Have Faith in God - The Prayer of Jabez

And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God" Mark 11:22

Prayer, in its simplest form, is talking to God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that

"without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"

This means that the first and fundamental part of prayer is faith - talking to God and believing that He exists while knowing He is listening, willing and able to respond in our favour.

We know that Jabez and the centurion came to God in faith because both accounts end with the man who prayed being rewarded with an answer to their prayers. Jabez had faith that God had the power to bless him despite the name he was given at birth. The centurion had faith that Jesus had authority over the sickness killing his servant. Of Jabez, the Bible says:

"...and God granted what he asked," 1 Chronicles 4:10;

"And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment." Matthew 8:13

Both men came to God when they had needs because they believed that God could be trusted with their problems. This trust is what it means to believe that "God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him". So how do you and I have faith in God?

Hearing is Believing

The Bible tells us how to have faith in God. Romans 10:17 says "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". Jabez must have heard about the blessings God bestowed on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob too was named after circumstances outside of his control and at the time of his birth. When God blessed him God changed his name to Israel. This would likely have caused faith to come to Jabez that God could transform his life too with blessing.

When the centurion heard about Jesus (Luke 7:3), he must have heard about the miracles Jesus was performing. This caused faith to come to the centurion leading him to send elders to ask Jesus for a miracle. Perhaps he had heard of the nobleman's son who had been sick in Capernaum - the same place where the centurion was based. At his father's request, Jesus healed him with words while some distance from him in Cana (see John 4:46-54).

To have faith we must hear the Word of God regularly and often. The Word of God can be heard when we read or listen to the Bible, listen to preaching based on the Word of God, or read books and devotionals about God. We can also hear God's Word by hearing from God through prophecy or directly from God as the Holy Spirit speaks to us.

Abraham had a word directly from God which inspired his faith (Genesis 12:1-4). Each of us must know that God is still speaking directly to us today and must not dismiss or minimise the things God tells us. Instead, we should write them down, review them, pray about them, and read them aloud so that we hear them over and over again. Faith will come.

The word translated hearing is also translated 'fame' or 'report' (see Matthew 4:24, Matthew 14:1 and Mark 1:28, John 12:38 and Romans 10:16 in the KJV/NKJV), so faith can come by hearing reports of what God has done for others. This is one of the benefits of sharing the story of God in your life and listening to the story of God in the lives of others.

It's a matter of trust

Faith is more than knowing God exists:

"You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror" James 2:19.

Jesus reminded us that His Father is a good Father who will give good things to those who ask Him (see Matthew 7:7-12). We need to ask God in prayer. When we pray trusting God to reward us with an answer we step into faith. Like Jabez and the centurion, we can trust God with what is important to us. Peter instructs us to “give all [our] worries and cares to God, for He cares for [us]”, 1 Peter 5:7.

Growing up, my mum used to tell us that God is interested in every aspect of our lives - even the tiny things. Now I see that by repeatedly encouraging us to talk to God about everything - especially the little things - my mum was building us up to trust God. I grew up knowing that I could tell God about anything that bothered me, even a little bit because He cared about it all. Jesus said, "But even the hairs on your head are all numbered (Matthew 10:30 ESV). Surely we can trust the One who cares about sure details.

Trust matters

Praying in faith about issues we face is a sign that we believe God is trustworthy and can be trusted with our problems.

“The One who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete His work in you” I Thessalonians 5:24 TPT. “For Yahweh is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you – so kind that it will astound you! And He is famous for His faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for He keeps His promises to every generation!” Psalm 100:5 TPT.

Trustworthy means safe to trust. It may feel like a risk to trust God but it is not. God is our place of safety (see Psalms 91). God requires faith from us in all we do so trusting God can feel uncomfortable or risky. However, we can rest assured that God is completely trustworthy because

[God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give up on you nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Hebrews 13:5b AMPC

When we trust God, we build a back catalogue of evidence that God can be trusted. Over time, this will make it easier and even more exciting to trust God. We will also find that God continually seeks to stretch our faith to trust Him with and for more by giving us more to trust Him for. Each time we do we are blessed, and we like Paul, will be able to say

“I know the One in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted Him until the day of His return” 2 Timothy 1:12b NLT.

Blessing in action - Have faith in God

1. ​Start every day by saying out loud: Father, I trust You. I trust You will never fail me, never give up on me, and never leave me helpless or without support. You said that You will never forsake me or let me down, and I trust You in this. I trust that in and through every situation and season I am safe in Your hands. Thank You for being completely trustworthy. Write it down and place it somewhere you will see it each morning.
   

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas you could trust Him more. Bring to God any anxieties about trusting Him. Give them all to Him by telling Him about them and asking Him to take care of them on your behalf (see 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalms 55:22).
   

3. Review your life - the present, as well as the short, medium and long-term past. Look out for all the times and ways God has proved He is trustworthy. Write them down then spend time thanking God for each one.

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