The prayer of Jabez is interesting, but not the model for me
By Dean Collins
If you are looking for a prayer in Scripture to pray I’d go with Jesus over Jabez.
I have nothing against Jabez. After all, his one mention in Scripture tells us he was more honorable than his brothers. His brothers may have been good guys, or they might have been a bunch of scoundrels and thieves. We really don’t know.
We also don’t know much about his family, including his father. Old Testament scholars debate this topic briefly, but reliable interpretation suggests he is connected to the line of Judah. His mother was clearly in a world of hurt when Jabez was born, but her pain may well have been more than birth pains. Some scholars suggest Jabez was born in a season of scarcity and struggle that, combined with birth pain, may have led a worn-out mom to name her son Jabez. The Hebrew word relates to pain, but it may be a stretch to make broad declarations about the name based on what we really know.
Sometimes we try to make Scripture say more than it does, particularly when we forget the context. The first several chapters of 1 Chronicles are a genealogy. The scribe may have been doing the reader a favor by telling us a little story of one character to keep the audience awake! Probably not, but that possibility is likely equal to many interpretations of this short and unfamiliar passage. There is actually little scholarly work on this text because there is limited information given in Scripture.
The request for territory to be enlarged likely refers to the limited territory this family inherited. Again, there is much speculation but limited facts.
Jesus, Jabez, and Paul
Jesus modeled a rich prayer life, and we have four Gospel writers who wrote about it. Jesus also gave us instructions on prayer and told parables about prayer. Paul demonstrated a rich prayer life, too, clearly built on the teachings of Jesus.
What we do know is that Jabez prayed. And he asked God for help. He also asked that God to enlarge his territory. I don’t believe this prayer was intended to be a request for more responsibility or more stuff. The Psalms teach us to pray that God would establish the work of our hands, so maybe that part of the prayer of Jabez is consistent with the Psalms.
Jesus told us to pray that God would deliver us from evil, which might connect to what Jabez asked when he prayed that God would keep him from harm and more pain. The odd thing is that Paul didn’t seem to worry much about pain, but chose to embrace suffering as a love offering and sacrifice of gratitude for the work Jesus had already accomplished. Maybe Paul didn’t know the Jabez prayer? Or maybe Paul knew to consider Scripture in a more consistent and broad context.
I’m not down on Jabez. He seems like a God-follower and was enough of one that the writer of Chronicles gave him a mention. What we know from Paul’s epistles is that we are already blessed beyond measure and have already been given blessing from Jesus. In fact, Paul said we have every spiritual blessing in Heaven. Paul also made sure we understand that we have a guaranteed inheritance made possible by Jesus.
My prayer plan
I’ve got a lot on my plate, so I’m probably not going to ask for more. All I ask is that God’s will be done in my life and everything I touch, just as it is in Heaven. I’ll also pray that God keeps me from evil and establishes the work of my hands, which I hope are daily surrendered to him.
The suffering of the Bible heroes and the suffering we sometimes experience are the common path for those who give their lives to Jesus. I am committed to trusting Jesus with all of the outcomes and any blessings he wants to bestow, but I am thrilled and grateful that the future is secure in the Father’s hands.
Your time with God’s Word
1 Chronicles 4:9-10; Matthew 6:5-13; Ephesians 1:3, 11-14 ESV
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
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