A Prayer For Personal Blessing (2)

10 He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

Introduction:

I- The Preparation For Personal Prayer ( 1 Chronicles 4:9).

1 Chronicles 4:9 (NLT)

There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful.

A- The Lifestyle is that which provides the basis for Personal Prayer.

1- Jabez had an honorable lifestyle

a. The text, here, points out that he was a man of character- who was more highly regarded than his brothers.

b. Extrabiblical Jewish writers record that Jabez was a man committed to God.

1) Jabez—was, as many think, the son of Coz, or Kenaz, and is here eulogized for his sincere and fervent piety, as well, perhaps, as for some public and patriotic works which he performed. The Jewish writers affirm that he was an eminent doctor in the law, whose reputation drew so many scribes around him that a town was called by his name (1 Ch 2:55); and to the piety of his character this passage bears ample testimony.[1]

1 Chronicles 2:55 (NLT)

55 and the families of scribes living at Jabez—the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. All these were Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of the family of Recab.

2- Failure to live an honorable and obedient life can hinder our prayers.

(Psalms 66:18)

Psalm 66:18 (NLT)

18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

(Proverbs 15:8)

Proverbs 15:8 (NLT)

8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but he delights in the prayers of the upright.

(Proverbs 15:29)

Proverbs 15:29 (NLT)

29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.

(Proverbs 28:9).

Proverbs 28:9 (NLT)

9 God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.

B- The Motivation that provides the earnestness for Personal Prayer.

1- The motivation is sometimes an internal reaction to external circumstances.

2- The name Jabez literally means “he afflicts, gives pain.” He was asking God not to allow his name to characterize his destiny. In the ancient Near East, names were often associated with the character of a person, or of a desirable or undesirable destiny.[2]

a- Jabez's motivation was personal pain.

b- Jabez's motivation was to avoid causing pain or following a path that brought pain.

3- Personal pain can be a powerful motivator to seek God in prayer.

a- Hannah’s personal pain motivated her prayer. (1 Samuel 1:1-10)

1 Samuel 1:1–10 (NLT)

1 There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim.

2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.

3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas.

4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children.

5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children.

6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children.

7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.

8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”

9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.

10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.

II- The Plan For Personal Prayer ( 1 Chronicles 4:10 a).

1 Chronicles 4:10a (NLT)

He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

A- The plan begins with praying to the right person.

1- Pray to God alone

(1 Timothy 2:5)

1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT)

5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

B- The plan involves getting specific with requests.

1. Jabez was specific in his requests to God.

a. Expanded influence (expanded my territory)

b. Personal Presence

(Psalm 119:173)

Psalm 119:173 (NLT)

173 Give me a helping hand, for I have chosen to follow your commandments.

c. Preservation from the destructive power of sin and evil.

(1) This, the last entreaty of the prayer, is the largest and most far-seeing. Warned by his own name, forewarned by his mother’s emphasizing of her own pains in him, he thus concludes. Having begun in the evil of pain and excessive sorrow, he prays that he and his career may not so determined an end. He does not necessarily pray to be preserved from all suffering, but from such baneful touch of evil itself, its principle, its tyrannous, merciless hold, as might bring him to real and irreparable grief.

2. God want us to come boldly to ask specifically for his blessings.

(Hebrews 4:16) So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

(Matthew 7:7–8) 7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

C- The plan is focused on asking in the will of God

(1 John 5:14) And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

III- The Principles For Personal Prayer ( 1 Chronicles 4:10 b)

1 Chronicles 4:10b (NLT)

A- The principle of complete dependence

(10b) “Oh, that you would bless me”

(Psalms 104:27) They all depend on you to give them food as they need it. .

B- The principle of expanding influence

(v.10c) “expand my territory!.”

* Example: Joseph

C- The Principle of divine guidance

(v.10d) “Please be with me in all that I do”

(John 16:13) “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.“.

D- The principle of divine protection

(v. 10e) “keep me from all trouble and pain!”

(Matthew 6:13) “And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”

IV- The Power of Personal Prayer ( 1 Chronicles 4:10c).

“And God granted him his request.” (V. 10C)

A. The God of all power will answer.

(John 14:13-14)

John 14:13–14 (NLT)

13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

1. The general rule of thumb is that if it will glorify God and is in harmony with the expressed will of God in scripture, he will do it.

CONCLUSION:

[1] Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997. See 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.

[2] Cabal, Ted, Chad Owen Brand, E. Ray Clendenen, Paul Copan, J.P. Moreland, and Doug Powell. The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007.

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