The Prayer Of Jabez

A Man Named "Pain"

--- [ I Chronicles 4:9-10 ]  Jabez was honored more than his brothers; and his mother named him Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain."  Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me form hurt and harm!" ---NRSV

Dear friends, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

Would you be surprised if I told you that the number one best-selling book in America is a novel that tells of the sexual and financial exploits of the men and women who seek power in the beltway around Washington D. C.?  That wouldn’t be surprising.

What if I told you that the Number 1 best-selling book in the United States of America according to both U. S. A. Today and the New York Times is a religious book based on a two-verse prayer found in the obscure Old Testament book of I Chronicles?  Now, that’s surprising!  It is truly a testimony to the hunger people today have for God.  “The Prayer of Jabez” by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson has sold over six and one-half million copies.  It is a short book, which can be read in a couple of hours.  And it is an exposition of these two verses in the book of I Chronicles 4:9-10:  “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." (NKJV)

That’s the prayer of Jabez.  It’s short and simple.  And yet, according to news reports, congressmen are gathering in our nation’s capitol to study its implications, and thousands of people testify that praying this prayer has changed their lives. What is there about this little prayer that is exciting so many people?  That’s what we are going to discuss over the next four Sundays.  But today we are going to focus on the man who first prayed this prayer.

I Chronicles 4 begins with a genealogy of people whose names you can hardly pronounce.  So and so begat so and so, and they begat so and so, etc.  Forty-four names into this list, the writer halts.  And he says, “Wait a minute.  I know a little about Jabez.  He was more honored than his brothers.  There is something special about him.  Why was that?”  What is there about this man Jabez that we should remember him 2500 years after his death?  

Maybe it’s his name.  A mother names her son “Jabez” for, she says, he was borne in pain.  Names are important in the Bible. In ancient times a name was often given to a child to describe his or her character -- or the plight of his or her mother or father at the time of the child’s birth.

Isaac means “laughter” because his mother bore him in her old age.  Jacob means a sup-planter or one who is cunning/clever/one who tricks.  We know Jacob tricked his brother right out of his birthright.  Jeremiah means God hurls or throws.  Jeremiah hurls himself right into the midst of the suffering and despair of his people.  Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet.”  Naomi named her sons Mahlon and Chilion, which mean “Puny” and “Pining.”  Both died in early adulthood.  Solomon means “Peace.”  He was the first king of Israel who did not go to war.  And, of course, Jesus: God saves; Emmanuel: God is with us.  

I am sure you will agree with me that it is unusual to name a child “pain.”  “His mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bore him in pain.’” Can you imagine what it was like growing up?  “Oh, no, here comes Pain.”  “We don’t want Pain on our team.”  “You really are a Pain, you know.”

 What could Jabez’ mother have been thinking of?  Surely she was not thinking of the natural pain of childbirth.  Every child would be named “pain” if that were the case.  Many writers believe that Jabez’ mother’s pain was mental and emotional, rather than physical.  One writer suggests that Jabez’ father had in some way disgraced the family since he is not mentioned in the genealogy.

Here is a person who did not begin life with a silver spoon in his mouth.  Every time Jabez’ name was spoken, someone thought, “There goes a born loser.”  But Jabez was not a loser.  Or else his name would not appear in this genealogy.  And certainly he would not be picked out by the writer of Chronicles for special attention.

There are some things we can say about Jabez, even before we look at his prayer.  

FIRST, JABEZ PLAYED THE HAND LIFE DEALT HIM.  He was named “Pain,” but somehow he lived his life in such a way that he became honored in his own time. 

Dr. Paul Tournier, in his book Creative Suffering, follows the lives of many great world leaders.  His research reveals that almost all of his subjects came from unhappy or dysfunctional families.  A number of the world’s greatest leaders began life as orphans.  As someone has said, “It is always through struggle that we find strength.  It is always through pain that we find power.  And it is always through adversity that we find approval!”  Pain often creates great power in people’s lives.

We don’t know about Jabez’ relationship with either his mother or father.  But it is evident he didn’t waste his energy whining about how unfortunate he was.  Rather, he got busy doing something with his life.  He played the hand that was dealt him.

SECOND, JABEZ LIVED HIS LIFE WITH HONOR.  This is probably why Jabez is remembered even today. He was a man of character.

A few years back, Citibank instituted an unusual new loan program called “character loans.”  These particular loans were not granted on the basis of good credit or an outstanding business plan.  Instead, small loans were made on the basis of the loan applicant’s character.  If a loan officer assessed the applicant as being of good character, and therefore more likely to pay back the loan, then he or she would grant the applicant’s loan request.  Out of the $10 million lent through character loans, only $30,000 has not been paid back.  That is a remarkably good rate of return.

Most of us have lived long enough to see that in the long run of things, being a person of integrity, a person who can be trusted, is essential to true success.  Jabez played the hand he was dealt, and he did it with honor.

THIRD, JABEZ TRUSTED GOD.  It’s interesting.  Today, two thousand five hundred years after Jabez lived, he is known not for what he did but what he prayed.  He was not a mighty warrior, or a great writer, or a skilled politician as far as we know.  His name is nowhere to be found in the history books.  He was simply a person who trusted God.  And that is the key that transforms lives.  Jabez prayed, “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!” 

Jabez believed in prayer because he believed in God.  And that is why Jabez’ life is summed up like this: “So God granted him what he requested.”  God granted him blessings and God enlarged his territories and God led him through life keeping him from evil.  Jabez trusted God and God rewarded Jabez by answering his prayer.

King Duncan, author of The Amazing Law of Influence, tells about a young man whose name could have been “pain.”  Each morning when he was a child, Duncan would ride a school bus.  And each day they would pass a home that defined what people in the South used to call, “poor white trash.”  It was a rickety old shack–maybe four rooms.  The front porch sagged.  Under the porch lay a lazy hound, one of several animals that roamed the yard–chickens, cats, dogs - and several young children–in diapers or overalls.  Everywhere you looked there was dirt and disrepair. Weeds and old car parts served as landscape.  Behind the shack was a really small trailer.  Maybe 6' by 8' in very ramshackle condition.  And in it lived a family. 

Sometimes as the school bus would pass by, Duncan says he would see the mother of the family who lived in the tiny trailer out in the yard and always just behind her was this tiny, shy blonde-headed kid named Bobby, trying to hide behind her skirt. Maybe, even at that young age he was embarrassed to be seen living in such desperate conditions.  Nobody in his family had ever amounted to anything that anybody could remember.  And nobody expected much from Bobby.

But somewhere along the way, God touched Bobby’s life and he became more honored than his brothers.  Today he is a widely respected architect and a devoted family man.  He has two children.  One is an architect like his Dad.  The other – his daughter – is a medical doctor.  How do you explain such success out of so little promise?  Bobby took responsibility for his life, he lived honorably and he trusted God.