Bible League: Living His Word "Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain." And God granted him his request.— 1 Chronicles 4:10 NLT Our verse for today is the prayer of Jabez, one of the descendants of Judah. It is a cry for help. The Bible says that Jabez, whose name means "distress" or "pain," was "more honorable than any of his brothers" (1 Chronicles 4:9) and that "God granted him his request." His prayer is a short prayer, but a comprehensive one. Given this, many Christians have taken to memorizing it and praying it for themselves and for others. First, he prays, "Oh, that you would bless me." What kind of blessing does he have in mind at this point? He doesn't say, but it seems to be a request for blessing upon his life as a whole. Instead of everything in his life going bad, he asks that everything would go well. Second, he prays, "and expand my territory." No doubt, this should be taken as a request for more than just the expansion of any property he owned. It is a request for the increase of responsibility and prosperity. Jabez didn't want to stay the same. He wanted his life to be marked by growth and fruitfulness. He wanted everything to increase rather than decrease. Third, he prays, "Please be with me in all I do." He is not asking God to follow behind him and do whatever he wants, but to lead him and guide him through life. He asks for the strength and power of God to go with him and help him do the will of God in every area of his life. Finally, he prays, "keep me from all trouble and pain." In effect, he prays that God would help him to overcome the meaning of the name he was given. To him, it must have seemed like a curse. That's why, instead of distress and pain, he asks for freedom from distress and pain. The prayer of Jabez is the prayer of a devout and honorable man who knew that his only hope for a blessed and meaningful life was God. The fact that God answered his prayer signifies that it was an appropriate prayer to make. Why not, therefore, make it a prayer for yourself and your loved ones? Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJeremiah 3, 4 Jeremiah 3 -- Judah as the Polluted Land; God's Great Mercy NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 4 -- Judah's Devastation NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Thessalonians 3 2 Thessalonians 3 -- Paul's Prayers, Confidence and Warnings for the Thessalonians NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Don't be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.Insight It would certainly be a surprise if you planted corn and pumpkins came up. It's a natural law to reap what we sow. It's true in other areas, too. If you gossip about your friends, you will lose their friendship. Every action has results. Challenge If you plant to please your own desires, you'll reap a crop of sorrow and evil. If you plant to please God, you'll reap joy and everlasting life. What kind of seeds are you sowing? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 43:6 Keep not back.Although this message was sent to the south, and referred to the seed of Israel, it may profitably be a summons to ourselves. Backward we are naturally to all good things, and it is a lesson of grace to learn to go forward in the ways of God. Reader, are you unconverted, but do you desire to trust in the Lord Jesus? Then keep not back. Love invites you, the promises secure you success, the precious blood prepares the way. Let not sins or fears hinder you, but come to Jesus just as you are. Do you long to pray? Would you pour out your heart before the Lord? Keep not back. The mercy-seat is prepared for such as need mercy; a sinner's cries will prevail with God. You are invited, nay, you are commanded to pray; come therefore with boldness to the throne of grace. Dear friend, are you already saved? Then keep not back from union with the Lord's people. Neglect not the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. You may be of a timid disposition, but you must strive against it, lest it lead you into disobedience. There is a sweet promise made to those who confess Christ--by no means miss it, lest you come under the condemnation of those who deny him. If you have talents keep not back from using them. Hoard not your wealth, waste not your time; let not your abilities rust or your influence be unused. Jesus kept not back; imitate him by being foremost in self-denials and self-sacrifices. Keep not back from close communion with God, from boldly appropriating covenant blessings, from advancing in the divine life, from prying into the precious mysteries of the love of Christ. Neither, beloved friend, be guilty of keeping others back by your coldness, harshness, or suspicions. For Jesus' sake go forward yourself, and encourage others to do the like. Hell and the leaguered bands of superstition and infidelity are forward to the fight. O soldiers of the cross, keep not back. Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Samuel 24:23 "Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you."Micah 6:6-8 With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? • Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? • He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Romans 3:10,23-26 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; • for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Colossians 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. 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