The Alpha of Jabez

UV 3068/10000 The Alpha of Jabez
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
I Chronicles 4 v 10

Jabez was an unwanted child and his name means “sorrow” or “trouble.” His mother had named him so as she bore him in much pain. Ironically, that helped Jabez trust completely in the God of Israel. He cried out to Him to keep him from pain for evil might bring short term pleasure but long term or eternal pain. The prayer of Jabez contained in this uni-verse is a model which we all can adopt and learn from. Jabez committed the totality of his life into the hands of his permanent parent- the Lord and God of Israel. He prayed that He would bless him. Whatever be the mess we find our lives in, the Lord can bless it and turn it into a message to humanity to trust Him.

Jabez also asked the Lord to enlarge his territory or his influence in this lifetime. We can pray to the Lord to use us to extend His kingdom or His rule on earth to more hearts and minds of our fellow beings. Jabez also asked that the Lord’s hand be with him, to protect him, to guide him, to provide for him, to lead him, to strengthen him, to support him, to feed him. That alone would keep him from evil, from falling into temptation, from being caught up in this world. He prayed that he be kept from sorrows or grief. This reflects the power of prevailing and proactive prayer, the power of prophylactic prayer wherein we pray ahead of coming events, temptations, sorrows. When we pray in this manner, we are acknowledging that the Lord is sovereign and He has control in our lives, that we ourselves have no control over events that transpire. The name and circumstances in which Jabez was born predicted a life of sorrow and suffering. He did not wait for sorrow or suffering to happen but prayed ahead of time, exercising his faith in the God of Israel. Jabez’s ancestor, the patriarch Jacob had struggled to take his destiny into his own hands and even struggled with God. But Jabez just yielded himself, his life, his future, his well being into the hands of the Lord.
The climactic part of the uni-verse is that the Lord heard his prayer and granted him what he requested. It is a sign of the Lord ‘s favour and grace when He hears our prayers and grants it. The Lord was pleased with the humility and faith of Jabez. He turned his potential pains, sorrows and troubles into joy, blessings and victory. He turned his tears into laughter and thanksgiving. The Lord knows even our sighs and silence. When we align our lives and our hearts and minds with Him, He is pleased to hear our prayer and grant our requests. He keeps us from pain, shame and sorrow. He keeps us from disasters and diseases. He strengthens us from within, inspires us to extend our area of influence. His hand is always upon us as a loving, doting parent or Father. He controls and directs the Alpha to Omega or the A to Z of our lives if we only let Him and ask Him to do so.