Pray Like Jabez
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1 Chronicles 4:10
Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep [me] from harm, that [it] may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested.
Didn’t I recently mention the Prayer of Jabez? Wasn’t I the one saying that all we need to do is to pray like Jabez and God will grant us what we ask? Yes, I think it was me. And oh boy, does God answer! Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t for one minute believe we can just sit around, list in hand, and ask God to grant us everything on our “wish list” as if we making a list for Santa! And I certainly don’t mean to imply that we always get what we want, if we merely ask for it, even we ask ardently and hopefully. What I’m saying is: be careful what you ask for!
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that on more than a few occasions in my life. Usually, though, it was when I said something in anger, wishing harm to someone or when I asked for something I thought I wanted or needed, but others realized it would not be best for me. In this case, I’m talking about response to a prayer for God to use us as He sees fit, in ways that He deems appropriate, often for reasons we don’t even understand. This prayer asks God to bless us in order that we might be a blessing to others. It beseeches God to use us in spite of all our shortcomings and failings. It offers God our very lives, without condition or hesitation.
So I had this crazy idea that I wanted to make a living with my writing. My intention was to hone my skills, work on my technique, learn to adapt my style to meet the need of the person paying me to write. All of this said, the goal is to be able to be a better writer in order to be a better disciple of Christ. If I am more skilled, I am a better witness. If I have some non-Christian (but not objectionable) writing credits under my belt, I am more marketable. This all makes sense, doesn’t it? In the human realm, in the scheme of life as we know it on this earth, it’s a very logical thought process. And apparently, God agrees with me. Because as of this morning, I have so much writing work for pay I’m not certain I’ll be able to get it all done – that is if I plan to sleep and do everything else I need to do!
Don’t get me wrong, here. I worked very hard to get the writing jobs! I made it a job in and of itself. And as I shared previously, I got discouraged very early on in the process! But I did keep at it, even when I wasn’t sure it was going to be worth it. I applied for jobs that were outside my area of expertise, that were on topics with which I was not very familiar, I applied for anything I thought I had even a remote possibility of getting. And every time I applied, I asked God to bless me indeed. God led me to a very nice man who took a chance on me, and liked my first submission enough that he is now helping and guiding me to fine-tune the work I’m doing for him. What I am learning from him will be a tremendous help with future work.
This morning my border is pretty long—God enlarged it tremendously in the past couple of days. Not only that, he laid the groundwork a long time ago – in gifting me with the ability to write. And now he’s preparing my path for the future. What a comfort and joy to know that God is blessing me. What a blessing to know that He values me enough to answer my prayer to serve Him with my gifts. The story of Jabez teaches me that any obstacle can be overcome if we are willing to do the work required and put the goal in God’s hands. When we ask Him to bless us, He does. The trick is in recognizing the blessings He sends our way!
My prayer today is that God blesses you indeed. And that your border is enlarged so much you can’t contain your excitement and joy.
Mary
