The Prayer of Jabez

Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested. (1 Chron. 4:10)

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Jabez' prayer contains five simple statements

1) Father, 2) bless me indeed. 3) Enlarge my territory! 4) May I be guided by your touch. 5) Keep me from harm.

Lord, what would You speak to me concerning this prayer?

I desire to bless you and to bless all of My children. I desire to enlarge their work, their ministries, their businesses, their families, and their influence. My hand rests upon you. You are receiving My touch as you walk by the Spirit. My anointing can now flow freely in your life. When you ask Me to protect you, I do protect you from evil and sorrow. So ask, that your joy may be full and your influence may be enlarged. I have said, you have not because you ask not. Ask, hear, follow, obey, and watch and see what I will do in your life! You will be amazed!

Love, Jesus

This reminds me of the picture in Revelation 22:1-2

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1-2)

This is the river of the Holy Spirit. The trees that are planted on both sides (which symbolizes believers, Jesus being the Vine and we being the branches) are wonderfully fruitful. This picture says to me that I am to live from the flow of the River of the Holy Spirit within. This will allow me to be fruitful.

Jesus, of course, modeled this lifestyle, as He said over and over, "I do nothing on My own initiative, but only what I hear and see My father doing." (Repeated ten times from John 5 - 14!) Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words (rhemas) that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (Jn. 6:63).

We contribute to the expansion of the Kingdom when we serve as a witness to what we see God doing. We are honoring Jesus' command to "Behold I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20 MKJV). More than simply a godly imagination of picturing Jesus at your side, we ask the Holy Spirit to take it over (Eph. 1:17,18). Then as we tune to flow, the Holy Spirit brings this picture alive, and we experience a living encounter with Jesus. In this encounter Jesus grants us His wisdom, comfort, instructions and guidance for the day we are in. It's called Wonderful Counsel.

Now we have our eyes fixed on the vision Jesus has given us for the day we are living in! We are beholding Jesus at our side, watching what He is doing, and continuing to observe this picture throughout the day.

Observing is a fascinating principle. Quantum physics has a phenomenon called the "observer effect," which, in the simplest terms, states that on a subatomic level, the nature of particles is affected simply by being observed. When the eyes of our heart focus on what God is doing, and we speak forth what we are seeing, we discover that His kingdom becomes manifest in our presence (Matt. 4:23; 12:28). It is not always an instant manifestation; however we have become a magnet drawing the power and presence of our King into our present day lives.

Divine serendipity kicks in. Like with the story of Queen Esther, and the evil Haman who planned for Esther and Mordecai's destruction. However, since the Israelites were praying for God to intervene, the king couldn't sleep, so the king asked for a book to be read to him. As the reading progressed, the king realized Mordecai needed to be honored for a deed he had done in the past. The king asked Haman, who just so happened to be walking by the palace, to take the steps of honoring Mordecai that Haman had suggested be done to show honor to a person whom the king wanted to honor. The result was Esther and the Israelites were saved, and Haman was executed on the device he had built to have Mordecai executed on. You can read this full story in Esther 6-7.

The principles of prayer, which are found in the Prayer of Jabez, are expanded and detailed by Jesus when His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. I encourage you to read Jesus' expanded principles of prayer. You can find my blog on The Lord's Prayer at the Communion With God Ministries website. Use the search bar and type in "Lord's Prayer."

Jesus' visions and counsel to us super-charge our emotions with faith, hope, and love, which facilitate the release of God’s grace in our lives. Now, miracles can occur as we become magnets for the divine provisions from God to flow into our lives. 

Personal Journaling Application

• Pray through the five steps of the prayer of Jabez asking, "Lord, would You paint me some pictures of the realities You have positioned for me which I am to gaze upon, feel and experience and call into existence?" Record what God reveals to you in this process. Don't rush. Take the time to ask, see, hear, speak, and then confess them as your personal, present tense reality. 
• Hearing God's voice is as simple as quieting myself, fixing my eyes on Jesus, tuning to flow and writing. See this link.