Here we will be posting our various weekly Bible study notes as they are produced. In our Bible study we look at each book of the Bible, chapter by chapter, with an interactive discussion based on the study notes and personal preparation. If you wish to source previous Bible study notes please get in touch.
The prayer of Jabez
The prayer of Jabez is found in a historical note within a genealogy in the book of 1 Chronicles. This is the prayer:
“Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request” (1 Chron 4:9-10).
a) Who was Jabez?
Little is known of Jabez, other than he was a descendant of Judah, he was an honourable man, and his mother named him “Jabez” (meaning “sorrowful” or “pain-maker”) because his birth had been a painful one. In this sense his mother placed a curse on him at birth by the very name she chose for him. Needless to say we see from the prayer the pain that Jabez himself felt because of the curse he was carrying.
But Jabez did not allow this curse to stop him; on the contrary it was the spring that caused him to pray this powerful prayer. In his prayer, Jabez cries out to God for protection and blessing. Conscious of his situation, Jabez, the “man of sorrow,” “the man of pain” asks God to keep him from the sorrow and the pain that his name both recalled and foreboded.
b) Jabez’s requests
The prayer of Jabez contains an urgent request for four things:
- God’s blessing
Jabez acknowledges that the God of Israel is the source of all blessing, and he asks God for His grace. No doubt, this request was based, at least in part, on God’s promise of blessing to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 22:17).
- An expansion of territory
Jabez prays for more influence, victory and prosperity in all his endeavours and that his life would be marked by increase.
- The presence of God’s hand
This was Jabez’s way of asking for the guidance of God and His strength to be evident in his daily existence.
- Protection from harm
Jesus taught His disciples to pray in this way: “Father in heaven . . . deliver us from the evil one” (Mat 6:9-13). Jabez looks to God in confidence as his defender.
c) Jabez’s goal
Jabez’s goal in his prayer was to live free from sorrow, and the last thing we read about him is that God heard and answered his prayer. Like Solomon’s humble prayer for wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-14), Jabez’s devout prayer for blessing was answered. The success Jabez enjoyed outweighed the sorrow of his beginning. The prayer of Jabez overcame the curse of the name of Jabez.
The prayer of Jabez is a good example of how we should make prayer a priority in our lives. We should always look to God for our help in time of need, and we can take our requests straight to the throne of grace (Heb 4:16).