Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.

1 Chronicles 4:10

PART I: A PRAYER FOR SUCCESS

Mentioned once in the entire bible with a name associated with pain, lack and limitations, we find a man who had nothing. In fact things were on a downward spiral. There were no prospects, no five-year plan, not even a piece of land on which he could build. No job, no skills, no friends in high places, no connections. He was literally a man of many sorrows. But out of a heartfelt prayer, one full of faith and trust in God, he uttered a set of 4 different prayers that unleashed into his life 4 blessings like he’s never experienced. The bible says “God granted what he asked for”.

I can almost hear Jabez go – “OMG – He answered me…God has granted my requests…”

• May the Lord bless me… - prosper me, elevate me, promote me, lift me, (indeed means – significant, greatly, big, out of the ordinary)
• May the Lord enlarge my territory – progressive growth, enlarge what I have and what I am, beyond my comfort zone, step out
• May the Lord’s hand be upon me – open hand, favor, anointing, grace, open-doors, the touch of God, to bless everything I touch
• May the Lord keep me from evil – keep me from failure, sin, temptation, canal behaviors, lust of flesh, lust of eyes, pride of life

The first prayer is this:

A prayer for Success

Lord bless me! At first glance one may think that this is just one of those materialistic kind of prayer that some have made it. One of those – I have a house, a car,  a job, a good savings account - but God I want more. Instead of Lord, how can I be a blessing to someone who doesn’t have what I have. This “bless me Lord” sounds like a prayer of a homeless family who just lost everything and have nowhere to turn.

It sounds like a prayer of a husband who lost his job a year ago and has not been able to find a new job since. It is okay for such a person to pray this kind of prayer…Lord bless me! This prayer is for someone who needs that promotion, that healing, that breakthrough that is long overdue… Lord bless me!

The Jabez Prayer cannot be disconnected from the state and condition of the man who prayed the prayer. It cannot be disconnected from the need of a desperate man with a childlike faith. The prayer cannot be disconnected from a gracious God who cares so much about the needs of His children. The word bless means to elevate, promote, lift, increase, magnify. He needed this lift.

Than he adds one more thing to the prayer – bless me INDEED. The word means greatly, big, significant, out of the ordinary, like never before.  I am sure he wanted God to bless him greatly because he was thinking about somebody else who was in a similar position as he was. Bless me Lord… greatly so that I will bless others. I pray today, that the Lord will bless you, prosper you, elevate you, promote you, lift you like never before. May He release in your life today an unparalleled blessing of success so that you will a blessing to somebody.

Here are some ways you can use this prayer:

• Lord Bless Me!
• Make me a successful parent… in order be a blessing to my children and an encouragement to other parents
• Make me a successful pastor… to lead, pastor, and care for my brothers and sister in Christ
• Make me a successful blogger… to write some uplifting, life-changing articles for others to enjoy and grow
• Make me a successful business man/woman… to take care of my family, invest in your kingdom and help the poor

Here are the titles of the next three posts in this series…

• A Prayer of Influence
• A Prayer of Power
• A Prayer of Protection

God bless and see you tomorrow! Walter

Related articles

• The Crux of Jabez’s prayer (thepauls.wordpress.com)