The Prayer of Jabez - 1 Chron 4:9-10

Title: The Prayer of Jabez
Date: November 4, 2009
Text: 1 Chron 4:9-10

Introduction

- We set limits for ourselves
- I could never be . . .
- Have I disqualified myself?
- And yet . . .
- Is God limited?
- 1 Chron 4:9-10 NKJV "Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested"

What name do you have?

- Do you have a good name or a bad name?
- Prov 22:1 "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold".
- Jabez had a bad name
- My son caused me pain
- We may feel we have caused our family pain
- We feel we have caused God pain
- We have the wreckage of relationships all around us
- “His mother called his name Jabez, saying “I bore him in pain”

What if you were born with the name Jabez?

- Wouldn’t this set limits on what you felt you could accomplish
- Oh, there’s that guy who causes pain
- Oh, there’s Jack, who’se always using, he’ll never amount to anything
- Oh, there’s that person who made a huge mistake in his last job, he’ll never get anywhere
- What is your name? Jabez?
- Your reputation goes before you
- Your reputation opens doors for you, or it closes doors
- What does a name like Jabez do for your prospects?
- It limits your horizons, your future becomes claustrophobic

Jabez prays to God

- There comes a point when we turn to God
- Jabez says a 2 letter word – “oh”
- That word means a lot to me
- It means, Jabez is exhausted by his past
- He has reached the end of his rope
- He has seen pain and disappointment and hurt and devastation
- Jabez wants something more than the same old same old
- He has reached his limits, but he wants something more
- He cries out to God, he sighs about his past, and he makes a request

"Oh that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory"

- Jabez is not satisfied with the status quo
- Jabez decides, I am going to turn to God, and ask him to turn my life around
- My life has been one of causing pain and hurt
- I want my life to become one of blessing
- So he asks for God’s blessing
- He asks for God to enlarge his territory
- Does this sound selfish?
- In one sense maybe it could be
- God, I’ve gone through so much pain, please send me a time of blessing
- God, I’m asking you to bless me and enlarge my territory
- I’m not just in it for myself, God
- I want to reach an impact others with blessing
- Bless me so that I can be a blessing to others
- Matt 22:39 – You shall love your neighbor as yourself – Lev 19:18
- On the other hand, the rest of the verse shows it is not just for himself that he is asking this

"That your hand would be with me"

- He prays that God would not give up on him, that God would stick with him
- We have done so many things wrong, we wonder if God could ever forgive us
- He prays that God would not give up on him, that he would stay with him
- After David sins with Bathsheba, he cries out to God, “Lord, don’t cast me away from your presence, don’t take your Holy Spirit from me” – Psa 51:11
- God responds to this prayer that has echoed through the ages
- Jesus promises he will never leave us
- Matt 28:20 “Lo, I am with you always”
- Heb 13:5 “For he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you”

“That you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain”

- Lord save me from myself
- My natural walk is to go back to doing the same old things
- Lord, I’m asking you to keep me from evil situations which would lead me back to my past
- I’m asking for protection
- I’m asking you to guide me down new paths, paths that go towards blessing and enlarged territory
- Paths that lead me to not just receive blessing, but to BE a blessing to others
- Keep me from evil that I may not cause pain
- Lord, let the days of causing pain be over
- Let this be the generation when the cycle of abuse stops
- Let this be the year that the generations of alcoholism in my family come to an end
- Let this be the year that your blessing starts, and that instead of being the one who destroyed everything around them, I may be called the restorer of the breach
- Isa 58:10-12 "If you extend your soul to the hungry, And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”
- Your name will no longer be, “He who causes pain”
- You will be known as the Repairer of broken down walls, the Restorer of streets to dwell in
- You will be known, not for causing hurt, but for being a restorer, a repairer, a peacemaker
- You will be a blessing

Conclusion

1 Chron 4:10 “So God granted him what he requested”