Bless Me Father!

"And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 The above Bible passage is popularly known as the Prayer of Jabez. How many of us have ever prayed it? I know I have. It's a beautiful prayer. The most beautiful thing about the prayer being the underlined part above. Let's take another look at the prayer.  The prayer can be broken into four parts: - '......Oh that thou would bless me indeed......' Jabez must have taken a look at his life and seen that he needed God's blessing to lift him out of his unpleasant life. - '.....enlarge my coast.....' He was asking God to increase him on every side. He was asking for a break-out and a breakthrough. He was asking God to increase his scope of influence. - '.....that thy hand might be with me....' This part I believe speaks of God's presence, guidance and leading. - '.......that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!....' Now here's the part I'm most interested in, in this post. Note the exclamation mark. He was practically crying out to God to keep him from evil.  Evil brings nothing but pain. Any kind of evil, the one we brought on ourselves, maybe by our sin or wrong choices. The one self-proclaimed enemies of your life bring your way. In a world filled with evil, it's not a strange prayer to pray. Praying this part of the prayer might also be a way of asking God to keep us from sin. Because sin does nothing but bring hurt and pain. The prayer of Jabez, like the Lord's Prayer is a great prayer guide. I encourage us to adopt it, and see it work for us. I know God will grant us our requests like He did Jabez, in Jesus Name. Amen.  Enjoy the Prayer of Jabez song.   Later.......