Leadership Journal

I may be the only Christian in America who has not read The Prayer of Jabez. A church member asked me about it, so I looked up the verses. Must have a lot of pictures, I thought.

I first thought people were buying into another "open says-a-me" to get whatever they want. But then I heard author Bruce Wilkinson on the radio. He told the history of this prayer in his life, how for decades he has used it for his goal-setting and action. That made sense. He genuinely seemed to see this prayer as a way to accept God's willingness to answer.

What's a pastor to do with theological fads? (Isn't that an oxymoron?) Sometimes I ignore them. Sometimes I read the books so I can discuss them. My people can generally separate the chaff from the wheat.

Together we've survived The Late, Great Planet Earth, Chariots of the Gods, 88 Reasons, and more. My only fear with Jabez is that people will try to cash in on it.

What next? Jabez, the movie?

In general, I have an aversion to paperback theology. Is this one simplistic? Perhaps. But if four million people are praying this prayer every day who might not otherwise pray at all, then it would seem absurd to protest. I recently purchased three copies to give as gifts.

My only complaint is the omission of comment on the last phrase, "that I may not cause pain." This clause brings a compelling social ethical consciousness to the prayer, a needed balance to the other requests, "bless me, enlarge my territory," etc.

I find this omission typical of popular expressions of white Christianity, which celebrate the pursuit of material blessing while refusing to consider how these pursuits may adversely affect others. To refrain from causing pain is a high moral obligation, actually a prayer for grace as divine enablement to discern moral obligation and to do the right thing.

Let the prayer of Jabez be recited with an attentiveness to justice.

Fresh in the wake of Left Behind, we've hit a new low. Wilkinson used this prayer as a mantra for the past 30 years, and has sat back and watched God grow his ministry. He promulgates an American, capitalist definition of blessing, large numbers, and prosperity. Where does that leave Jesus? The best he could come up with, when asked how to pray, was the Lord's Prayer. I guess he hadn't heard of Jabez.

The book is full of weak anecdotes. My favorite is about a man, Mr. Jones, who dies. In heaven, St. Peter shows him a warehouse filled with "all the blessings God wanted to give him while he was on earth—but Mr. Jones never asked." God is not bound and limited by our actions.

There are many great books on prayer. I tell people to pick up Spurgeon, Murray, E.M. Bounds, Tozer, or Von Balthasar; but stay away from a book that pulls an obscure verse from a genealogy and builds a theology around it. We need to be people of prayer, but we don't need a formula.