What If God’s Greatest Blessings Can’t Be Touched or Held?

“It’s a blessing.” “I’ve been blessed.” “Count your blessings.” How often have you heard people say things like that? I think we’d all agree blessings are good, but have you ever wondered what people really mean when they talk about being blessed?

 

American culture tends to equate blessings with material advantages – a really nice home; a successful, rewarding career; high-achieving, energetic children; a long, relatively pain-free life. After stirring victories, we often hear athletes talk about how they’ve been blessed. 

 

But should being blessed always be understood in terms of tangible “stuff” and achievements?

 

Years ago, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson authored a popular little book called The Prayer of Jabez. It was based on an obscure fellow named Jabez, mentioned only one time in the Bible. In the passage, 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, we’re told: 

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”

 

That’s it. Two verses about Jabez, nestled almost like an afterthought in the midst of a long genealogical parade of Judah’s descendants. The first time we hear about Jabez – and the last. Curious, isn’t it?

 

Actually, it’s easy to speed-read past Jabez, except the passage does give us a bit of insight about him: He was more honorable than his brothers, although it doesn’t explain in what ways. We’re told his mother bore him in pain and chose his name accordingly. Perhaps most important, he offered a simple prayer that God would “bless me indeed and enlarge my territory” (or “expand my borders,” as another translation states it). One other thing – God granted him what he requested.

 

It's interesting that the Bible doesn’t tell us what happened to Jabez. If we trust the Scriptures, we know God did bless him and enlarge his territory. But we don’t know in what ways, how the Lord did it, or what kinds of things Jabez did. What we do know is that he boldly asked God’s blessing – and received it. End of story.

 

What are we to take away from this mini-Bible lesson? After Wilkinson’s book came out, and especially after it had achieved best-seller status, critics accused him of promoting so-called “prosperity theology,” the “health and wealth gospel” perspective on God’s blessings. Given the materialistic context in which we’ve lived for many decades, that might not be surprising. 

 

However, that was never my impression – nor is it today. I first heard Wilkinson’s message about Jabez at a conference several years before it appeared in print. My sense then, as well as after I read the book, was the blessings Jabez sought were more in line with Jesus’ later command to “go and bear fruit – fruit that will last” (John 15:16).

 

The message on Jabez inspired me, as it did many thousands of others who heard or read it, to pray the same prayer, asking God to bless me indeed and enlarge my territory. Some may have interpreted those blessings in terms of “stuff,” but I never did. I didn’t pray for a luxury car or a mansion on a hill (although in the eyes of probably 90 percent of the world’s population, my home might still perceived as such).

 

What I did pray for was that the Lord would give me the privilege of being a fruitful laborer in His kingdom, through my journalistic training and passion for writing, as well as participating in His Great Commission to “go therefore and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19).

 

God’s response can only be described in the words of Ephesians 3:20: “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” Knowing how I could have benefited earlier in my life if an older, more mature believer had come along to disciple/mentor me, I prayed that the Lord would lead me to one man in whom I could invest and grow spiritually together. Within three months, He had sent two men my way. And I’ve had the joy of meeting with dozens of other men in the years since.

 

In a number of different ways, God also has given me the opportunity to present biblical truths in writing to people all around the world. When I prayed for Him to “enlarge my territory,” it never occurred to me to make such an ambitious request.

 

Is it wrong to pray for material blessings? I don’t think so – as long as we ask with the right motives. I’ve known many people whom God has indeed blessed financially, but they’ve been beyond generous in supporting ministries and charitable causes they believe in, providing resources for those works to grow and influence countless lives for eternity.

 

Again and again in the Scriptures we read how God delights in blessing His children. In Psalm 84:11-12 we read, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk with uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You.” I understand this to mean that if it’s good for us and we need it, we can trust God to provide it.

Much more could be said. Volumes have been written about this, along with thousands of sermons preached. Jabez might have been barely known, even in the Bible. But he had the courage to pray, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’” Maybe, if our desire is to honor and glorify the Lord, it’s okay for us to pray that too. 

Do You Remember Jabez?

About 15 years ago, it seemed everyone was talking about Jabez, a fellow mentioned only once in the entire Bible. Dr. Bruce Wilkinson had written a little book called The Prayer of Jabez, based on 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, which states:

“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.”

That’s it – two verses, just over 60 words, but for a time people throughout evangelical Christianity took to praying “the prayer of Jabez.” This obscure character isn’t cited elsewhere in the Scriptures. He’s not in Hebrews chapter 11’s “hall of faith.” Jesus never said anything about him. We don’t even know why he was considered “more honorable than his brothers.” But for quite a while, lots of people found Jabez fascinating.

My first encounter with Jabez (other than as a random name in the Bible) came in the early ‘80s, when I heard Wilkinson speak about him at a couple of conferences. Like folks years later, this little account of the guy with the odd name captured my attention. But for a different reason than many.

In 2000, when the book was published, many of the readers inserted American cultural values into this biblical anecdote. In reading Jabez’s request that God “would bless me and enlarge my territory,” they interpreted “blessing” in materialistic terms – money, luxury cars, nicer, bigger houses, stuff like that.

It’s true the Lord can – and frequently does – provide tangible blessings for His children. That might even mean a much-desired job, necessary funds to get out of debt, or resources for some special purpose. But when I heard Wilkinson speak and later read his book, I never understood Jabez’s prayer and God’s response in that way.

Having been a follower of Jesus for only a few years when I first heard about Jabez, I had great appreciation for people who had invested in my spiritual growth. I had a desire to “pay it forward,” giving some of my time and energy to help other new believers grow as well. So when Wilkinson talked about “enlarging our territory” or “expanding our borders” as another translation puts it, that meant having an impact on people and the world around me, one that could reach into eternity.

So when I prayed for God to enlarge my territory, I wasn’t thinking in terms of a bank account or things in a store or showroom. I asked Him to bring just one man into my life that I could start to disciple, in keeping with Jesus’ Great Commission to “go and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19). I thought it would be wonderful to have a positive influence for the Lord even in one life.

God answered my prayer. In fact, within six months He had introduced me to two different men, with whom I met individually every week for more than two years. I remain in regular contact with one of them, more than 30 years later.

But when I asked God to enlarge my territory, in effect He said, “I can do better than that.” He also took my goal of one day writing a book and multiplied it. I’ve since had the privilege of writing, editing and co-authoring more than 20 books. A weekly workplace meditation I started writing and editing in 1998, “Monday Manna,” today is being translated – through no doing of mine – into more than 20 languages and is distributed via email around the world, reaching countless thousands of readers.

This blog, which I began in 2008, is re-published on an online newspaper, and a couple of months ago I received an email from someone in the Middle East who had been reading it, telling me how much he appreciated my spiritual perspectives. When God promises “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20), He’s not kidding.

I’m not writing this to pat myself on the back. Far from it. Much of the above resulted simply from God opening doors and my having enough sense to step through them. I offer this only as an example of how God can answer a simple prayer to bless us and “enlarge our territory.” The one condition: That our motivation be to honor Him and give Him glory, using whatever He has entrusted to us and taking advantage of opportunities He provides.

So I admit to being fond of Jabez. Who knows why, in the midst of a long list of Israelite lineage, God chose to single out this guy and expound on him briefly? Maybe, as Wilkinson suggested in his book, it’s because the Lord wants us to know we have His permission to pray for personal blessings – as long as our hearts are in the right place. How might God be willing to enlarge your territory – if you’d just ask Him to do so?