The Prayer of Jabez

The Prayer of Jabez
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. —1 Chronicles 4: 10
Jabez’s prayer is misunderstood by many people. They think prayer is a way to get what we want. But that is wrong. God doesn’t exist for our pleasure, nor does He exist to do our bidding. When my heart is aligned with God’s, my prayers won’t be about my desires, but about His.
**Prayer is about getting God’s will done, not ours.
Jabez understood that God wanted to bless him. God wants to bless you too, but there are things you must do to receive those blessings. You must hearken diligently to the will of God. You must walk in the ways of God. You must do the things God has commanded you to do. If, like Israel, you ignore the voice of God, walk in your own ways, and disobey His commandments, you put yourself outside the place of blessing. But if you will just listen to His voice, if you will walk in His ways, if you will observe to do the things that He has commanded, then the blessings will be yours.
Father, help us to truly understand the purpose of prayer, and may we not seek to use it as a means to gratify our own desires. We pray that we will walk in Your ways, and that we will observe the things that You have commanded so that we might know Your blessings upon our life. In Jesus’ name, amen.