Prayer of Jabez


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.
1 Chronicles 4:9

I re-read the prayer of Jabez today and I suddenly remembered why it seemed so familiar and I felt the need to recite it aloud.

In my early teens I was given a book about it. I was inspired and decided to whisper the verse to myself and to God as my own prayer every night before I went to bed. My journals at the time were bursting with wanderlust, so perhaps I was taking 'enlarge my territory' very literally. Anyway, like most teenagers I soon fell out of the routine and forgot about the prayer entirely, in fact I don't think I ever considered the impact or understood the potential consequences held within those few lines of correspondence between me and God. I guess didn't God didn't forget. I can see now how faithful he was to my request.

My life so far has been rich, it has been wild, tough, painful and wonderful. I have travelled more than i could have possibly hoped for, I have friends peppered all over the world, seasoning my life in the appropriate moments and making me laugh through my tears. I have a great relationship with my family, parents who inspire me and who model a solid and beautiful marriage, brothers who I love dearly and consider great friends. Churches that support and release me in my gifting, people who nourish my musicality and give me amazing opportunities to perform. The chance to study something I love, in depth, at a great university. Yes my eyes leak incessantly and sometimes I get really tired but that doesn't prevent me from running headlong into the blessing that God has provided in my ever widening territory.

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