September 14, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Name It and Claim It… "
1 Chronicles 4:10
New International Version
10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
No wonder this is such a popular passage! Who wouldn't want to be pain free and blessed with material abundance? In recent times the prayer of Jabez has been rescued from obscurity in Israel's ancient chronicles to become a standard fixture in contemporary Christian thought. Didn't God Grant Jabez' request? And, if Jabez', why not yours or mine? As God's children, apparently all we have to do is name it and claim it well. And then there are those intriguing beatitudes that speak of the poor in spirit being happy...though nonetheless poor. Did Jesus himself promise health and wealth for his disciples? One does well to proceed cautiously when praying the prayer of Jabez. So what are we to make of the fact that Jabez' prayer was granted? Perhaps there is a clue in Jabez' name (sounding like the Hebrew word for pain), which suggests God knew something special about his particular needs. Yet if God Gives us only what is good for us, how often is wealth really to our benefit? And If life without pain is to be desired, why did our Lord himself experience such excruciating pain? In light of all the passages which call us to suffer as Christians and to sacrifice our abundance for the needs of others, any selfish prayers would seem wholly out of order for believers. Then again if Jesus himself could pray that he be spared the cup of pain, so can we...as long as we remember he was not spared!
The painful question is: If ever I'm tempted to pray for health or wealth, are my motives worthy of such a prayer?
