The Prayer of Jabez - Part III

I Chronicles 4:9-10 – “And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bore him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”

THAT YOUR HAND MIGHT BE WITH ME

The third request asked by Jabez was that the hand of the Lord would be with him. Hallelujah! This is what is referred to as the “hand of strength,” and I want you to know that only the Lord is capable of such! As a believer, through every trial that we may face, we can have the assurance of knowing that the Lord’s hand is with us and upon us, and it will never let us fall to the ground. With His hand leading us, guiding us, and sustaining us, we cannot fail. What a promise!

A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

It’s one thing to read this, but it’s another thing to experience it. I was about 22 years of age, and at that time in my life, I was experiencing a difficult situation. It was a Monday morning around 10 o’clock, and I will never forget it for as long as I live. As I stood up from my desk in my office, I walked across the little office that I was in and sat down on the floor, with my back up against the brick wall. My heart was heavy, and my eyes filled with tears as I buried my head into my hands. I began to cry out to God for His help and His strength or, in reality, anything that would help me get through that situation.

As I began to ask God for an answer, for something to help me through the situation, I glanced over at my Bible, which was sitting right next to me on the floor. I reached over, picked it up, and just opened it. Before my eyes came a passage of Scripture that literally jumped off the page to me. It was as if all other words on the page became clear, and all that I could see was the following words:

“But now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour” (Isa. 43:1-3).

As I read those words, the presence of God filled that room, and I began to worship Him and speak with other tongues as the Spirit of God gave the utterance. After a few minutes of this, the Holy Spirit spoke to me as clearly as if He were right beside me, and told me, “Son, as long as you hold on to the Cross, I’ll never let you go.” Praise God! I can sense the presence of God even now as I recount that event in my life, and I believe that you can sense it as well. In other words, He was telling me that even though I might go through some difficult times, as long as I trust Him, He will always see me through. And not only will He see me through, but He will see you through if you trust Him.

GOD SPECIALIZES IN THINGS THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE

As Jabez put his trust in the Lord, we must put our trust in Him, for when we do, He will uphold us in the power of His right hand (Isa. 41:10), and He will bring us through any trial and tribulation that we face.

This reminds me of the words to a song that we sing here at Family Worship Center:

Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?

Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?

God specializes in things thought impossible.

He’ll do for you what no other power can do.

Just believe that today, and no matter what difficulties come your way, believe that His hand will be upon you, and with His hand upon you, you cannot fail.

KEEP ME FROM EVIL

The last request given by Jabez said, “Keep me from evil that it might not grieve me.” This statement, in effect, is what the Lord Jesus Christ told us to pray when He gave us the Lord’s Prayer. Christ would say, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Mat. 6:13). The evil mentioned here by Christ is referring to Satan, the Evil One, and is designed to destroy you and me. Christ tells us that Satan has a scheme that he has concocted that is extremely clever and put together ever so subtly to see to it that we are completely demolished. However, when Christ said, “Lead us not into temptation,” He was telling us that God is the One who draws the parameters, not Satan, which means that Satan can only do what God has allowed him to do, and nothing more.

THE CROSS BRINGS DELIVERANCE

The word deliver in that verse is used to signify a trap that was set by Satan, and the believer cannot dislodge himself from it by his own accord, and he must be delivered by the power of God. This deliverance can only come about through the means of the finished work of Christ and nothing else. That’s why Christ proclaimed that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed Him to “preach deliverance to the captives” (Lk. 4:18), which means that deliverance can only be obtained by simple faith in Christ and Him crucified. When a preacher of the gospel points the individual to anything other than Christ and the Cross, that preacher is not giving that person the means by which he can be delivered. Deliverance can only come about through the means of the slain Lamb, which is Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us at Calvary’s Cross. It all goes back to the Cross.

AND GOD GRANTED THAT WHICH JABEZ REQUESTED

After Jabez made his request, the Bible tells us that God granted Jabez “that which he requested.” This means that the Lord heard his request; He approved his petition; and He granted that which he had asked. If God would do this for Jabez, He will do the same for anyone who dares to believe Him.

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