Book Review --The Prayer of Jabez

by Linda Cliff

The Prayer of Jaybez   

Breaking Through to the Blessed Life

                                    - By Bruce Wilkinson

"Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, "Because I bore him with pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested." (1 Chronicles 4:9,10)

The opening paragraph of the preface summarizes the book and states that, "I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers . . . I believe it contains the key to a life of extraordinary favour with God.”   

During my trip to the Dominican Republic, the Holy Spirit convinced me that I had to learn more about prayer and integrate prayer more fully in my life.  I have found this little book, only 90 pages, to be a powerful call for Christians to embrace this simple yet powerful prayer.  The author begins by describing how Jabez fits within the genealogy of the Old Testament and describes how this prayer has changed his own life.  What I found helpful were the stories that Wilkinson used to illustrate the power of this prayer.

Wilkinson then breaks the prayer into four sections.  
So Why not Ask–Oh, that you would bless me indeed,
Living Large for God – Oh, that you would enlarge my territory, The Touch of Greatness- Oh, that your Hand would be with me, and Keeping the Legacy Safe- Oh, that you would keep me from evil.

In each section the implications of the prayer are discussed and then Wilkinson encourages the reader to pray the prayer for thirty days, keeping a record of the wonders that God will deliver.

So I ask myself, what will get in the way of this simple request?  I think that fear is one of the impediments, because when God delivers we don’t know how we will react.   I have yet to accept the thirty day challenge but I am looking at the Prayer of Jabez  as part of my prayer life.

The book is available in the church library.