The Prayer of Jabez

In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, we find the account of the Prayer of Jabez. I find these two verses incredibly fascinating and packed full of revelation and insight.

Jabez's name means sorrow or pain. He was so named because his mother said she brought him forth in pain. This might mean her labour was incredibly painful, or perhaps it indicates that she was going through such grief, pain or sorrow in life at the time of her pregnancy and delivery, that what should have been a cause for celebration, was marred with grief. To name your child such is like saying that the gift that they are is completely overshadowed by the circumstances of or around their arrival. The circumstances must have affected Jabez's mother profoundly for her to label her child so negatively, and link his identity to her pain.

Jabez was adversely affected by his name. If not, he would not have been motivated to pray about it. Maybe he was teased about his name as a child, maybe he felt unloved by his parents. Perhaps it affected how he saw himself and his future.

Jabez was more honourable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked. I Chronicles 4:9-10 ESV

I love learning about the blessings of God, I love names, and I enjoy learning more about prayer. The account of the Prayer of Jabez includes all these things, which may be why I keep coming back to it. I have found that there is always more to learn. Since "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV), I continue to study these verses to uncover and receive of the blessings to be found in the example of Jabez.

In my most recent study of the blessing of Jabez, the Holy Spirit revealed a striking parallel between it and the prayer of the centurion who asked Jesus to heal his sick servant in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10, thereby revealing a pattern for tapping into the blessings of God through effective prayer. I love that both men prayed for completely different things because this shows that the principles apply to prayer in general and not prayer in specific circumstances. Jabez prayed for himself; the centurion prayed for his servant. Jabez prayed for a blessing to overcome a bad name; the centurion asked for healing.

I hope that your interest is piqued and you will be blessed by this series. Click below to get started: