A Simple, Effective Prayer

Most of us have heard of the prayer of Jabez before. I believe it is significant, since the Lord inspired the writer of Chronicles to take note of it, and since God gave him what he requested. (I Chronicles 4:10) It is a very simple prayer, and that is part of the attraction for us. He was specific,but not too specific, and he prayed for things we all need. Let's take a few minutes to consider this prayer again, and look at it from the perspective of the Message translation this time. I believe it  is worth our time.

I believe many people pray for God to bless them and leave it at that. I do not think that is an effective request, because it is too broad, and it is often made in passing, very superficially. However, when we pray for God's blessings, we need to ask very sincerely with passion like Jabez did, and we need to ask God for specific blessings, as he did. We can pray for God to give us what we need. That is what Jesus said in the Lord's prayer, "our daily bread." God can give us land to grow our food, or he can give us a job so we can buy it. Either way, God is interested in us depending on Him for everything. Then, we should always pray for God's personal protection for us, to keep evil from hurting us. I believe both of these requests are important for us during this pandemic, when people are losing income and being concerned for their health. God is there to provide and protect, if we ask Him with the right heart, and we let Him decide how to best do those things. Then, I believe God will give us what we ask for, too. Let's be sure and pray this type of simple and effective and humble prayer and see what God will do.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 5-7.