Jabez's Prayer, Parts C, D, and E

A dear friend of mine is one of those super encouraging types of gals who loves to send greeting cards. She always ministers joy and faith to my soul. I had recently talked to her about some trying times I have been going through, and she sent a beautiful card in which the famous "Prayer of Jabez" quote from the bible was printed along the inside cover.

"And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.' So God granted him what he requested." 1 Chronicles 4:10

Breaking it down, for what things did Jabez ask?
A) That God would bless him.
B) That God would enlarge his territory.
C) That God's hand would be with him.
D) That God would keep him from evil
E) That he (Jabez) would not cause pain.

I didn't jump on the Prayer of Jabez book bandwagon a few years ago. I am not a trendy believer. Because of my natural bend toward skepticism with those kinds of things, I am somewhat ashamed to say that I never really thought about what Jabez was asking of God, yet I know that all scripture is beneficial to me as a believer.

Now that I have really looked at the verse, it is inspiring! Everyone focuses on the blessing and enlarging of territory (which in Old Testament times seemed to be a sign to all that the hand of God was indeed blessing you - think Job, Abraham, etc.). But to me the real treasures within the verse encompass the other things Jabez asked for:
- That God's hand would be with him
- That God would keep him from evil, that he would not cause pain

Those points remind me of the new testament verses in Jude 24, 25:
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Isn't it a comforting thought that we can daily call upon the Lord to keep us from evil? Even more-so, what a faith-building concept it is to know that our God can keep us from stumbling. He is not limited - He cannot fail. The question is, will we call upon Him? I don't know about you, but I tend to try to walk the life of Christ by sheer obedience, kind of like saying, "You have other things to deal with, God, I'll handle this on my own." The end result for me is typically failure, aka "sin".

Pray today and ask for the Lord's hand to be upon you, to keep you from evil, that you may not cause pain. See what happens!