Lord, Bless Me Indeed! “Part 2″

In this world, there are many counterfeit blessings. Money is not always a real blessing. If it were, how come many rich people are still unhappy? Fame is not always a blessing. If it were, how come movie stars and celebrities take medicines to put them to sleep at night? The prayer of Jabez asks for genuine blessings and verse 10 says that God granted Jabez’ request. God delights in blessing us. God blesses us to bless others.
In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, Jabez asked for 4 things:

Jabez asked for blessings. The original wording of the Bible goes: “Bless me, bless me.” The Hebrew language doesn’t have comparative and superlative degrees. The repetition of the statement “Bless me” communicates intensity of meaning.

Jabez asked for the enlargement of his borders. This statement implies more territory, more cattle, more work, more employment, more responsibilities, more influence. When we begin to pray this prayer, we must be sensitive to the opportunities before us and God’s leading about them.

Jabez asked for God’s hand to be upon him. God’s hand upon a person always means power. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” It also means God fighting in behalf of that person, as is written in Exodus 15:6: "Thy right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.” ‘God’s hand’ also means protection. The psalmist wrote, “For by their own sword they did not possess the land; And their own arm did not save them; But Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy presence, For Thou didst favor them.” (Psalm 44:3) Ultimately, God’s hand upon us means victory. Moses understood this, thus he told God not to send them anywhere if His Presence would not go with them (Exodus 33:15-16).

God’s blessing, power and protection leading to victory is exemplified in the life of Ezra. God gave Ezra the burden to rebuild the temple. There were oppositions but because God’s hand was upon Ezra, the king and the powerful officials decided to finance the temple and give tax exemptions (Ezra 7:27-28). God also delivered Ezra and his men from ambushes even as they traveled to Jerusalem, unescorted (Ezra 8:31). Like Jabez and Ezra, Jacob needed the same blessing, power and protection. In Genesis 32:26, Jacob prayed, “…I will not let you go unless you bless me." After a very long time, Jacob, was about to meet again his brother Esau. This was the same brother whom Jacob robbed of his birthright, whose blessing Jacob stole by trickery, and whose threat of murder had sent Jacob running to their Uncle Laban.

Jacob couldn’t run away from this meeting though. He was saddled with two wives and two sets of children. What’s more, the night before the meeting, Jacob wrestled with God who wrenched his hip at the socket, causing him to limp. Helpless, Jacob prayed, “…I will not let you go unless you bless me." God told him, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:28) God blessed Jacob then and there. And this was one of God’s blessings to him: when Esau and Jacob met, Esau greeted him with an embrace, instead of a knife. Esau threw his arms around Jacob’s neck and kissed him, and the brothers wept. Many of us have been wrestling with God up to now. God tells us, “I want you to surrender” but we keep insisting on our own way. We end up struggling, not knowing God’s peace, not knowing His rest. Until we see ourselves as God sees us, until we recognize that we cannot live life on our own, we will not know God’s immense blessings. But when we humble ourselves and pray, “Lord please bless me, may your hand be upon me, keep me from evil”, we will come to know God’s victory.

Jabez asked to be kept from evil. If there is one thing that would rob you of God’s power and victory in your life, it is sin. Jabez realized this and prayed to be kept from evil. Jesus taught His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) The key to battling sin is to flee from temptation. Even Jesus’ prescribed prayer includes the line, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13) We carry in ourselves our worst enemy—the flesh; so we make sure to flee from the first signs of temptation. John Dryden said, “Better shun the bait than struggle in the snare.” Resolve never to do anything you wouldn’t do had it been the last hour of your life. Get accountability and be part of a discipleship group. Pray for God to keep you from evil. We all need God’s favor and power in our marriage, in our family, in our career, in our business, in our ministry—in every aspect of our lives. We also need God to keep us from evil as we pursue do His will. Thus, we pray as Jabez and Jacob did. Praying is not twisting God’s arm to do our every bidding. Rather, it is asking God to do his purpose in and through us. Let’s pray the prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:10, and allow the Lord to amaze us with what He can do in us and through us.