The Prayer of Jabez

(In honor of today, May 2, the National Day of Prayer)

“And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)

No other information is given about Jabez. It is assumed that at the time of the writing that everyone was familiar with him hence the lack of background information in the Bible. The other possibility is that we have somehow lost or destroyed the pages written about him.

1) This is a fascinating prayer in many respects. Jabez is an unknown entity to us. The only mention of him in all of the Bible is in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. There is a town named Jabez mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:55. But that’s it, there is no other mentioning of the name in all of Bible.

2) “the God of Israel”. The Hebrew word used here for God is “Elohiym”. It is the one true God, the supreme God and the righteous, living God. This is who Jabez is praying to.

3) The name Jabez means “Sorrow”. In a literal sense the sorrow of man is crying out to God. This is something all of us can relate to. We have all been in a state of great sorrow and sadness. This outreach is bigger than our self. This cry to God is innate and intuitive. It comes from the inner man, the core of our very spirit. Everyone, even those who claim not to know God have been driven to this point during their life. They have called upon something bigger than them self. This is our spirit reaching out to reconnect with the Divine Spirit. This is not a learned response but rather a God given gift. Sorrow may be the driving force but sorrow’s destination is meant to be God.

4) “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed”. A lot is lost in the English translation. “thou wouldest bless” comes from the Hebrew word, “Barak”. It means to invoke or ask for a blessing. “me indeed” also comes from the same word Barak. So here we have Jabez asking God for a double blessing.

5) “and enlarge my coast”. Some expositors believe this is a reference to expelling the Canaanites from the region. But in context to the prayer, it would seem that Jabez, is looking to expand his sphere of influence. It is a basic tenet and responsibility, no, it is a need to spread the word of God wherever we go. We are to be that light and love that is God.

6) “that thine hand might be with me” The weight of God’s hand is righteousness and truth. It is, “By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left” (2 Corinthians 6:7). God’s hand is our armor against all evil and all sorrow.

God’s hand guides, directs, holds, upholds and comforts.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10).

7) “and that thou wouldest keep me from evil”. With a high degree of certainty when we approach the light, darkness will await its turn to approach us. “…sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire” (Genesis 4:7).

“God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5)

Darkness has no power over the light but it does have sway over us.

Stop and think how simplistic this request is. Jabez is asking God to keep him away from evil. He is asking God to keep him away from the adversary the Devil. Many have not made this one simple request to God. Keep the devil away from me! Rest assured, with the hand of God resting on you there will be nothing Satan can do to you on his own accord.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

8) “that it may not grieve me!” Literally translated that it (evil) may not hurt or cause me pain. Remember, Jabez’s name means sorrow. He evidently has been pained and grieved by evil. This pain has caused so much sorrow that he is now reaching out to God for a double blessing. He has asked God to allow him room to roam. He has asked God to be with him always, to have God’s hand resting upon his heart, mind, body and soul. He has asked God to keep evil away from him so it will not pain him. All of these are simple, straightforward and earnest requests. And what does God do? He grants each and every one of his petitions.

The question we must ask our self is this. Have we prayed to God like Jabez? His prayer is simple, honest and earnest. Not only was it heard, but it was answered!

Sorrow, pain, evil and unrighteousness in our lives can be of great benefit. In fact they can be our lifesaver. Suffering offers us a simple clarity. Pain to the repentant sinner motivates revelation. The repentant sinner knows sin is the root of all pain, suffering, and unrighteousness. As a result, the repentant sinner makes looking for the cause of the pain his priority. The unrepentant sinner simply seeks out the way to end the pain.

This is why Jesus asked the man with the infirmity of 38 years, who was waiting by the market pool in Jerusalem to be healed the following question, “Wilt thou be made whole?”

In essence, Jesus was asking the man do you want the effects (pain) removed or do you want to discover the source of the pain which is the sin within.

Pain for pain sake is misery. But for the regenerated there is a purpose and function to pain. Pain for the unrepentant sinner is punishment. But pain for the regenerated is an indication of sin and is used as a lifesaver. The reason why is that a key element of repentance is an ongoing search of self for sin and unrighteousness. The regenerated soul has open and enlightened eyes more capable of recognizing sin and unrighteousness than before their conversion. Pain becomes like a check engine warning light in a car.

Pain, the effect, leads the regenerated to the cause, which is sin. Our prayers to God, the cause, leads us to its effects of the repentant soul of discovery and revelation. The final step is that we take all of this sin and pain, the cause, and turn them over to God. The effect that is produced is being blessed of God, our sphere of influence enlarged, and we are kept from evil and the grief that it generates. In other words, through righteousness and repentance the pain is taken away.

God is the cause of our regeneration. He is the cause of our purification and sanctification. Ultimately, God is the cause of our salvation. The effect to all of this is that our nature is restored to its pre-fall condition. Sin is no longer part and parcel of our being. It was pain, the cause, which first flagged the sin which produced the effect of our salvation.

This is how we are kept in the loving embrace of our Lord. It starts with pain but ends in the loving arms of our Lord. Will we fall victim to sin and pain again? Yes. But through weakness of the flesh and not by a sinful spirit.

Bill Hitchcock