Why Pray?

“God granted his request.” 1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV

Still pray the prayer of Jabez?

The name Jabez means “a cause of pain,” but it was a label he refused to wear and a prophecy he refused to fulfill. And you should too! Just because someone calls you illegitimate doesn’t make it so. The Bible says that you were in God’s mind before you were in your mother’s womb (See Ps 139:13-15). So who are you going to believe? Jabez wouldn’t let his beginnings dictate his end. He refused to allow his family to keep him down and his borders to keep him in. Listen to his prayer, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm…and God granted his request.” A few years ago we were all praying the prayer of Jabez. What happened? We need to start praying it again. It’s time to break out and become a boundary-crosser! Instead of settling for less, to start believing God for more – more wisdom, more strength, more victory, more character, more favor, more blessing, more______________? (fill in the blank!).

Only twice in the New Testament do we read that Jesus “marveled.” Both times it was over the dogged, determined faith of 2 unnamed, unsung people who asked for, and believed that He could turn things around for them. This is what Paul had in mind when he wrote, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” (1Co 2:9-10 NIV). God has something He wants to show you concerning your future – so get into His presence and stay there until you see it. By Rick Godwin