December 12, Pray Like Jabez: Supernatural Empowerment

1 Chronicles 4:9–10 NKJV

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.

Could any of us? Dare any of us to attempt anything for God without His hand empowering us?

But with His hand, we have nothing to fear.

Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)

10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

God’s blessing and a vision for expansion are crucial, but without God’s power, Jabez could do nothing.  

What did Jabez mean when he asked, “Oh … that Your hand would be with me”? Let’s look closer at the two components of his request.

First, the component, the “hand” of God, implies God’s power.

When God’s hand is mentioned in the Bible, we see Him doing something powerful. For example, it was God’s hand that parted the Red Sea and later the Jordan River for the children of Israel to cross (see Joshua 4:23–24). When the Philistines stole the ark of God’s covenant, the hand of God brought judgment upon them in the form of terrible disease and destruction (see 1 Samuel 5:9–11).

In Old Testament Hebrew, there are two different words for hand. One refers to a closed hand, and the other to an open hand—the latter implying that God’s power is not withheld but unleashed, usually immediately. In his prayer, Jabez used the word for an open hand. He was asking the Lord, Please release Your mighty power here and now.

Second, the component, God’s hand “would be with me.”

In other words, Jabez was asking God to act on his behalf—not just in any direction or for any purpose, but toward Jabez himself and for the purpose of enabling Jabez to manage his new territory.

With that understanding in mind, let’s look close at five distinctives of what it means to have the hand of God be with us.

What Does Having “The Hand Of God With Me” Really Mean?

First, the hand of God is not merely God’s power, but God’s person.

When you pray for power, remember that you’re not talking to a machine or some impersonal force. He is your Father. And when God acts on your behalf, He doesn’t do it from afar; He is personally present, closely involved with you and interested in your concerns.

Second, the hand of God is not mere human ingenuity, but divine intervention.

The hand of God breaks through into our world—into our time and space—and performs His will in such a way that we can only shake our heads in amazement and say, “Look at what God did!”

Third, the hand of God is not natural, but supernatural, doing that which only God can do: the miraculous.

Acts 4:29–31 NKJV

Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Fourth, the hand of God is not guided by my wishes, but by His will.

God always does what He chooses to do. Because He is good, our wishes and His will often coincide, so that He frequently does what we request.

The fifth and final distinctive: The hand of God is not evidenced by feelings, but by actions.

Some people who pray for God’s power don’t believe He has exercised it unless they feel something. They expect to feel some special emotion or physical sensation, and when it doesn’t come, they lose faith that God has done anything.

Sometimes when God moves, His presence is almost palpable. Other times He will move in power, and you won’t notice anything unusual until after the fact.

The one guaranteed constant with the hand of God is action. The movement of His hand always results in miraculous change. Whether God’s activity occurs within your person or in your circumstances, His hand brings change in the way things are, not necessarily in the way you feel.

In the Bible we find that God’s hand intervenes in our lives in primarily five ways.

First, the hand of God intervenes to make provision.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 NKJV

Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

Second, the hand of God intervenes to move the hearts of those in power.

Kings? Presidents? Dictators? Emperors? They’re all under God’s sovereign rulership.

Proverbs 21:1 (NKJV)

1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

God did this for Nehemiah when, at the end of Israel’s exile, Nehemiah went to the king of Persia—the most powerful man in the world, who had no vested interest in Israel’s fortunes—and asked him to provide letters of permission and large amounts of money to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah prayed that God would move the king’s heart, and indeed the king honored all of Nehemiah’s requests (see Nehemiah 2:1–8).

Third, the hand of God intervenes with His presence.

A favorite Bible story is found in 2 Kings 6, where Elisha and his servant found themselves surrounded by a huge, hostile army. Elisha’s servant panicked, but the prophet calmly said, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha looked up to the One who commands the angels and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” The Bible says, “Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15–17). God came in a special show of His power, in order to remind the servant, I’ll never leave or forsake you.

Fourth, the hand of God intervenes to defend and protect.

Psalm 144:7 NKJV

Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners,

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus was brought before Pilate, but refused to respond to any of the Roman’s questions. Finally the frustrated ruler said, “Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Listen to Jesus’ answer as He stood there, beaten and bloody: “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:10–11). Although He was going voluntarily to His death, Jesus knew that His Father had the power to protect Him.

Fifth, the hand of God intervenes to overcome your personal limitations.

Anytime you face a big task—especially one that seems impossible—you come face-to-face with the reality that you are a limited being. But be careful not to project your inadequacies onto God. Just because you can’t, that doesn’t mean He can’t. Paul wrote about the lesson he learned when a malady had left him fragile and weak:

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 NKJV

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

You can rest assured that it’s God’s desire to release His hand of power. And you can be confident that He wants to do it through you. Are you ready?