Biblical Essays
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ
There is a brief little prayer from an obscure Bible character named Jabez that seems to have created a cultural phenomenon. Anything that encourages people to pray to the God of the Bible is probably good. So we want to avoid being billed as “the Grinch That Bashed Jabez’ Prayer.” But there are several things we should think about that are deeper than the theology of the little book that has sold several million copies.
The prayer itself: “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” (1 Chron. 4:10; NKJV).
In his book, “The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to a Blessed Life,” the writer takes this one-sentence prayer and makes four points from it about the way we should pray: ask for God’s blessing; request expanded opportunities; expect supernatural power and blessings on your ventures; and implore divine protection in your life.
The problem is not with Jabez’ short prayer or even with the thrust of these four suggestions. It is with the promises made to those who adopt this prayer formula – and the context in which we are asked to pray it. The book’s cover promises this prayer “can release God’s favor, power and protection. You’ll see how one daily prayer can help you leave the past behind – and break through to the life you were meant to live.”
Not every life of faith is lived in prosperity and blessing. Did Joseph in prison, Job on his sick bed, and Ruth in her grief simply not know how to pray? How does this formula square with the Lord’s Prayer or Jesus’ pleas in Gethsemane? Why didn’t someone tell Paul about this prayer when he was awaiting execution in a Roman dungeon?
In our view, the writer of the above book illustrates the success of this prayer with quick fixes to problems. While every one of them may have involved divine intervention, we are still left with the long-term problems of handicapped children and depressed adults; with those suffering from cancer and kidney failure; with those who have lost great wealth – and others who have always and only lived in poverty.
Our self-centered culture tends to judge God on the basis of today’s circumstance rather than from the point of view of eternity. If one is healthy and wealthy, God is on duty. On the other hand, if life is cruel and someone’s situation dreadful, God is neglectful – and may not even exist.
Jabez’ prayer is not a Christian prayer. It was crude and selfish. His conscience was not troubled by the thought that others would suffer if he gained his wishes. But ours should be. Yet how easily and often we also pray amiss. Christian praying is longing to learn and to accept what God would have us be and do; and asking in Christ’s name (John 14:13; 15:7) covers only desires that are in accordance with the character of Him who prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). Subject to that understanding and control, it is not asking amiss to pray for natural benefits – health, happiness, security – for ourselves, and how much more for others: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Jabez had crude ideas about God. But he was wise in thinking that spiritual aid is a reality, available for those who seek it rightly.
The Prayer of Jabez reminds us of Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking half a century ago. It has so much about it that is true that one feels guilty raising a point of caution. Yet it has too little depth or balance to make it the foundation of a faith strong enough to withstand the rigors of life in a fallen and hostile world.
