1 Chronicles 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." 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.

The first nine chapters of First Chronicles is chapter after chapter, verse after verse of nothing but genealogies. It would be tempting to skip right over these nine chapters to get back to the "story." Right here in the exact middle of these nine chapters however, is a delightful vignette about a man named Jabez who prayed a simple prayer. The content of the prayer was evidently right in line with the will of God because the story ends with "So God granted him what he requested."

Jabez wanted blessing, more territory, God's hand upon him, and deliverance from evil. We find out that his mother gave him a name which evidently means "pain." You can imagine the taunting he might have received from his playmates in school. Jabez was so affected by this, that it became the motivation for his prayer, "that he might not cause pain!" Jabez heart was pure, he was honorable, God answered his prayer.

Proverbs 15:8b (NKJV)

The prayer of the upright is His delight.

Comments


Comments are closed