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Right in the midst of those dull "begots" in the book of Chronicles, the writer suddenly pauses as one name comes up in the list of the descendants of Judah. I Chronicles 4:9-10 stands as a memorial to a man who must have been remarkable in his piety. Indeed, Jewish tradition tells us that he was a teacher among the people, and many young scholars came to the city which was named for him.
His name means "sorrow," or to put it more bluntly, "pain." Who wants to be called "pain?" Can you imagine how his friends might have teased him about that name? Perhaps it was that which caused him to seek God, and say, "I don't want to cause pain. Make me a blessing."
The writer of Chronicles says (verse 9) "Jabez was more honorable than his brethren." And then the writer gives the reason for this honor. He was a man of prayer. He prayed a remarkable prayer, and God heard and answered that prayer.
This little book by Bruce Wilkinson has become a best-seller, not only in Christian bookstores, but on the New York Times best seller list, which does not even include sales by Christian bookstores! Time magazine has done an article about the book. It is a beautiful devotional book with a significant message for every Christian. Across the world, millions of Christians are praying the Jabez prayer as part of their devotional life. Amazing testimonies have come from many of them as they have faithfully followed this little prayer as a pattern for their own devotions.
I have read the book, and I'm making this a part of my personal devotional life. Others of my family and friends have done likewise. I urge you to obtain a copy, read it, and apply it to your own devotional life.
As I read this verse in several different translations to get a better "feel" for it, I ran across my Berkeley Translation. Several years ago, I used it as my Bible for reading the Bible through that year. I had bracketed this passage, because something about it grabbed my attention.
I want you to get a copy for yourself, and maybe some to give to friends. Through my affiliation with Amazon.com, you can click on the picture below and go directly to Amazon and order as many as you'd like for only $5.99 each.
