Main Summary: The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson is a short book that emphasizes seeking God’s blessing, expansion, power, and protection. In it, the author shows how spiritual success increases susceptibility to temptation. And how trusting God for deliverance from evil fosters growth. He also invites readers to actively pray Jabez’s prayer for 30 days to see its transformative results. Drawing from his journey of demonstrating the prayer’s efficacy.
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Lessons You’ll Learn From This Post
- How It All Began
- Asking For God’s Blessings
- Enlarged Territory
- Staying safe from Adversity
- Honor From God
- Engaging The Jabez Prayer
How It All Began
The author’s quest to pray the prayer of Jabez began with his journey sparked by a challenge to become a “gimper for God in ministry.” (Being a gimper, means someone who wants to do the extra and. Willing to go beyond where others stop.)
Inspired by the story of Jabez from the Bible, he reflects on the power of Jabez’s simple prayer and its profound impact. The author delves into the significance of Jabez’s prayer, highlighting its paradigm-breaking nature and its potential to unleash miracles in one’s life.
He invites readers to embrace a life beyond limits, filled with God’s blessings and miraculous workings. Reflecting on his own experience and the testimonies of others, the author encourages readers to pursue a life marked by God’s abundant blessings and to jump into the river of His grace and power.
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Asking For God’s Blessings
Most times we fall into the place of assumptions. Will God hear me? Am I qualified? And the questions go on and on. However, the author invites you to a spiritual retreat, describing an encounter with a seasoned mentor who begins his prayer with a seemingly selfish request: “O Lord, I beg you first and most this morning, please bless…me!”
He challenges the conventional view that asking for personal blessings is immature or impolite, emphasizing that some men and women of faith rise above by thinking and praying differently. Quoting the author’s reflection, “The reason some men and women of faith rise above the rest is that they think and pray differently than those around them.”
He further explores Jabez’s story, a man born into pain and named accordingly, who defied his fate by boldly asking God for blessings. The author emphasizes the radical trust in God exhibited by Jabez, highlighting that the request for blessing focuses on seeking God’s will rather than material gains. Quoting the author, “Instead, the Jabez blessing focuses like a laser on our wanting for ourselves nothing more and nothing less than what God wants for us.”
The author provides insights into the biblical concept of blessing, distinguishing it as a request for supernatural favor beyond what one could achieve independently. Quoting the author, “When we ask for God’s blessing, we’re crying out for the wonderful, unlimited goodness that only God has the power to know about or give to us.”
The author also urges you to embrace the idea of asking for God’s blessing daily, emphasizing God’s nature to bless abundantly. Quoting the author’s encouragement, “Why not make it a lifelong commitment to ask God every day to bless you—and while He’s at it, bless you a lot?”
Enlarged Territory
After experiencing God’s blessings, there comes the temptation to be satisfied. However, the author delves into the significance of praying for an enlarged territory, inspired by Jabez’s bold request in the Bible. He emphasizes the broader implications of this prayer beyond physical boundaries, highlighting its essence as a plea for greater influence and impact for God.
He challenges readers to expand their vision for ministry and impact, urging them to pray boldly for more opportunities to serve: “O God and King, please expand my opportunities and my impact in such a way that I touch more lives for Your glory. Let me do more for You!”
Reflecting on personal experiences and examples like Operation Jabez (an operation to to new territories for Christ), the author illustrates how praying for an enlarged territory can lead to remarkable outcomes and divine appointments: “When you take little steps, you don’t need God. It’s when you thrust yourself in the mainstream of God’s plans for this world… that you release miracles.”
Ultimately, the author encourages you to embrace a life of miracles by fervently praying for an expanded territory and trusting God’s provision and guidance: “God always intervenes when you put His agenda before yours and go for it! Amazingly, if you have prayed to the Lord to expand a border, you will recognize His divine answer. You’ll have a front-row seat in a life of miracles.”
Staying Safe From Adversity
When you have navigated through the challenges of success and spiritual growth, you come to realize the importance of preserving your success. The author emphasizes the importance of praying to be kept from evil after experiencing supernatural blessings. He stresses that, just like Jabez, you should seek protection from unnecessary temptations and ask God to keep you out of the arena of spiritual battles whenever possible.
The author shared the challenges faced when seeking an enlarged ministry. As you grapple with overwhelming circumstances, the author reflects on his early ministry struggles. And encourages embracing dependence as a key aspect of living by faith. Jabez’s prayer for God’s hand becomes a focal point, symbolizing the touch of greatness.
He further illustrates that seeking God’s hand is a strategic choice for sustaining and continuing God’s work, turning dependence into an avenue for God’s power to manifest in miraculous ways.
The author also shares personal experiences highlighting the perils of success and the need for divine intervention to avoid pitfalls. He encourages you to focus on staying away from temptation, recognizing the dangers that success may bring, and relying on God’s power for protection. The overall message is to pray for safekeeping from evil as you move forward in your spiritual journey.
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Honor From God
God always favors those who ask. The author describes being “more honorable” in God’s eyes as seeking His highest reward. The narrative encourages readers to press toward spiritual goals and notes that those on God’s honor roll are often ordinary people with faith in an extraordinary God.
The author emphasizes the joy of knowing that God takes pleasure in individuals who surrender to His power and plan, cautioning that sin can break the cycle of abundant living but encouraging a swift return to God’s presence.
Engaging The Jabez Prayer
To embrace the transformative power of the Jabez prayer, the author challenges you to commit to a thirty-day journey. He outlines a plan that includes daily prayer, recording progress, and sharing your commitment with others.
The author emphasizes that merely knowing about the prayer won’t bring change; it’s acting on belief that unleashes God’s power. He shares his own experience, noting exponential growth in ministry when the prayer became a habit. Through WorldTeach, a vision birthed from the Jabez prayer, the author witnesses unprecedented growth, attributing it to faithful prayer and surrender to God’s will.
He encourages you to join in, promising that your spiritual expectations will shift, leading to renewed confidence and a sense of purpose. Ultimately, he asserts that you were redeemed to ask for God’s best with all your heart, ensuring a legacy of supernatural blessings and divine favor.
In conclusion, this book unveils the transformative power of a simple yet profound prayer. Through engaging narratives and practical insights, the author inspires readers to embrace a life marked by God’s blessings, enlarged territory, divine protection, honor, and engagement with the Jabez prayer for lasting spiritual impact.
Finally, here is a question we’d love you to answer.
How has your understanding of prayer been challenged by the author’s interpretation of Jabez’s prayer? Do you view asking for personal blessings differently now?
We would love to hear from you, please leave your answer and comment in the comment box below.
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God bless you.