities. She participated in various rehabilitation programs that taught her how to live with her disabilities. She could move her body only from her neck up, so she learned to draw and paint using her teeth as hands to hold her tools. She began to sell her artwork and her endeavor was a great success. Joni inspired and touched many people with her artwork. She always signed her paintings “PTL” which stands for “Praise the Lord”. Joni began to travel and preach the gospel from her wheelchair, especially to the disabled. The lives of many handicapped people were touched. She went to the troubled, comforted them with hope from the Word of God, and challenging them with her book which spoke of the love of God. The Lord was with Joni and she was able to rise up from utmost hopelessness. Do not sink down no matter what happens. Rise up with faith, praying to God, “Keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain!” The Lord is with us. He helps us. He wants to receive glory through us in the course of our lives. Joni confessed in the preface of her book, “My artwork, family, and friends have pulled me from complete hopelessness. God is the one to whom I first give thanks from my life in a wheelchair. God has helped me to understand the true meaning of life.” Joni, who is paralyzed from her neck down, continues to give her testimony and glory to God. Are we not in a better life situation than Joni? If we are, and if we are not living for the Lord; we should be ashamed of ourselves. “Heavenly Father, I want to practice the love of the Lord throughout my life until I breathe my last. I want to be the instrument of Your love. Be with me, Lord.” Even in times of trouble and suffering, I want you to rise up with faith, to overcome trouble, to get rid of worry, and to dedicate myself for the glory of God. Sufferings do come. Problems do occur. Nonetheless, we are not afraid because the Lord is with us, wanting to achieve wonderful things through us. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. The power of God is with us. When we kneel down in prayer, He will help us. He will be with us so that we can testify of the will of the Lord to the ends of the earth. We should not say, “I am not qualified. I do not have enough education or wealth.” When God helps us, His Almighty hands will be with us and He will keep us from harm so that we will be free from pain. He will help us to speak about His love all over the world. Missionary William Carey is called the father and founder of modern missions. In 1761, Carey was born to a poor home. As a young adult, he carried on business in shoemaking, sometimes supplementing his meager income by teaching evening classes. Then Carey was called by God into ministry. He had a fervent desire to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, preaching salvation to the many who had not ever heard of this free gift from God. He desired to begin his foreign mission work by openly suggesting the idea of foreign missions to his church board of directors. He was immediately repelled by a senior minister who said, “Young man, Sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen He will do it without your aid or mine.” He was reprimanded because he was young and too brazen and blunt in the idea of foreign mission work. However nothing or nobody could keep Carey away from the growing desire within that compelled him to pursue foreign mission work. Shortly after that discouraging meeting, Carey went to India and preached the gospel there for the rest of his life. William Carey was merely an obscure person with a poor family background; but he is now remembered as the father and founder of modern missions because of his great contribution to world missions. When God is with us, there too are His helping hands. Therefore many marvelous things can happen to us even today. “Perform great things through us. Lord, we pray with all our hearts; bless us and enlarge our territory. Help us preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Help us with Your Almighty hands. Keep us from harm so that we will be free from pain.” God will indeed answer our prayers. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, we give thanks to You. Make our prayers be suitable to Your will like those of Jabez. Enlarge the territory of our faith. Let Your hand be with us and keep us from harm so that we will be free from pain. Bless us so that we will be your precious servants to manifest Your glory all over the world. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen. 10