the prayer of jabez for awhile there had taken on it's own movement almost. it got started by a pastor by the name of david wilkerson. he had used it for many years as an illustration on what a life can be if you don't limit God. then all of a sudden it took off and became an often quoted verse among Christians. sold alot of books, etc (which is cool).
what i like about the prayer of jabez; first of all his heart was in the right place when he prayed. if you ask for God to be glorified in your prayer and it is within the confines of Gods plan for you and you are willing to adjust to it, you can bet your life that he will answer it. that is what jabez was asking for. for God to be evident in the life of jabez by blessing him a certain way and NOT in a way that put jabez's need above God. jabez wasn't praying so much for the effect that it would have on himself as much as for those who were watching his life and God at work in it. to "enlarge my territory" is to allow God to work thru that persons life in a more dramatic way than he had previously thought of or allowed. you remove limitations from God because we have free will and God can do incredible things when you remove those handcuffs. that is what jabez was doing. i would hope that all Christians would follow the example of jabez and let God be as big as he wants to be. to do anything that he desires no matter how crazy it may sound at a moments notice.
what i don't like about the prayer of jabez; that some Christians use this verse to try and strong arm God for their own purpose and for their own personal gain. the way it has been delivered and sometimes received is that if you pray the prayer of jabez, God will become obligated to YOUR intentions and pre-conceived ideas of YOUR plan for your life. that was never the intention of that prayer. the idea was to expand your horizons by allowing God all that he wanted to do. but to each of us, the plan of God is unique and is not all inclusive. he does not have the same plans for each of us. what he does in ones life does not mean that he will do the same in another. the prayer of jabez sometimes is interpreted that he does. and that leads to false hope. the idea is to follow the prayer of jabez as it was intended by allowing God to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. but here is the "kicker" - to be content with your life AFTER he has enlarged your "territory" whatever that adds up to be. ESPECIALLY if it doesn't come up to the expectation that you had for it. what about this? what about if you perceive that God is actually "shrinking" your "territory"? he often does you know. hardships are the tool that God uses to carve character in a man/woman. perception (trust/faith) is what it is all about because just when you think that the walls are closing in around you, God is just beginning to prepare you for that wide open door (you just don't know it yet). blessings of God are NOT relegated to money or things. the blessing of God is knowing him and that he will always be square with you. pray the prayer of jabez, but be content with the result. it is not a "cure - all"...
i want to live by that example of jabez (in it's proper context) and have made a concerted effort for many years to do so. i want God to do and be all that he can be thru me. not for my personal gain but because i owe him so much for what he has done for me. i am only along for the ride. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooo
visionallowsmetobefaithfulinthelittlethingsbeforeicanbefaithfulinmuch
"i am .........."meant to"
P.S., that RJoH is a stand up guy. thanks, vision
until further notice, it's france everyday