A MODEL PRAYER
Part 2


A." "AND JABEZ CALLED ON THE GOD OF ISRAEL, SAYING OH THAT THOU WOULDEST BLESS ME INDEED, AND ENLARGE MY COAST" - I CHRON. 4:10 1. Of the man Jabez we have only this record:
  1. He is only known by his prayer - yet the prayer is a sufficient revelation of the man
  2. His character is revealed in it; and means a lot; when Ananias was afraid to see Saul, the Lord reassured him, saying, "Behold he prayeth" - Acts 9:10
  3. His name means "He caused me pain" and this name was given him by his mother. Some think that chapter 2:55 refers to the same person and he is reputed to have run a theological school
  • The brief record of Jabez indicates:
    1. That he was very humble man - read the prayer and you will discover that he felt so helpless and dependent upon the God of Israel
    2. Humility is always a mark of a man of much prayer - as was Moses, Job, and other men of God
    • B. A MODEL PRAYER
    1. That prayer reveals Jabez to be very intelligent; he had formed a sensible estimate of life
    2. To him it was a sense of toil and struggle against evil; Examples: Said Jacob to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been" - Gen. 47:9; said Job, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble" - Job 14:1
    3. That man Jabez was in a good sense, ambitious:
      1. He was not satisfied as so many professed Christians are - Rev. 3:17-18 with his life
      2. He asked the God of Israel, who had enlarged the coast of Abraham - Gen. 12:1-3, to enlarge his coast - that simply meant that he wanted the Lord to increase his usefulness to God and his fellowmen
      3. That is a wonderful ambition to have - Examples: David was ambitious to battle Goliath I Sam. 17:23-52; Caleb asked for the mountain where the giants lived - Joshua 14:12
    C. NOTE THE WONDERFUL PRAYER LESSON WE MAY LEARN FROM THE MODEL PRAYER OF JABEZ
    1. No environment is too difficult for the Lord:
      1. Prayer changes things - it did for Jabez ad untold other people who called upon the God of Israel; Examples; Elijah prayed that fire from God would devour the sacrifice and it did - I Kings 18:36-38; Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of fearful Gehazi and God did just that - 2 Kings 6:17; the Apostolic church prayed for God to free Peter from imprisonment and he did - Acts 12:5-17
      2. Prayer enlarges our vision to this life and to the power of God - if 1 Chron. 2:55 applies to the Jabez of our text, his lot was changed, his vision of a larger usefulness materialized
    2. God is pleased with the sincere prayers of His children:
      1. When they want God to make their influence among men more effective
      2. Some one said, truthfully, "For God, with God, there can be no limit to a person's usefulness. "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you" - Matt. 7:7-9
    3. There are still some other marks in the model prayer of Jabez:
      1. There are no meaningless words in that prayer; every sentence speaks understanding and makes good sense. That is not true of many prayers - read Matt. 6:7; I Kings 18:26
      2. He desired of the God of Israel protection against evil - "That thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it will not grieve me" - I Chron. 3:9; Examples: Had King David prayed that prayer on that fatal morning, the record of his life would have bee different - 2 Sam. 11:12; had Joseph yielded to immorality his life would have been different
    4. Best of all; Jabez's prayer was not in vain:
      1. The Lord granted to him all his request
      2. Favorable answers from the Lord is the one blessing all of us should have in mind when we pray
      3. That means that our prayers are offered in harmony with God's holy will - that was true of the model prayer offered by Jabez.


    Design © John Bryant 2011