21-Day Growth Challenge | Day 10: "Lessons from the Prayer of Jabez, Part 2"
I 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.
Key Phrase: “Oh that you would enlarge my territory…”
Insight
Jabez was an "average" man who wanted more influence, more responsibility and more opportunity to serve God.
In Jabez’s time, part of Israel’s recent national history included Joshua's was conquest of Canaan and the partitioning of the promised land for each tribe. When Jabez cried out to God, “Enlarge my territory.” He may have been looking at his circumstances and thinking, “Surely I was born for more than this.”
Applying Jabez's example to ourselves, our prayer might sound something like this:
“Almighty God and King, please expand my opportunities and my impact in such a way that I touch more lives for Christ. Let me do more for you!”
We have an incorrect view of what it takes to expand our territory. We may use the following formula:
My abilities + My experience + My training + Plus my personality = My enlarged territory
Jabez's formula looked more like this:
Willingness + Relationship in God + Faith in God + Humility + God’s power = Enlarged territory
Praying for enlarged territory is like asking for a miracle. A miracle is an intervention by God to make something happen that would not normally happen. This is what Jabez needed in order to overcome his name and transcend his circumstances.
In this, we are not much different than Jabez: We want God to intervene in our circumstances. Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27) God intervenes when we cooperate with Him and change our mindset to embrace things that we once viewed as impossible.
Prayer
Thank God for His intervention in your circumstances. Ask Him to give you wisdom for the steps you should take in your "formula" or process.
Day 10 | Online Exercise
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