Believing Boldly - The Prayer of Jabez

The centurion and Jabez both heard about God which caused them to believe. They put their faith into action by communicating their need to God in the confident expectation that God had the answer and would give it to them.

Jabez's faith response to the problems of his name was to come to God via communication:

"And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying..." 1 Chronicles 4:10 NKJV

Similarly, the centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus with a message:

So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant - Luke 7:3 NKJV

Faith goes to God seeking and believing for a solution. When God sees faith He considers it righteousness. Faith makes us righteous before God and therefore we can come to God boldly. I know that both Jabez and the centurion experienced this because of the nature of their requests.

Jabez asked God to 'barak barak' him - to not just bless him, but to really bless him. He did not hold back, he asked for abundant blessing. That's boldness. The centurion asked Jesus to 'diasozo' his servant. This word does not only mean heal, it means to 'save thoroughly'. Diasozo occurs just 8 times in the New Testament. It is made up of two words, dia and sozo. Sozo has to do with wholeness, safety, rescue and preservation. It is where the Greek word for salvation comes from. Sozo would have been a good request, but diasozo is a bold request. It asks for the very best God could do for the servant in response to the situation.

Come to God Believing

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that part of faith is coming to God believing. We would struggle to get to a person or place we do not believe exists, and what we believe about a person or place influences how we feel and act as we make our approach. Imagine you have been called to the office of your boss. How you approach the office will be greatly influenced by whether you believe your boss to be harsh and unforgiving or supportive and understanding. Your approach will also be influenced by whether you are conscious of the mistakes you have been making at work and your failure to meet your targets for the last few months, or whether you are conscious of the money you have been bringing in recently and the glowing report on your service from an important client.

Hebrews 10:22 (NKJV) says:

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water".

The assurance of faith is the assurance that nothing is in the way of our relationship with God.

In the Garden of Eden is a tree called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent deceived Adam and Eve so they ate from this tree in disobedience to the instruction of God. When they did, they went from knowing only good to knowing good and evil. This "evil consciousness" caused them to know they were naked, feel shame and hide from God. They were suddenly more aware of their state and nature than of God's. God's state is "He is" and God's nature is "He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

I wonder whether the tree itself had anything within it that caused it to give the eater of its fruit knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps instead it was the decision to act on a statement that was contrary to God's Word that caused them to know good and evil. Evil being the product of a lack of faith. If God sees faith (believing that God is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him) and counts it as righteousness, then believing anything other than this gets in the way of that right relationship. The result for Adam and Eve and humanity was that instead of living a blessed life in which they reigned on earth, they were cursed.

After they sinned Adam and Eve still believed that "God is". However, they stopped believing that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Otherwise, instead of hiding from God, they would have sought Him out, believing that God had and is the answer to their problem - even if the problem was a consequence of their own disobedience.

Hebrews 4:13 reminds us that Adam and Eve hid and covered themselves in vain because everyone is naked before God, unhidden, seen completely. Leaves and trees cannot change this.

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13 NKJV

We were each created to come to God, before whom we are so fully and completely known, "with a true heart in full assurance of faith". We can do this when we are established in our position of righteous in God's sight.

Believing Boldly

There is a boldness that comes with faith because faith is evidence of our right relationship with God. A relationship where we are seen and accepted by God because of the work of His Beloved Son Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 6:1). There is nothing in the way of us and God, nothing separates us from His love (see Romans 8:31-39).

Perhaps you have experienced this kind of faith before. It seems possible to have this kind of faith in a moment or for a season. Perhaps when we are in sudden or desperate need, or when we have no other avenue to try or after have exhausted all other options. We can then focus on God so much that we forget about anything we allowed to get in the way before.

But God actually wants this to be our default position. We are not to be sin conscious. We are to live as though neither we nor our first ancestors ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are to come to God only aware of good and our right standing with God through Jesus Christ. This is the goal, and it is achievable. The Bible tells us to set our minds on things above...

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth- Colossians 3:2

that all good things come from above...

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning - James 1:17 NKJV

and to meditate on good things:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things - Philippians 4:8-9 NKJV

We are supposed to be God-minded all the time. It is the most beneficial mindset for a Believer. I have found that the best way to do this is to renew our minds with the Word of God. Firstly we have to understand what righteousness is (and is not). Then we have to develop our understanding through meditation on the Word of God until it moves from being a concept we can explain to a characteristic that defines us. Only then can we live believing boldly.

Blessing in Action: Believing Boldly

"​Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (See Matthew 12:34). So what is your heart full of?

Consider your communication with God. Are you asking God only for enough to get out of a challenging situation? Or, like Jabez and the centurion, are you asking God for a solution that will leave you unrecognisable, with no trace that the problem ever existed? Are there things you do not pray about consistently or at all because the solution you really want is just outside of what you believe is possible? In what ways have you dumbed down your requests to the possible or the probable as a result on focussing on the situation or earthly possibilities more than the Saviour? Have an honest and open conversation with God about this, asking the Holy Spirit to show you what your heart is full of. Write down whatever comes to mind. Come back to these questions over the next few days. What would you ask God for if you truly believed you are righteous before God and He is willing to reward YOU? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to imagine His best possible outcome to a challenge you or someone you love face, and then ask Him to help you to boldly believe for it. Meditate on the following verse as you talk to God about this area:

"Never doubt God's mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power constantly energises you." Ephesians 3:20 TPT

Blessings!

Boma

Missed some of this mini-series on the Prayer of Jabez? Go back to the beginning to find links to the other posts