Oh, Lord, bless me indeed,

Enlarge my territory

That your hand would be with me, 

you would keep me from evil 

and that I shall not cause pain.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Jabez recognized who God truly is, and had the right attitude when he prayed. Against all odds, Jabez defied his supposed destiny of a life of pain. His mother named him “Jabez” meaning “sorrowful” or “sorrow-maker”. He was a conqueror through what God has done in him. It seems as if Jabez defied his hopeless name and dysfunctional beginning to become a man who believed in the power of God. He prayed with urgency and vulnerability. He cried out to the Lord with boldness!  He powered through life’s challenges and he honored God by doing so.

It was during the time my children were young, when we were introduced to the Prayer of Jabez through Sunday School at Unity of Divine Love. The power of this prayer is tremendous, and kept us going through some very painful difficult times. And Today, the Prayer of Jabez is a reminder to stay faithful and true to God and his blessings. God wants only good in our lives. And asks from mankind- to release our pain, and give it to God.

Let go, and Let God

Lessons from the prayer:

1. Don’t pass on your pain. Jabez’s mother continued that cycle of pain by passing that pain onto her child. We must take care not to pass on our pain. Just because we’re hurting doesn’t give us the right to hurt others.
2. You can always pray to your Heavenly Father. God is a “father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). Even though others (including our parents) may let us down, God is there. We can always pray to Him.
3. We can bring God our pain. He wants to hear from us, and help us. God loves you.
4. We can ask God for blessings. God enjoys offering blessings to his children.
5. We need God to keep us out of trouble. Jabez asks God to keep him from harm and evil. We’ve all seen how celebrities and leaders have fallen into disgrace, or lower vibration-al living.  We call it the seven deadly sins. It can happen to any of us. We need God and His protection.
6. It’s honorable to want to stop the pain. Hurt people often do hurt other people, but Jabez is considered  “more honorable than his brothers” because he wanted the pain to stop with him. He didn’t want pain to define him anymore, nor did he want it to be a part of his legacy. Be honorable. Do your best not to spread pain.