Praying the Scripture

“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.  –1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV).

In 2000 Bruce Wilkinson published his book entitled The Prayer of Jabez.  Taking the remote scripture tucked away in 1 Chronicles 4:10 as the basis for ordering prayer, he personally experienced an outpouring of God’s blessings and opportunities to serve the Lord in new and extensive ways.  For over thirty years Mr. Wilkinson prayed the scriptural prayer of Jabez.  He was introduced to the prayer by one of his seminary professors and urged to pray it.  He then wrote the book about the prayer in 2000. Over nine million copies of the book were sold in over two years.  Speaking at The Cove in North Carolina in a Billy Graham Conference, Mr. Wilkinson learned that over 80% of the people attending had read and practiced the prayer and reported amazing results of answered prayer.  The author, in conferences in many places in the world had Christians come to him testifying of the answers to prayer after sincerely praying the scripture.  There are five areas of the Jabez prayer:  (1) Oh, Lord, bless me indeed.  (2)  Enlarge my territory (my sphere of outreach and concern for others).  (3)  Let Your hand, God, be upon me.  (4)  Keep me from evil.  (5)  May I not cause pain.  In 2005 Mr. Wilkinson followed his book on The Prayer of Jabez with another he called Beyond Jabez:  Expanding Your Borders in which he further explained the Jabez prayer and gave multiple examples of answered prayer. 

In my Prayer of Jabez Journal I gave this biographical note on reading the book, beginning to pray the scripture which is the prayer of Jabez, and keep a journal of praying:  “I began praying the prayer of Jabez February 18, 2001 after hearing Dr. Clay Turner review the book in a message at evening service at First Baptist Church, McCaysville.  I began praying individually by name for my family members and others who had asked me to pray for them, using the five-point prayer as outlined above.  I prayed also that the blessings that would come would glorify God and be used by him to reach others.  In my own personal “Jabez Prayer Journal” I began to record prayers and answers. Some very serious problems were laid at God’s altar.  And further on in the journal, some months and  some years later answers were recorded.  I highly recommend to you that you pray scripture—not only this prayer of Jabez, but from the Psalms, proverbs, Jesus’ teachings—anywhere in the Bible a promise is given, pray it sincerely and earnestly—and persistently—until you see how God answers.  For He will—maybe with yes, maybe with no, maybe with wait.  But God will bless in ways that will surprise us if we pray for the answers to honor Him.