“Have you read Jabez yet?”
Your congregation has probably asked. So, how are you handling their latest pop-Christian fascination?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?
Don AycockFirst Baptist ChurchPalatka, Florida
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.
Cheryl SandersThird Street Church of GodWashington, D.C.
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.
Mike GunnMars Hill FellowshipSeattle, Washington
Giving Prayer a Larger Place
The big little bestseller that has congregations asking for more.This book didn’t have a prayer of becoming a bestseller. Or did it? It is, after all, about seeking a larger territory.
Bumping off John Grisham, Jan Karon, and Dr. Atkins, Bruce Wilkinson’s book on prayer hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list and Amazon’s list of most-ordered books. The Prayer of Jabez (Multnomah, 2000), brief at only 94 pages, is based on an even briefer passage, 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. Based on an obscure reference to Jabez, a man “more honorable than his brothers,” Wilkinson, of Walk Thru the Bible, is challenging Christians to seek more blessing, more opportunity to glorify God, and more guidance than they’ve asked for before.
References to Jabez are showing up in the oddest places. (TV Guide reports that Back Street Boy Kevin Richardson and his wife read the book to each other every night, in case you’re interested.)
More relevant to church leaders, the book is sparking sermons and prompting lots of Bible studies. First Baptist Church of San Antonio, for example, had 750 adults in 50 home groups study Wilkinson’s concepts. The phenomenon is reported nationwide and it’s often lay led.
“Wilkinson’s book opened my eyes to a whole new dimension of God’s character, ” said Greg Barnes, a Bible study leader at Brainard Avenue Baptist Church in Countryside, Illinois. His men’s group read the book. “I now recognize blessings I previously took for granted, and that has increased my gratitude,” Barnes said.
“I’ve marked excerpts such as, ‘wanting for ourselves nothing more and nothing less than what God wants for us,'” Barnes said. “These are radical concepts for most Christians, myself included. They have reshaped the way I think and act in my daily walk with the Lord. I now walk closer to Him than ever before.”
A second Jabez book by a different author and publisher has just been released. It appears to be the first of a wave of Jabez-related products. Plaques, cups, and calendars are available now. Studies for women, children, and teens are coming soon.
—Leadership staff, with additional reporting from Baptist Standard.
Jabez Wasn’t the Only One
With all the buzz about Jabez, now’s a good time to preach on other great pray-ers of the Bible.Abraham (Gen. 18:16-33, intercession for a city)
Jacob (Gen. 32:22-32, wrestles with God)
Moses (Exod. 32:1-14, pleads for Israel after the Calf episode)
Hannah (1 Sam. 1:10-20, asks for a son)
David (so many psalms to choose from)
Solomon (1 Kings 8:22-53, 9:1-9, invokes God’s presence in the Temple)
Elijah (1 Kings 18:16-46, prayer over the sacrifice, prayer for rain)
Daniel (Dan. 9:4-19, repentance for the nation)
Jonah (Jonah 2, from inside the fish)
Habakkuk (Hab. 1-3, prophet complains of injustice, God issues work orders)
Nehemiah (Neh. 1:4-11, seeks forgiveness from God and favor with king)
Jesus (Matt. 6:9-13, the Lord’s Prayer; Matt. 26:36-46, for God’s will; John 17, unity of believers)
Cornelius (Acts 10, an angel appears, leads three Gentiles to Peter and to faith)
Paul (Eph. 3:14-21, a doxology)
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