Jabez Called upon God (4/25)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Chronicles 3-5.

Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him what he requested” (1 Chronicles 4:10).

Jabez is one of many obscure Bible characters that we know very little about. Yet he is noted for this prayer that he offered. This prayer is a good reminder of some of the things we need to focus on in our prayers.

  • He called upon God. When we offer up prayers and supplications, we offer them up to God (Philippians 4:6). We do not pray to saints, angels, idols, or any other entity.
  • He recognized God as the source of all blessings. James tells us, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
  • He recognized that God was his protector. The psalmist writes, “The Lord is my strength and my shield” (Psalm 28:7). Paul confidently says, “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31).

God heard the prayer of Jabez and granted him his requests, showing us that He looks with favor upon those with this man’s attitude. When we pray, we must remember that God is the source of our blessings and our salvation. If we do not recognize these things, then our prayers are in vain.

Tomorrow’s reading: Psalm 73, 77-78

[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]


Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.


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