Introduction: “Living an ‘abundant’ life”
Brother Ben Mozingo introduces the services by examining Eph. 2:1. He explains that by emphasizing and studying each of the words in the verse can give a more full meaning of the detail found God’s word.
“The Prayer of Jabez”
Elder Gus Harter follows the opening and leads us to I Chronicles 4:9-10. These 2 verses introduce a man named Jabez and is the only place he is mentioned in the Bible.
The prayer that he offers here is very short. . .very simple. . .but very significant because of its relevance to us today.
First he asks the Lord, “bless me indeed.” “Indeed” here means “emphatically.” Jabez is begging for a blessing just as we, as God’s people, should desire emphatically to be blessed. He wanted his life to be of benefit – in his job, in his family, as a father, and in every other realm of his life. Yet he knew he could not do it on his own. We should ask to be blessed, that all we do would be to God’s glory.
Secondly Jabez asks God to “enlarge my coast.” By this he is saying “enlarge my area of influence.” He is asking for an increase in his vision and sight of a broader ministry. We should ask for an audience, an opportunity to be a testimony. Even if it is just by the way we live, we can be a testimony to everyone around us without saying a word. In any profession wherever we are, we have an influence on all those around us.
Next Jabez says, “That thy hand might be with me.” He is begging God to be with him. He wanted God’s hand upon his life and to have fellowship with God. We need to seek and ask for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We should desire His presence with us, because it takes God’s blessings to make our life “count.”
Lastly, Jabez says, “and that thou wouldst keep me from evil.” That which drags us down is sin – it separates from God. We need to refrain from getting involved in evil. We need to do more than simply resist temptation – we need to not even go where we know there might be temptation.
We should take Jabez’s example. We need to make this prayer personal in our lives today.
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