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Summary
"Prayer of Jabez" : Critically Reviewed
Dear Ones in Christ, "There are, no doubt, passages in the New Testament which may seem at first sight to promise an invariable granting of our prayers. But that cannot be what they really mean. For in the very heart of the story we meet a glaring instance to the contrary. In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not. After that the idea that prayer is recommended to us as a sort of infallible gimmick may be dismissed." - C.S. Lewis It all started just a little over 6 months ago ... someone in church talked about this "great" new book, "The Prayer of Jabez" by Bruce Wilkinson. While he was describing the content, I had red flags hitting me hard in the face. As I filed that in my mind under "things to look into", I stumbled into the local Christian bookstore one day to see this Jabez book was all over the place! I knew that it was time to see what the latest “Christian Fad” was all about. I read the book , hoping my suspicions to be unwarranted. Unfortunately, they were confirmed. At first, I thought that others would cry out with the same concerns. However, it turns out that my opinion--and others who share it’s sentiments--is a very unpopular one about this book. One of the argument's I hear in its favor is that the writer has a good reputation and has written many books. Now, I’m not disputing that. Is a writer’s renown or longevity in ministry a Godly stamp of approval that they should no longer be weighed against Scripture? Of course not! Even the Bereans weighed what Paul said against Scripture.
We all need to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who
“searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” We
need to go to the Book that we should instead be using and pushing - the Bible.
Certainly, it has some say concerning how we should and should not pray.
For those of you who have not yet heard of this new way to
pray, it is from a genealogy in 1 Chronicles.
The secret of this 'no fail formula' is in the words themselves (salvation,
motives, obedience don’t apply!).
To summarize as best I can what this is all about, Bruce
Wilkinson wrote a book claiming that he has found a little known prayer hidden
in the Bible that holds the secret to a blessed life if prayed verbatim, every
day. He has been praying it for 30 years and attributes his own success to
this daily ritual.
Here is the only mention of Jabez in the Bible.
"And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his
mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And
Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me
indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that
thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God
granted him that which he requested. (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)
A couple quick observations:
Do you suppose this is the most "spiritual prayer" in
God's Word? Hardly!
Do you suppose it tickled God's ears so much, that He decided
whomever would repeat it verbatim for all time would get whatever they so
wanted? Hardly!
Is this the only prayer in Scripture God answered? Hardly!
Do you think Jabez himself repeated it verbatim each day for
the rest of his life? Doubtful!
Does Jesus mention it? No!
Does Paul, Peter, ANYBODY ELSE? No!
Has the obvious been so overlooked here?
Could it be that God by His Sovereign choice answered this
prayer for the simple reason stated in verse 9: "And Jabez was more
honorable than his brethren”??? (The Bible is silent on how Jabez was
more honorable than his brethren - we just know that he was.)
This book seems to have it backwards, insinuating that Jabez
stumbled onto a strategic way to pray and was honorable for finding it.
From the book, "Just under the surface of each request
lies a giant paradigm breaker" (p.15)
"I want to show you just how dramatically each of Jabez's
requests can release something miraculous in your life."(p.15)
"Jabez's last request is a brilliant but little-understood
strategy for sustaining a blessed life" (p. 63)
Rather than, “Jabez was an honorable man who cried out to the
One True God of Israel and was answered indeed!”
THE BIBLE SAYS: "The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much." James 5:16
Jabez's prayer was one of a righteous man, as were many other wonderful
prayers in God's Word! God answered it because it was His will to do so.
Wilkinson says in his book that he has said this prayer - word
for word- for the past 30 years.
"The next morning, I prayed Jabez's prayer word for word. And the
next. And the next. Thirty years later, I haven't stopped. If
you were to ask me what sentence - other than my prayer for salvation - has
revolutionized my life and ministry the most, I would tell you it was the cry of
a gimper named Jabez." (p. 11)
"Friends, I have been praying Jabez for more than half my
life!" (pg 16)
"...now heading home, I was physically and spiritually
spent. Staring blankly out at the traffic, I reached for the Jabez prayer."
(pg 65)
BUT THE BIBLE SAYS: "And when thou prayest, thou
shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly. But when ye pray, USE NOT VAIN REPETITIONS, as the heathen do: FOR
THEY THINK THEY SHALL BE HEARD FOR THEIR MUCH SPEAKING. Be not ye
therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
before ye ask him (Matthew 6:5-8).”
How are we to pray? "After this manner therefore
pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matthew 6:9-13).
In Matthew 6, Jesus was giving us a GUIDE or a MODEL of the
manner in which we are to pray. Praying the "Lord's Prayer" is not
meant to be repeated word for word either. He was obviously giving us an example
of how we are to pray.
People whom I have discussed this book with have said, “You
must have misunderstood the author's intent. He’s not trying to make
this prayer a formula for blessing. He doesn't really attribute his
blessings to these specific words.”
If that’s the case, explain the following statements:
From the back cover: "Do you want to be
extravagantly blessed by God? Are you ready to reach for the
extraordinary? To ask God for the abundant blessings He longs to give you?
Join Bruce Wilkinson to discover how the remarkable prayer of a little-known
Bible hero can release God's favor, power, and protection. You'll see how
one daily prayer can help you leave the past behind and break through to the
life you were meant to live."
From the Preface: "I want to teach you how to pray a
daring prayer that God always answers. It is brief - only one sentence
with four parts - and tucked away in the Bible, but I believe it contains the
key to a life of extraordinary favor with God."
"Is it possible that God wants you to be ‘selfish’
with your prayers? To ask for more -and more again-from your Lord?" (pg 19)
"If Jabez had worked on Wall Street, he might have prayed
"Lord, increase the value of my investment portfolios." (pg 31)
"You can hang the Jabez prayer on the wall of every room
in your house and nothing will happen. It's only what you believe will
happen and therefore do next that will release God’s power for you and bring
about a life change." (p.87)
This sounds like The Power of Positive Thinking.
A scenario is given on pages 25-27 entitled "Mr. Jones
Goes To Heaven" which tells a tale about someone who goes to a warehouse in
Heaven. There, Mr. Jones finds a box containing the blessings that God
wanted to give him on the earth but poor Mr. Jones never asked for them.
"God really does have unclaimed blessings waiting for you
my friend." (pg 17)
"That's the catch - if you don't ask for a blessing, you
forfeit those that come to you only when you ask." (pg 27)
Isn’t KNOWING God the biggest blessing of all? If God
never chose to bless us again as long as we live, we would already owe him more
then we could ever repay!
Fortunately, we are not left to wonder how long we have to
recite this prayer before we see results. The answer is in the book.
"I challenge you to make the Jabez prayer for blessing
part of the daily fabric of your life. To do that, I encourage you to
follow unwaveringly the plan outlined here for the next thirty days. By
the end of that time, you'll notice significant changes in your life, and the
prayer will be on its way to becoming a treasured lifelong habit." (pg 86)
When he was on James Dobson's radio program, Focus On The
Family, in March,
Wilkinson claimed that two weeks of praying the prayer of Jabez would change
your life!
Review: We already have heard that it is a prayer
"God always answers" (preface)
and He must do it within 30 days or less!
WE DO NOT - NOR SHOULD WE WANT TO - CONTROL, MANIPULATE OR TRAP
GOD!
WE DO NOT UNLOCK HIS POWER - HE DOES - IF AND WHEN HE SO CHOOSES!
The Bible has many examples of when God did NOT answer prayer
for HIS REASONS. He may also answer our prayers much differently than we
are expecting at times. I would venture to say it is within His Rights AS
GOD ALMIGHTY to choose what to do in each and every circumstance.
THERE ARE NO WORDS THAT WE SAY THAT FORCE HIS HAND. WHO
ARE WE TO CLAIM SUCH THINGS?
Read: Job Chapter's 38, 39, 40 and 41 to find out who HE IS.
Listen to how God takes 4 chapters to DESCRIBE HIMSELF!
Many will immediately say that this book is not promoting the
Word/Faith Prosperity Gospel (AKA: "Name it & Claim it",
"Blab it & Grab it") as some are comparing it to, but rather
seeking just to “expand our borders”.
Question: What borders?!
When did we get borders? How come we never noticed we had
borders around us before?
The "enlarge my borders" catch phrase is from the
Jabez passage itself in 1 Chronicles.
The word "borders" or "territory" is used in the new
translations. In the King James the word "coast" is used.
In the KJV the word borders occurs 43 times , and the word
coast occurs 62 times. In every instance it is always referring to
physical property borders. It is interesting to note, when Jabez
prayed his prayer he was not talking about "expanding his ministry"
(as many are saying he actually means), but literal, physical borders in the
Land.
How "Enlarge My Borders" = "Enlarge My
Ministry" is a puzzle.
But an even bigger puzzle is that we already have opportunities
before us everyday and do nothing about them!
Do you have unsaved neighbors? Family? Friends?
Co-Workers? Or for that matter any living and breathing people whom you
happen to stumble into during the course of a day? If you do, you should
have already been seeking opportunities to share the gospel with them.
And if these supposed “borders” are so all encompassing
that we need to ask for them to be expanded everyday, can we also fall back on
them as an excuse when we are not doing what we are suppose to? ("My
Borders were keeping me back?")
Jesus told us to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).” He didn't place any
"borders" on that. What's all this talk about borders?
Picture this scenario: One day you wake up, you have a
perfect day, you get along great with your husband or wife, and everything seems
fantastic, it goes your way, the kids are behaving, the dinner is special, the
whole nine.
You wake up the next morning and say to yourself, “Everything
went so perfect yesterday (i.e. it worked!) so from now on, I’ll say the exact
same words, do the exact same things and not stray one bit from this routine,
because it worked!"
I would bet that by day 2 (if you even get that far), your
spouse would slap you across the face and tell you to snap out of it when they
see you are no longer having a normal conversation or relationship with them,
but are instead acting like a mindless drone, repeating words that you think
'held the key' to your success the day before.
This is not a relationship, this is ROUTINE or RITUAL, and that
is not what your spouse wants from you. Neither is it what our Lord wants
from us.
This book also does not add any disclaimer that it only works
for Christians, so it can be assumed that an unsaved person might achieve
success as well.
I have even heard some Christians get excited about how people
who are not even Christians are interested in this book and follow its methods!
BUT THE BIBLE SAYS: "If I regard iniquity in my
heart, the Lord will not hear me" Psalm 66:18
"The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the
prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:29
"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even
his prayer shall be abomination." Proverbs 28:9
Not only is salvation necessary to even be having any kind of
relationship with God, but also for God to hear and answer your prayers.
On pg. 27 Wilkinson cites "You do not have because you do
not ask" taken IN PART from James 4:2.
But let's look at that verse in it's context:
"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and
cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye
ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
lusts. " James 4:2-3
(a·miss : In an improper, defective, unfortunate, or mistaken
way ... A synonym for 'amiss' is wrong)
Salvation , attitude, motives, obedience . They all
matter. It is not just about "the right words!"
Prayer is about relationship! This is what God
wants from us - not ritual.
If you have already been Jabezing, maybe your motives have been
pure and sincere. Rest easy, you can put aside this daily ritual and still
'seize opportunities' to witness for the Lord - and despite ourselves - God
takes care of His own.
I want to urge you to instead appreciate Jabez for what he was:
an honorable man in the line of Judah.
But there is another one who came out of this same genealogy
who needs to be our ONLY focus and that is JESUS, and He wants you to Pray from
your heart - Not someone else’s!
In response to people who come up to me and say that they got
everything they wanted by praying the prayer of Jabez every day, word for word:
“While you're at it, why not offer up a whole slew of magical prayers that
will force God to act in the same way He acted when He answered before?
After all, we simply need the right formulas, the right intonations to get God
to answer." In that vein, let me offer you some other alternatives to
the Jabez prayer.
To get the desired reaction out of God you must remember to
vainly repeat the same prayer, word for word, daily or even hourly. God
will not be forced to react to your prayer if you don't follow it exactly. Here
are just a few of the guaranteed formula prayers you can pray to pull God's
chain:
Prayer Name: The Prayer Of Manoah
Prayer Location: Judges 13:8
Purpose: To get God to bring your favorite teachers back
to your church.
Pray This: "O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst
send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall
be born (may substitute any subject you want taught)."
Prayer Name: The Prayer Of Samson
Prayer Location: Judges 16:28
Purpose: To get God to give you big muscles and revenge.
Pray This: "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and
strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may at once avenged of
the Philistines (or whomever you are angry at) for my two eyes (or whatever they
did to you) ."
Prayer Name: The Prayer Of David
Prayer Location: 2 Samuel 15:31
Purpose: To get God to mess with people's minds.
Pray This: "O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of
Ahithophel (or whoever you want to mess with) l into foolishness."
Can you see how ridiculous the prayer of Jabez is today when it
is yanked from its proper context? I hope so! --Wai Szeto
[Last
edited December 18, 2001] |
