The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life Reviews

• Jabez or Jesus?

  
  By A3QFVATPTRK0ID on 2001-07-16
  When Jesus prayed to God, he said, "Not my will but yours be done." But Bruce Wilkinson turns the good prayer of Jabez into a selfish prayer ("Not your will but mine be done") that is just the opposite of the example Jesus left us.

  This book proposes to give us a simple prayer from an obscure part of the Bible that we can repeat every day. It is suggested that we will experience great blessing from God in response to that prayer. (As if God could be manipulated by our prayers!)

  The prayer of Jabez is short, so maybe that is why the book is so popular: "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." Most people don't have any more time for God than what can be uttered in two quick pleas as they brush their teeth. Or, maybe it has become such a top seller because Wilkinson makes such a big deal about the fact that God will grant our prayers just like he granted the request of Jabez. I guess the prayer of Jesus doesn't make such a good pattern for daily prayer because God didn't grant his request (please note my sarcasm, since a careful understanding of the Bible shows that God really did answer Jesus' prayer and I really do think Jesus' prayer is a much better model to follow).

  For a man who has tried to teach the church the unity and storyline of the Bible (Wilkinson is founder of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries and co-author of Talk Thru the Bible: A Survey of a Setting and Content of Scripture) I am surprised to see how Wilkinson takes this prayer so out of the context of the Old Testament, and uses it to tell the masses just what they want to hear. My only hope is that he will now use all his popularity and money to tell the secular world what I trust he still really believes is most important.

  Wilkinson fails to show that Jabez was an Israelite who, when he prayed, asked God for something he knew God had already promised in his covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3 - "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you . . . and you will be a blessing . . . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Jabez knew that God blesses people in order that they be a blessing to others. Ultimately, God blessed all peoples through Abraham's descendant, Jesus. It's too bad that Wilkinson's book isn't about how we can bless others with the blessings we have received from Jesus.

  The real prayer of Jabez should also be understood in light of Exodus 34:23-24 - "Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God." When Jabez asked God to enlarge his territory, he was basically asking God to give him the freedom to leave his land in order to worship God without having to worry about those who might covet and steal his land, crops, and possessions. I don't think most of us in America have to worry about our land when we go to church on Sunday. It's too bad Wilkinson's book isn't about asking God to give us the grace to worship him freely and without the hindrance of all our worries. Rather than teaching us to trust God amidst our worries, Wilkinson's book teaches people to do what we already do too easily - to trust in ourselves and in the "blessings" that we think we need.

  If you want a prayer to live by, why not pray the prayer that Jesus instructed his followers to pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." We would learn and grow and experience so much more of God's blessings if we prayed this every day.

  For dealing with pain, why not pray the prayer that Jesus prayed before he went to the cross: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. But not my will but yours be done." God knows so much better than we do what blessings we really need. When we pray to be free from financial hardship or physical suffering, perhaps God wants to use those things to lead us to a much more lasting blessing. It's true that God promises to grant believers in Jesus whatever they ask in Jesus' name. But note the requirement that we pray according to God's will. Thank God that he doesn't grant our every request!

  If you want a book on prayer, particularly the Lord's prayer, I would rather recommend C. S. Lewis's Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

  If you want a book on dealing with pain, I recommend Tim Hansel's You Gotta Keep Dancin', or C. S. Lewis's The Problem of Pain, or C. S. Lewis's A Grief Observed

  If you want a book on God's desire to bless us, you have got to read John Piper's Desiring God
  
  

• Too much to be concerned about

  
  By A2A5ACXJ3SNBD8 on 2001-05-07
  While Dr. Wilkinson does have some good things to say, I would have a hard time recommending this book. Some of my concerns are :

  1) Dr. Wilkinson claims in the preface "I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers.... I believe it contains the key to a life of extraordinary favor with God".

  I become immediately wary when someone claims to have a found a "key" that's related to only one scripture passage and when they relate God's favor to something we do.

  2) Wilkinson draws conclusions and makes application of 1 Chron. 4:10 which cannot be supported by the text. At no point does he claim that these are his own personal applications but he speaks as if Jabez specifically intended his prayer to be applied the way Wilkinson is doing.

  "He [Jabez] wanted more influence, more responsibility, and more opportunity to make a mark for the God of Israel"

  "What is the secret to the enduring reputation of Jabez? - Things started badly... - He prayed an unusual one-sentence prayer - Things ended extraordinarily well Clearly, the outcome can be traced to his prayer"

  "...we added evening crusades for youth in local churches. God blessed our efforts beyond anyones expectation but right in line with the scope of our Jabez prayer"

  3) Wilkinson ignores the difference in the concept of blessing between the Old and New Testaments.

  4) The act of asking/praying is emphasized more than our spiritual condition or our relationship with God. While Wilkinson does sparodically mention that we should not consider the prayer a formula, he still focuses on the external rather than the internal. For example, to "expand our borders" or "receive blessings" Wilkinson never mentions that our pride or selfishness could be hindrances. Rather, his focus is that we don't have them because we aren't asking for them. This comes across as no more than a spiritualized "name it claim it" theology.

  5) There are inconsistencies in the message. In one chapter, Wilkinson notes that Jabez "...left it entirely up to God to decide what the blessings would be, and where, when, and how Jabez would receive them." But in a following chapter, he is exhorting a group of college kids... "Why not look at the globe and pick out an island.... put together a team of students, charter an airliner, and take over the island for God.... You should ask God for Trinidad, and a DC-10".

  6) Wilkinson presupposes that because God answered Jabez's prayer, it's one that God would want us to pray. Suppose we apply that to the following:

  Judges 6:36ff - Gideon and the fleece

  Judges 11:30ff - Jephthah and his daughter

  Judges 16:28ff - Samson avenges his eyes

  1 Sam. 8 - Samuel prays for a king

  God answered these prayers, but does that mean He wants us to pray them?

  7) Here are a few quotes that really caught my attention:

  I read this section and almost decided to put it down. Wilkinson is talking about a time when he was a youth pastor and they decided to do backyard Bible studies as part of a larger evangelistic effort. A person who helped them train said getting 13-14 kids in each study would be a success. After he leaves, Wilkinson says to the kids "If we don't have one hundred kids in each club by the end of the week, we should consider it a failure".

  "Even though there is no limit to God's goodness, if you didn't ask Him for a blessing yesterday, you didn't get all that you were supposed to have"

  "With the fourth plea of Jabez [keep me from evil] as part of our life, we are now ready to move up to a higher level of honor and exponentially expanded blessings"

  "Reread this little book once a week for the next month, asking God to show you important insights you may have missed"
  
  

• Why not the "Prayer of Jesus" instead?

  
  By A3APYWXL54R4R6 on 2001-02-23
  Since a number of my Protestant friends are reading and talking about this little 93 page book, I decided to give it a quick read. In it, Wilkinson promotes "breaking through to the blessed life" through the daily recitation of a short--and mostly forgotten--prayer tucked within a list of genealogies in 1 Chronicles 4:9-11. The prayer states:"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" (NIV).Since my own prayer life has been undergoing a transformation over the past couple of years, I was impressed by a number of similarities between what Wilkinson advocates and what I've learned, so far, of the Orthodox Christian rule of prayer.1. He advocates the daily use of a biblically-based fixed prayer.2. He suggests that the purpose of the prayer is to transform the one who prays (he uses the term "revolutionize").3. One of the focuses of the prayer is to ask for God's blessing, which he states is spiritual and not material (in contrast to the "name it and claim it" types of prayer advocated in some Protestant circles).4. In seeking to have God work through us normal people, he states it in the following mathematical formula: My willingness and weakness + God's will and supernatural power = my expanding territoryWilkinson defines "expanding territory" as "where you ask God to enlarge your life so you can make a greater impact for Him."5. He states we come to a place of dependence on God (in contrast to the independence advocated in this world) when everything goes against common sense; when it contradicts your previous life experience; when it seems to disregard your feelings, training, and need for security; and when it sets you up to look like a fool and a loser.6. Wilkinson stresses that we need to do more than to ask for strength to endure temptation, but 'to ask God to keep us away from temptation and keep the devil at bay in our lives.'7. In saying we should want to be "more honorable," Wilkinson compares it to striving for God's highest reward, as when St. Paul talks about pressing on toward the goal.8. Wilkinson assures the reader that once you set in motion this process your faith will be given a good testing. The cycle can be broken by sin, however if you have been in this "cycle," the grief over sin will be deeper. The reader is encouraged to "rush back into God's presence and make things right, whatever it takes."The above summary contains elements advocated by most, if not all, liturgical traditions in Christianity. In some ways, I think Wilkinson may be responding to a need within much of Protestantism, where traditional forms of prayer have been abandoned in the past 100 years for more spontaneous, or even charismatic, ones. There is a growing need being expressed in Evangelicalism to return to various forms of fixed prayers. A recent issue of Christianity Today highlights this issue.My main regret over this little book is that Wilkinson has devoted so much energy and time (he states over half his life) to promoting the Prayer of Jabez. As a Christian, one would think he would have been more productive (dare I say obedient?) to spend his time and energy promoting the Lord's Prayer, which our Lord Jesus Himself introduces with the phrase, "This is how you should pray" (Matthew 6:9).The Orthodox believe in praying fixed prayers at least once a day, but at the heart of each set of prayers is the Lord's Prayer. After all, this is how we should pray. I think it would be wise for those who read "The Prayer of Jabez," to take some of the concepts promoted by Wilkinson and use them, on a daily basis, with the Lord's Prayer instead. I'm reminded of one of my last times as a music leader with my former Protestant youth group, when I asked them to pray the Lord's Prayer with me, and several of them didn't even know it. That's a sad commentary on how far things have gone from the most honored of Christian prayers.So, let's replace the Prayer of Jabez with the Prayer of Jesus. It'll "revolutionize" your life.
  
  

• WARNING: Danger Ahead!

  
  By AXSBLQNESCO2I on 2001-05-01
  To Wilkinson the key is that Jabez stumbled upon the right formula for asking things of God. His emphasis is on Jabez finding the correct method, instead of on God and His Sovereignty. However, for Jabez the focus of Jabez's prayer was on God and His provision and protection. Jabez simply asked and God gave him what He requested - not because Jabez said the right thing or manipulated God into granting his request.

  The danger is that Wilkinson's teaching leaves no room for God to say "NO" or "WAIT." It simply puts God in a box. However, the Bible clearly teaches that God has the absolute right to do whatever He pleases with us. And yes, that may mean that God says no to our prayer requests. This debunks Wilkinson's claim that sin in our lives is the only thing that will stop the repetition of Jabez's prayer from working. We must remember that God's purposes for us and our lives are far beyond what we're able to comprehend, and we can't know the mind of God and we can't coerce Him into blessing us. He can't and won't be controlled or manipulated. If He could, then He wouldn't be God, and He wouldn't be worthy of worship, honor, and praise.

  To pull just two quotes from the book, Bruce's states "I want to teach you a prayer that God ALWAYS answers." and "I believe it (prayer of Jabez) contains the key to a life extraordinary favour with God."

  Regarding the first point, where in scripture does it state that praying the prayer of Jabez will always get God's ear, and require Him to answer? According to the Bible I study and read, when Jesus taught us how to pray, he taught us "Our Father, which are in heaven . . .", not "Oh, that You would bless me indeed . . .".

  Second, where in scripture does it teach us how to get extraordinary favour with God? Again, the Bible I study and read teaches that God is love. There is no height, nor depth, nor length to the love of God. Since God already gives us ALL love ALL the time, how can we get even more favour? We already are God's children and have as our inheritance ALL of God and ALL of what God offers.

  Ponder this. There are no formulas to God. There is but one God and he can not be put in a box and be our personal genie. God has the absolute authority to do whatever He pleases with us, even if that means God says no to our requests. God's purposes for us and our lives are far beyond what we're able to ask for, or comprehend. God can't be coerce into blessing us. He can't and won't be controlled or manipulated. If so, God wouldn't be God.

  Now, if Bruce instead taught about a deep, abiding, loving relationship with our Father who will sustain us through heartaches, failure, and success, then this would be a great book. Instead, Wilkinson's teaches a shallow "results-oriented" faith that is supposed to guarantee success, as opposed to a deep, abiding, loving relationship with our Father that will sustain us through heartaches, failure, and success.
  
  

• This book is a lie based on a lousy translation.

  
  By on 2001-06-16
  "The Prayer of Jabez" is based on the following rendition of I Chronicles 4:10: "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!"

  Note the final phrase, "that I may not cause pain!" This makes it appear as if Jabez is less selfish than he might otherwise seem. Think about it--he already has "territory"; he already is wealthy and powerful, and yet he prays to God for MORE. That final phrase, however, makes it APPEAR as if Jabez wants more so that he will not "cause pain," that is, it shows Jabez as being concerned about others as well as himself.

  The problem is, virtually all other biblical translations render this passage quite differently. For example, the King James Version says this: "Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!"

  "That it may not grieve ME"--see the difference? In the KJV version, there is absolutely NO evidence of selflessness on the part of Jabez. The same is true for other translations, which have the following in verse 10: "keep ME from hurt and harm" (NRSV); "don't let anyone hurt ME. Then I will be free from pain" (New Century Version); "let ME be free from pain" (Revised English Bible); "help ME and make ME free of misfortune, without pain!" (New American Bible); "keep harm away and MY distress will cease" (New Jerusalem Bible); "work deliverance from evil, that it not pain ME" (Jewish Publication Society Version); "keep ME from harm so that I will be free from pain" (NIV).

  I could go on, but you get the picture. Bruce H. Wilkinson has taken his text from what may well be the only biblical translation that doesn't depict Jabez as totally selfish. "The Prayer of Jabez" is rotten at its core.

  I should also add that this is a bad book in other ways as well. It is shallow. It is basically feel-good fluff, and not much fluff at that--Wilkinson has so little to work with he has to pad it out to make his tiny little book. Finally, of course, there's the fact that this book appeals to our greed--and to that extent it's simply not a Christian book at all.

  Don't waste your money.
  
  

• Did you read the Bible chapter?
  By A1X80Y5OJK5PGF on 2001-04-15
  I came across this book because of a Christian's recommendation. Not being a Christian myself, I might be more critical than the rest of you. It seems to me that the Christians who advocate this book just want more wealth and power for themselves. It's a book about becoming more selfish in your faith, not about praising God, not about acknowledging that God, who is awesome, should be revered. Do you think of God as your personal concierge, or as your bodyguard fending off whatever enemies you happen to make while seeking your "blessings"? From reading the chapter in I Chronicles that this book is based on--and I read several different translations--it's clear that Jabez is after more power--more land or territory--and that he wants God to grant him these without impunity. What's really disturbing is the end of the chapter. It shows the way Jabez, supposedly with God's advocation, must have gone about expanding his territory. If he was like his kin in this chapter, he used God's "blessing" as justification for, not just war on his enemies, but genocide. Jabez's kin go to another group's settlement, a quiet and peaceful place, and without being threatened kill those who live there (who are known to be peaceful) and inhabit their dwellings in order to graze their own animals there. But they don't stop with that! They go out and get those who escaped. It's extermination. Why would you want to model yourself on Jabez? What does that have to do with being like Christ?
  
  
• A small book with a big message
  By A1IOJE0W1NXOSE on 2001-06-15
  In his book, The Prayer of Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson challenges Christians to live life more fully by praying a prayer every day and then recording the results. Jabez is a rather obscure character in the Bible who appears in 1 Chronicle 4:9-10. He is described as "more honorable than his brothers", but what sets him apart is his powerful prayer. Wilkinson describes each part of the prayer and explains some of the consequences of praying it each day. Basically, the prayer asks for increased blessings from God which will lead the believer to a deeper and fuller Christian life which will be characterized by greater responsibility and service. Wilkinson throws down a challenge to his readers, gives them a method to revitalize their Christian walk and then leaves it squarely up to them as to whether they have the courage to pursue it.
  
  
• Jabez and Hermeneutics
  By A1DH7V7PORVEAN on 2001-06-04
  Jabez's prayer contains some very honorable petitions. I think they are worthy of meditation and reflection. His prayer may even be an impetus to pray differently. Sadly, he is one of the many biblical and historical characters who loved God, and yet, so very little about them is revealed to us. Their story is reserved for another time, another place, another realm.

  I believe that if the reader were to really believe The Prayer of Jabez, and follow Dr. Wilkinson's advice, the reader would be inviting four holes to develop in his Christian foundation and these will be the genesis of a significant "eating away" of one's faith.

  Hole #1 Hermeneutics - this is the theological word for "the art and science of interpreting Scripture's meaning." The focus is on how to understand the author's intended meaning for a text. There are methods for doing proper exegesis (drawing the meaning out of the text), and they focus on understanding the author's purpose for the book and the context of thought where the passage is found. Scripturally, one would ask the questions, "What is the meaning of this passage?" "Why is it present in the book?" Relating this to 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, our main concern should be this, "Is there any insight in the context which says this prayer is to be for all believers?" Does the writer give word or inferences that the life of Jabez is one that he wants all to emulate? Does the rest of Scripture do any of this with Jabez's life and prayer? If not, then why can this passage be used to promote the principles The Prayer of Jabez is promoting?

  Hermeneutics establishes the rules that govern the perimeters of meaning and application a passage can support. Where is the biblical authority to make the following statement, "I want to show you just how dramatically each of Jabez's requests can release something miraculous in your life?" (page 15)

  Hole #2 Testimony of the historical Church - is there any evidence that anyone in Church history has advocated praying Jabez's prayer like Dr. Wilkinson is recommending? Approximately 4000 years has gone by since Jabez. Was this prayer mentioned by the prophets? Old Testament saints? Jesus? Apostles? Church Fathers? Reformers? Why has there been such silence on this prayer? Dr. Wilkinson is advocating for it to be prayed every day and calls it "the second most important sentence in my life." Do you think a prayer of this importance would have been mentioned, or practiced, by the historic Christian community? Does the silence of history in this matter caution the present day Christian community? I think it should.

  Hole #4 Logic and Reasoning One particularly important faculty of the mind is reasoning. I think Christians should be disturbed by the reasoning used in The Prayer of Jabez. In general, I think it is a good practice to make note of what honorable people do. This is one of the reasons people enjoy reading biographies of famous, honorable historical figures. Individual character and thought produce actions and words. But, the formula does not necessarily work backwards -- honorable words and actions do not always produce honorable character and thoughts. It is a mistake to think that imitating an honorable person's actions will necessarily make one honorable.

  Do you see the fallacy in this? It has to do with cause and effect. Jabez, an honorable man (cause), prayed a prayer and it was granted (effect). In Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez, the focus is taken off of the "person" of Jabez and placed on his "asking". The new cause is the "prayer" itself and not Jabez.

  A further unhealthy use of logic and reasoning is found early in the book, on page 11. "The next morning, I prayed Jabez's prayer word for word. And the next. And the next. Thirty years later, I haven't stopped." Chapter seven of the book is a story of what has happened in the life of Dr. Wilkinson over the past thirty years; it is a very impressive chapter. However, now we see he credits these blessings to God granting his and his wife's daily Jabez prayer. The logical fallacy being displayed is formally called post hoc (Latin for "after this"). Just because there was an activity before an event does not make it the cause for the event nor does it create a formula generating similar results. Remember the rooster who thought he made the sun come up because of his daily, morning crowing?

  What do we make of all this? What I intend for this article to do is to draw attention to a lurking danger. Dr. Wilkinson is prompting the Christian community to do more with this passage of Scripture than was intended by the author. Now, I'm not suggesting life will suddenly come crashing down around the person who follows his advice. What will happen is a subtle loss of understanding of how to read, interpret, and apply the Scriptures. If so much can be drawn from an obscure life tucked away in Chronicles, if so many good thinkers have missed this over the centuries, then, shouldn't we feel a bit bewildered? What else are we missing? How do I know I understand the meaning of the Scriptures at all? The Scriptures now become more of a mystery versus a knowable communication from the living God to human beings.

  Ideas have consequences. Decisions matter. Language matters. God's language must be properly interpreted and applied or we can expect an eroded faith, full of holes. When Scripture is interpreted properly, Christ, The Rock, is revealed to us. On Him we can build our faith and stand against new ideas, clever arguments, and distractions.

  
  
  
  

• Warning
  By A1TVSCTINCPXP4 on 2001-05-26
  If you read through the excerpt of chapter one, you find a grave error in Wilkinson's theology. When he identifies the prayer of Jabez, Wilkinson leaves out the last, and most important part. Wilkinson quotes the prayer, "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." The rest of the prayer, the part that Wilkinson leaves out of his quote says, " . . . that I may not cause pain!" The Bible warns against "vain repitition" and indentifies it as the prayer of the ungodly. Wilkinson takes the prayer of Jabez out of context and turns it into a mantra. The context of Jabez's prayer is this: Jabez's name means "pain." His prayer is simply a plea for God to bless his life--to keep it from fulfilling it's expected destiny of causing pain--so that he can be a blessing to others, rather than a curse. Wilkinson's understanding of this prayer is seriously flawed. I urge anyone interested in his book and it's teaching to dilligently seek the contextual, Biblical understanding of Jabez's prayer. Follow the example of the Bereans in the latter part of the Book of Acts who researched the words of Paul the Apostle to make sure they were true. Study the passage, don't take Wilkinson's word on it. The prayer of Jabez is decidedly NOT a call to prosperity and blessing, but a simple account of a simple man seeking for God to use him to bless the lives of others. Wilkinson claims the prayer "works" and so do many of his readers. But just because a thing "works" doesn't sanction it as a work of God. The Bible warns of end-time deception. Our surest defense against it is a thorough, CONTEXTUAL understanding of God's Word.
  
  
• Long book for short verse?
  By on 2001-03-20
  Forgive me for being antsy. However when people start writing things like "Every Christian Must read this book!" I see little red flags in my head. Sure, "The Prayer of Jabez," the verse at least, is a great reminder that God DOES wish to bless us to do his will. But could a well-lengthed pamphet do the same? It took 10 minutes on Focus on the Family (where the author discussed the verse) for the main point to be made with supporting scriptural evidence.

  I'm also concerned about two things: Christian pragmatism and "The Emperor has No Clothes." It turns into a simple "If I just read this book and pray this prayer "It" always works." Not God, but "The Prayer." 2nd, I'm afraid we might have fallen into a conditioned response: something good happens and we credit "The Prayer," even though people who do not pray this prayer have the same experiences.

  This is not a bash the author, who is a clear Lover and follower of Jesus. Nor does it question the idea of praying like Jabez..but as another writer here said, read the verse PLUS the rest of the Bible!
  
  

• Reservations about the book, not prayer
  By A2O1FLF439GX3P on 2001-04-14
  I tend to be wary when someone hints that a certain formulaic prayer is bound to catch God's attention. My ears will perk up when that person says this prayer ought to be prayed "every morning" and that a book about this prayer should be "reread once each week for 30 days" (p. 86). While most of the general principles given by the author are quite valid--praying with faith and power--I still have some reservations about this short 92-page book that is sweeping through many evangelical churches. Having personally heard Dr. Wilkinson speak on this topic, I am concerned that many sincere believers will somehow get the wrong idea that God affirmatively answers all prayers offered in the order of Jabez. In fact, one could easily get the impression that God never says "no" to Dr. Wilkinson, and I don't think he really intended to communicate this idea. (Or did he?)

  The Bible very clearly says that God will answer our prayers according to His will and not according to our personal whims or desires (1 John 5:14). Sometimes God does not give us what we ask for, and that was OK for Paul who claimed to have prayed three times about a "thorn in my flesh" (2 Cor. 12:7); however, Paul was told "no" each time because God's "strength is made perfect in weakness." Now, with that being said, I want to go on record as saying that I certainly believe in prayer. Christians are absolutely commanded by scripture to pray for blessing, for enlarged territories, for God's hand to be with us, and for staying away from evil. I just hope The Prayer of Jabez doesn't become a magical mantra that is misused by sincere seekers after God.
  
  

• Blessed Insight or Dangerous Doctrine?
  By A33ZTLEC23X7XZ on 2001-05-13
  Although Dr. Wilkinson's book has some value, the doctrinal errors and several misconceptions about God and prayer keep me from reccomending this book.

  The first statement Wilkinson writes (in the preface) is a doctrinal error in of itself. Saying that God will always answer (positively) a prayer other than something central to His will all the time (e.g. Your will be done, All Glory be to God) is a Biblical error. Job states this well: "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away"

  Other flaws include the inaccurate assumption that God is required to answer a prayer for everyone just because he answered it once. This is also incorrect. ALso, the book implies that God is sitting around waiting for people to pray this prayer, the "key" to the great Christian life. Bogus!

  The Prayer of Jabez sets itself squarely against Jesus, however, when it states that this is how God is wanting us to pray. Jesus said the opposite, than in prayer our focus should be on God and His kingdom, will, and glory. Jabez is focused on our kingdom ("expand my territory"), our will ("bless me"), and our glory ("your hand would be with ME").

  Sorry, but I cannot reccomend this book. It borders on health and wealth and Faith Movement doctrine and should not be taught as Scriptural.
  
  

• Think Different, Christian!
  By A3TIJC6L8USJ6Q on 2001-05-04
  "To all who--like those Christians in the book of Acts--look at who they are now and who they'll never be, and what they can do now and what they'll never be able to do ... and still ask God for the world." (dedication of the book)

  This book is no Bible commentary, it's not a rigid exegesis of scripture. It does, however, throw down the gauntlet to those who claim to be Christians, yet expect their "god" to be reasonable & practical. The Reverend Doctor Wilkinson springboards off an obscure text in the "begats" to challenge believers to actually =BELIEVE= instead of settling for their own limitations:

  LITTLE PRAYER, GIANT PRIZE

  "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bore him in pain.' 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." (I Chronicles 4:9-10)

  As Wilkinson puts it "Things started badly for a person no one had ever heard of. He prayed an unusual, one-sentence prayer. Things ended extraordinarily well."

  SO WHY NOT ASK?

  In chapter two, Wilkinson challenges the believer to "think different". Most of us are conditioned to accept limits and never think outside the box. Why not ask God to bless us? Why not ask God to take us beyond the possible and the practical? He reminds us that God's nature is to bless and that His bounty is limited only our lack of asking--not by the constraints we imagine.

  LIVING LARGE FOR GOD

  Wilkinson imagines Jabez looking at his circumstances and concluding "Surely I was born for more than this!" He challenges Christians to stop settling for what is simple, what is convenient, what is practical, and to ask God to move the boundary lines, to enlarge their lives for Him. He presents the equation: "My willingness and weakness + God's will and supernatural power = my expanded territory".

  THE TOUCH OF GREATNESS

  In this fourth chapter, Wilkinson challenges the feelings of inadequacy that often come after entering enlarged territory. This, he states, is =DEPENDANCY=, being forced to rely on God instead of on one's own wits and resources.

  KEEPING THE LEGACY SAFE

  Here Wilkinson teaches that Christians ought not to ask merely for power to overcome temptation, but should ask to avoid temptation entirely. Being delivered from evil means staying well away from sin, not testing borders. A second point he makes is that Satanic opposition is to be expected by those praying and living the Jabez prayer. When believers are oppressed and opposed, this should not be a point of fear, but an indicator that they are on the right path.

  WELCOME TO GOD'S HONOR ROLL

  Wilkinson examines the effect of praying the Jabez prayer in his own life. He points out how "expanded territory" leads to praying for even more blessings and brings an even greater territorial expansion. The only thing that can break this cycle of blessing is sin, which breaks the flow of God's power.

  MAKING JABEZ MINE

  He concludes the book with this little challenge: Pray this prayer each morning and keep a record on a calendar or chart; write the prayer where you can see it and be reminded of it; reread his book each week for a month (it's handy, 7 chapters of the book, 7 days of the week); tell another person of this commitment; keep a record of changes; start praying the Jabez prayer for family and church.

  CONCLUSION & CRITIQUE

  I ran across this book when my spiritual life was being challenged to look beyond the expected and expect the abundance available to me. This is a great Promise Keeper book. It buys into the middle American mindset but challenges it with the evangelical version of Biblical piety. Most Christians that I've known need the challenges in this book. It's too easy to settle for the practical, rather than inviting Divine transformation of your world and worldview.

  Again, this is basically a 7 part inspirational sermon on paper, it is not a scholarly piece of Biblical exegesis. Those who complain about the context of genocide miss the entire point of the book. I find one basic flaw in the book, however, it avoids important Biblical social teachings. Wilkinson singles out pornography, divorce, infidelity, the American emphases on rights and freedom as defects. While decrying these sins, he avoids the structural injustices that lead to poverty, homelessness, and oppression. While busily challenging believers to enlarge God's territory, he never mentions Jesus' challenge to care for his suffering children:

  It's 96 pages long. The Amazon price is minimal. If you're an evangelical Christian, you've got no excuse for not reading this little gem (The chapters are short enough to read in the bathroom for goodness sake!)--but will you actually apply it to your life? A prayer on your knees beats an entire bookshelf any day!

  ((If you'd like to dialogue about this book or review, click on the "about me" link above. Thanks!)
  
  
  
  

• Dangerous Reading
  By A2OTEIATAGQDY on 2001-03-22
  It shouldn't be that surprising that the new 'Christian' Best Seller has reached the top of the charts. After all it centers on what Christians love to sing, praise and thank God for- themselves. The nature of blessings, or so the orthodox church has thought for centuries, is that they were blessings- undeserved and from grace alone. Wilkinson has slyly brought this 'Theology of Glory', focusing on man's glory, into the evangelical spotlight. It is an easy book to get excited about- it's short, it touches what we suppose to be our biggest problem, and it promises results. But what Christians have failed to realize is that there biggest problem isn't boredom and 'not enough blessings' in their lives. Rather our problem is seperation from a holy God. The solution isn't short mantra-like prayers but rather a crucified Lord. While the evangelical church, through Dr. Wilkinsons book, turns inward on itself it misses the one blessing all may receive, and this blessing is found outside of you and me, a few miles outside the city walls of Jerusalem some two thousand years ago.
  
  
• NEGATIVE
  By A10YUYLO5WHV4Q on 2001-07-05
  I enjoyed reading this book and can get some good from it, but taking all into consideration, I must give it a thumbs down. The book's theme seems to be that God will honor this prayer above a prayer that we utter from our own heart. That is not consistent with Jesus's teachings. When I think back to what Jesus tried to bring to earth, he led his ministry away from the ceremonial and the ritual and towards an honest and personal relationship with God.

  There is a message that this prayer can be used as some kind of lucky rabbit's foot to receive a bigger share of God's blessings.

  Yes, the Prayer of Jabez is in the Bible, but I believe it is there for us to learn from the character of Jabez and to study Jabez's motives and his relationship with God. To imply that repeating this prayer daily will bring us success is no more scriptural than saying that building an ark will bring a flood.

  Yes, I should focus more each and every day on what more I can do for God. However my focus should not be on what is in it for me.
  
  

• "Be imitators of Christ"
  By A1Z2JIJBX312OK on 2001-05-01
  I do not question the motives or intentions of those who have been blessed by this book. I acknowledge the possiblity that God is using it to bring other people closer to prayer. I DO, however, disagree with much of Wilkinson's premise. As hard as he tries to separate himself from people who preach prosperity gospel, "Prayer of Jabez" is the same thing with a different name. Who cares if it's not about material blessings? Are we Christians to assume that we somehow control what God wants to do? Is God ineffective unless we human beings say the words from this prayer? I understand about asking for blessings for your ministry, but I would argue that most of us do this anyway, and would also point out that quite a few people whose "ministries" have been extremely "blessed" in one sense have turned out to be crocks.

  I would encourage Christians to look to one of the least "blessed" people in the Bible--Jesus Christ. No home, no family, no possessions, no land, etc. As imitators of Christ, we are called to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow. Unfortunately, the prayer of Jabez does the opposite of denying ourselves--it gives human beings so much agency in the matter that it almost makes God our servant rather than the other way around.

  One thing is for certain--if Wilkinson had prayed for God to expand his territory and increase his blessings, it sure worked! To be fair, I think he's sincere about his beliefs and I respect that. On the other hand, this says a lot about what Christians are looking for these days.
  
  

• How to get God to give you what you want!
  By A2QJZO9PHHZWQ0 on 2001-07-09
  Since THE PRAYER OF JABEZ is featured on secular best-seller lists, it should be readily apparent that it isn't a book about sacrifice or service. Sure enough--this lenghty pamphlet is really little more than a materialistic "name it and claim it" ideology disguised as a meditation on an obscure Old Testament prayer to give it a veneer of credibility. The author's suggestion that the prayer of Jabez "works" and if we recite it "daily" we will see "blessings" reveals the secular nature of his spiritual life. God is not an idol to be manipulated to serve our desires. Forget the prayer of Jabez. If one REALLY wants to recite a daily prayer, make it the Lord's prayer: "Our Father in heaven, holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil one. Amen." Why didn't Wilkinson use this prayer as the basis for a book? Simple: Asking God for our daily bread is never as popular as asking him to shower us with unimaginable blessings.
  
  
• Prayer as incantation
  By A33G0P4JYG8MX5 on 2001-06-11
  I am less disturbed by the actual content of this book as I am with the hoopla that has made it a bestseller in evangelical Christendom. I came to the book a skeptic and finished it mildly impressed with Wilkinson's overall message. In short, Wilkinson suggests that the prayer of Jabez offers guidance to men and women seeking to deepen their relationship with God through prayer. This alone may be true.

  The "hoopla," however, centers on the idea that the "Prayer of Jabez" is somehow a revolutionary prayer that will in itself completely transform life. Wilkinson feeds the notion that the power is in the prayer by placing so much emphasis on the actual wording of the prayer. In so doing, it often seems like the Prayer of Jabez has been turned into a magical incantation that one can use to manipulate God. The description on the back of the book well embodies this fallacy:

  "Are you ready to reach for the extraordinary? To ask God for the abundant blessings He longs to give you? Join Bruce Wilkinson to discover how the remarkable prayer of a little-known hero can release God's favor, power, and protection. You'll see how one daily prayer can help you leave the past behind--and break through to the life you were meant to live."

  This is a good example of incantation, the notion that mere words have the power to release potent forces. This is why the book may do as much harm as it does good for Christians seeking to deepen their life of prayer.
  
  

• Flawed by Wrong Translation & Poor Choice of References
  By ARO119CO4HZH5 on 2001-07-25
  The actual quote on which this book is based reads: "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not hurt me!"

  Not exactly the translation that Mr. Wilkinson gives. Notice that last phrase -- it has nothing of the community-spirited wording we see mentioned in this book -- "...that I may not cause pain."

  After checking several translations of the Bible, I could find none which came close to Mr. Wilkinson's rendering. In all of them, it was Jabez who was praying to avoid pain by keeping away from harm. Not Jabez praying to avoid causing pain to others.

  That's an important distinction.

  The actual prayer of Jabez is a very self-centered request. Not the noble self-protecting yet community-minded cry to heaven which the author would have us accept.

  Why couldn't the message of this book be supported with a valid Bible reference?

  The author has something to say -- even if it isn't a very original message -- and shouldn't have needed to start off on such unstable ground.

  But being that the author wanted to share his views on the appropriate attitude for Christians to take toward material possessions, he might have considered using more familiar Bible passages and not one that is hidden deep in a section of the Bible that many people do not take time to read.

  For instance, why not base a Christian attitude toward material possessions on the sayings of another person mentioned in the Bible? Maybe -- and I know I might be talking nonsense here -- but what about examining the words of this one man who seems to have had much more to say than Jabez and has had a significantly greater influence over the centuries? Jesus Christ.
  
  

• 96 pages from 4 verses?!
  By A3LMPD1ZQTWOC4 on 2001-04-03
  ...so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying "Do not go beyond what is written."... 1 Corinthians 4:6

  I am not surprised this book has made it to the top of the Christian sellers list but I am highly disapointed that it has. Wilkinson somehow turned 4 small verses into 96 pages and this means he has added 95.8 pages of his own thoughts. If you are looking for Christian books to read find ones that stick with scripture and do not give you the authors ideas. You cannot write one book about 4 verses because you miss out on what the WHOLE Bible teaches on a subject. In Chronicles, the Bible does not even say whether this prayer by Jabez was a good prayer to pray or not. If you want to know how to pray listen to Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13.
  
  

• A Concerned Pastor Responds
  By A1D0E30D6UHBY7 on 2001-06-23
  Wilkinson provides some helpful Christian exhortion about prayer in this book, but often his underlying assumptions are not as biblical. To be sure, most of us as Christians have a continual struggle with faithlessness, and we need to hear Wilkinson's reminder that an almighty God delights in our boldly leaning on his might through bold prayers. Wilkinson has especially and rightfully focused on God's determination to use his people as his tools of kingdom growth-- so shouldn't we pray boldly that he so use us? Indeed we should. Not as helpful is Wilkinson's assumption that boldness in prayer is the same as determining what success in ministry should look like. Should we set specific numerical goals for our work, and then declare that "if we don't have one hundred kids in each club by the end of the week, we should consider it a failure"(p.57)? We would only make such a statement if we believed that success in ministry is primarily in our hands, and God is merely waiting for us to reach out and bring souls into the kingdom. Largely, though, this is Wilkinson's teaching. For him, saying the prayer of Jabez is the way to "release God's power for you" (p.87)so that your bold ministry goals may be met by a God who is willing to grant your prayer if only you would ask. Yet, our goals are not always God's. The result of Paul and Barnabbas preaching in Psidian Antioch was that "all who were appointed for eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). Conversely, those who God did not appoint did not believe. What if Paul had said "unless we have one-hundred Gentile conversions, we have failed" while God had only appointed to eternal life fifty that day? The only numerical goals in the Bible seem to be God's. Certainly, there is a place for goal-setting in ministry, but we should never be presumtuous enough to declare that such goals are also God's. Primary in our minds should be that God brings souls to himself and delights to use us as a means, how and when he will, not the reverse-- that through the right kind of prayer we can release God's power to meet our goals (even when the goals are noble). A related concern is the books assumption that God wills each Christian to touch limitless numbers of lives for Christ: "God wants your borders expanded at all times with every person" (p.78). Does the Bible say that God wants this? Have I failed God's intentions for my life if I'm not seeking ministry opportunities at all times with every person I meet? Biblically speaking, this is an over-individualizing of the Great Commission, as if it is each believer's duty to personally carry out a command that Jesus gave to the whole church. Practically speaking, to assume that we are all called to influence everyone we meet leads to paper-thin, agenda-driven human relationships. Non-Christians sense this and rightly resent it. How much time will I spend with any given person if I'm determined to get one-hundred more decisions for Christ before the week is out? Better would be to say that God calls each of us to different kinds (and degrees) of influence with other people, based on our our gifts, type of career, personality, etc. Speaking as a pastor of a church, I sometimes feel there are limitlness numbers of people in my congregation and neighborhood who are eager to have a conversation about Christ. It is my duty, and my pleasure, to have such conversations. However, even as a pastor at times I must say "no" to some people so that I can say "yes" to others. Jesus himself exhibited this kind of ministerial selectiveness in focusing on twevle men, and, in most cases, even ignoring Gentiles (he would appoint others for that task). Wilkinson is right that we should pray boldly that God use us for the expansion of his kingdom. Let's let Christ be the King of his kingdom and determine how to best use his subjects.
  
  
• An Instant Life Changing Classic
  By A2M9GZ533VZLMW on 2001-01-13
  I have read so many great books and out of all of them this one rates as one of the very best. It is short and simple, to the point and life-changing! I found myself completely speechless when I finished it. So simple, yet so powerful!! Not since Brother Lawrence's book The Practice of the Presence of God has another book so grabbed me. I don't re-read books very often because I am always so busy reading new books, but this is one I will devour continually. It takes only an evening to read, it covers basically one verse in the Bible and yet it will keep you awake thinking and will change your life if you let it. If you make the Prayer of Jabez your prayer, I don't see how your life could ever remain the same. I am so thankful to Dr. Wilkinson for writing this book because I may never have even noticed this verse which is now posted in large letters next to my computer and emblazoned on my heart. Are you convinced yet that you need this book?
  
  
• How come Jesus didn't give his disciples this one?
  By A1ZYDKN3FXJ14H on 2001-07-12
  Although I have enjoyed a lot of what Bruce Wilkinson has done, I am not a fan of The Prayer of Jabez. The first time I heard about it, someone asked me what I thought of it. My first response was, "If it's so great that it can give you a 'spiritual breakthrough' in 30 days, why didn't Jesus teach it to his disciples when they asked him how to pray instead of giving them 'The Lord's Prayer'?" After reading The Prayer of Jabez carefully, that's still my reaction. From a literary perspective it is not difficult to discern why God inserted narrative about Jabez in the midst of a geneology in 1 Chronicles: the Hebrew writer was employing a common literary technique of giving a concrete example in the midst of a general principle. The principle? 1 Chronicles opens with the affirmation that God has kept his promise to Abraham, blessing his descendants in the land if they are faithful, and condemning those descendants who are unfaithful. What follows is a long list of descendants, some faithful (and thus blessed) and some unfaithful (and thus judged). Jabez is one of the faithful ones. It didn't take more than 3000 years to figure out why God had that passage in the Bible. And I don't find anywhere in Scripture that prayer can be a formula for success, almost like a magical mantra, that, if repreated frequently and pasted all over your living space (bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, car, workspace, etc.), will somehow transform you into a great Christian. In my own Christian life I have found that my prayers have gained in meaningfulness and effectiveness most from difficult periods when I have had no idea what God's will was and no idea how to pray. If I stick with it, am honest, and follow the principles of prayer and Christian living given by Christ in Matthew 1-7 (which includes the beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer), my life is changed. Slowly, yes. But deeply, positively, and significantly as well. Wilkinson can keep his New Millennium Spiritual Breakthrough. I think I'll go back to the prayer of Jesus.
  
  
• The Prayer of Jabez
  By AMLI9EC642DLF on 2001-01-24
  I heard about this book at a business conference this past weekend. While visiting a friend on Monday, he had two of the books stacked on his desk when I reached for it exclaiming that I just heard about this book, he remarked, "It's yours, I bought 20 to give as gifts." Little did I realize that this book would force me from my bed at 2:15 a.m. to begin my own personal pilgrimage with the Jabez Prayer. I feel compelled to write this review so that others may be so touched by the power of the Holy Spirit available to those who read the book with an open and hungry heart.

  This is the kind of next level thinking, that is so greatly needed for the Church of Christ in this time of "next level living". Thanks to the author of the book, for being a true hammer in God's hand, because a mighty blow was struck with me. "Oh that God 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". All to His Glory, that I am even now experiencing the Victory.
  
  

• a disquieting bestselling riff on a biblical sentence
  By A1Y51DMMLNLU5V on 2001-05-23
  With over 4 million copies of this book sold, I decided to purchase one. A slim book by a minister and author, a leader of Promise Keepers. In it, Wilkinson takes a four line prayer from the Book of Chronicles I, Chapter 4, and discusses why people should pray for wealth and all that is coming to them, professing that it is no sin to ask for more.

  It was slightly interesting to see how his interpretation of the four lines differed from those of classical Jewish commentators - commentators who wrote that the man was nicknamed Yavetz (Yud, Ayin, Bet, Tzaddik) by his mother, a Reversal or play on the word Atzev (Ayin, Tzaddik, Bet), meaning sadness or loss. Maybe he was born after the death of his father or someone else? Maybe it was an allusion to Benjamin, a name based on Ben-Oni, or son of my painful birth. Chronicles with a sly smile had Yavetz, nicknamed sadness, pray for a life that would not be sad. The text of Chronicles was important to those returning from the Babylonian exile, people who wanted to redeem, resettle and reclaim Israel.

  Wilkinson's take on the prayers is as follows: Bruce Wilkinson, reprints the four line prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) in the first chapter. Wilkinson recites it daily, and implores Christians to use it to change their lives. In the successive chapters, Wilkinson comments on each line of the prayer. Chapter 2 is a discourse on the first line. Quoting Matthew and James, Wilkinson writes that it is permissible to ask for blessings without feeling greedy and self centered (ask for the presents that are in the warehouse waiting for you). In Chapter 3, Wilkinson looks at the line of "enlarging my territory..." Wilkinson interprets it to mean that it is acceptable for Christian men to pray for more business or larger portfolios; Christian women may ask for greater influence for their households. Giving examples from his own life as a evangelist, Wilkinson writes about how the prayer allowed him to reach out to a conflicted man while on a cruise and save a woman from her fear of the Antichrist and its deceptions while on a train trip. In Chapter 4, Wilkinson directs his attention to the feeling of abandonment and fear that those Christians who do the work of God will feel. They shouldn't fear dependence. He then gives examples from his own life, such as the time he lead dozens of teens to preach on Long Island beaches to save the unchurched. In Chapter 5, Wilkinson discusses how to immunize oneself from evil through the prayer. He narrates the time he flew on a plane after preaching and counseling for a full week, and discovered that seated to his right and to his left were men reading pornographic magazines. He prayed and suddenly both men closed their magazines. In Chapter 6, Wilkinson recounts how his daily recital of the prayer aids his ministry and being a Christian messenger. Once he was in a taxi, on the way to an airport, when an accident delayed traffic. He prayed that the flight would be DELAYED so he would not miss it (hmmm... one would think that he would have prayed for the health of anyone injured in the accident.) Well, the flight WAS delayed, the passengers were milling about waiting, and he got to counsel a woman and convince her not to divorce her cheating husband. Finally, Wilkinson closes the slim book by recommending that the reader pray the prayer, keep a journal of their daily prayers, and record the expanded number of people they influence each day.
  
  

• Turning a short prayer into a short book
  By A2QDYHOKVMPGRG on 2001-07-19
  This book offers some wonderful points, but they need to be understood in context. I don't think the author of this book intended to imply a prosperity gospel. Rather, the point of this book seems to be that if you are willing to step out in faith and accomplish great things for God, acknowledging your desire through this prayer, that He will bless you for it. It's easy to construe from the examples (not the least of which is Jabez himself) that this is all about material blessing. But this book has inspired me and others in my church to pray for our church in faith that God will "enlarge our territory", that is, bring more people in and increase our influence in the community, and we are starting to see our prayers answered.

  To be honest, you would probably do well to just skip the book and read your Bible. After the first chapter, I was thinking, "OK, I get it already." The prayer of Jabez is very short and easy to memorize; just start praying it with a humble heart and an open mind and if nothing else, it will broaden your perspective. Still, as a pretty and useful little harcover, it makes a nice small gift for friends and relatives.
  
  

• Some good insights, but some unanswered questions also
  By A30WLF8RC1PI2G on 2001-04-20
  The book makes some excellent observations about the Christian prayer life in general, and is worth reading for sure, but I am disappointed with the author's failure to examine the questions which I am sure tend to arise after reading this book. For example, what happens when God decides to answer your "Jabez prayer" by saying "not right now," or how should a Christian deal with the disappointment of missing an opportunity to "expand God's territory"? The author tends to paint a very encouraging picture of the effects of this prayer, which is, I think, to be expected; however, it seems to me that this is also a somewhat unrealistic portrait in that it does not address the valleys as well as the peaks.

  A particular instance of this within the book that stood out was an episode in which a youth group led by the author determined to start some backyard ministries and beach ministries in Long Island. The individual who came to train them said that they would achieve huge success if they could get 15 people to attend each of these backyard sessions. The author, after having heard this, told the group that they should "consider it a failure if each group does not have 100 people." The group ended up meeting its goals, and the author rightly attributes this to God's influence and power, and goes on to talk about how each of the members of the youth group went away from the experience having learned what God can do; however, it is this kind of thinking which troubles me. What would have happened if they had gotten 50 people to come to each session? Would that have been considered failure? Further, what would these young members of the youth group have learned then, would God have been any less powerful, or would their prayers have been answered to any lesser extent if they had reached fewer people than they had specifically asked to impact?

  The Prayer of Jabez is a good concept if applied properly, that is, praying for increased influence and blessing in order to become more useful to God, and to ask Him to "expand His territory" through you. I even concur with the author that it is altogether fitting to pray for opportunities to impact specific people and situations, but I remain somewhat skeptical of episodes like the one described above, as they seem to be placing expectations on God, rather than allowing Him to fulfill His expectations through us.
  
  

• A little book that can make a big difference in your prayer
  By A37A44LEGU3T45 on 2001-02-09
  The Prayer of Jabez is a little book that can make a big difference in your prayer life. It is based on an obscure passage of Scripture found in I Chronicles 4:9-10. Jabez teaches us that through believing prayer we can overcome any limitation and change our future. Wilkerson does an outstanding job of bringing the passage to life while challenging the reader to apply its truths. Over the years I've prayed the prayer of Jabez over my own life and shared its truth with others, seeing supernatural results. I was excited to see that someone had written a book about the prayer. Little did I realize the great impact it would have. I've heard numerous people comment on the inspiration and encouragement they have received from Wilkerson's book. I heartily recommend it for adding passion to your prayer life.
  
  
• Inspiring...IF you place it in its proper perspective
  By A37IBR8ILBNAJ on 2001-04-11
  I don't necessarily buy Christian books because they are best-sellers. Much of what sells is just "Pop Religion", which I differentiate from true Christianity. But I took notice when I saw that this book was being listed on the "secular" best-seller list right behind that Cheese book, so I decided to take the plunge since the book is relatively inexpensive.

  One thing I appreciate about "The Prayer of Jabez" is that it spotlights a scripture that 99 out of 100 Bible readers totally miss. I was a bit wary at first, because the prayer starts out as a "Bless Me" prayer, and could be contstrued as being rather selfish. But the author makes clear that asking for God's blessing in this case is not a thinly-veiled get-rich-quick idea. It's important to allow God to bless you the way HE wants to bless you. Of course, that is just the first point of the prayer, there are three more to follow. If nothing else, it will help you get over any guilt you may have about praying for yourself. HOWEVER...

  Don't fall into the trap that this prayer is the be-all and end-all when it comes to praying. After all, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He didn't say "Well, let me tell you about a little prayer by a guy named Jabez..." It can certainly be incorporated into your daily time of prayer, but if the prayer of Jabez is ALL you ever pray, then yes, it becomes extremely selfish. There are many prayers in and outside the Bible that can be used as well, not to mention your own spontaneous prayers, for others as well as yourself. And this is not to be used as some kind of Christian mantra. In short, this is a pretty good little book, but keep it in perspective to the whole of your devotional life.
  
  

• Be a Berean
  By on 2001-04-19
  I have some real problems with this book and I am concerned that the Christian community doesn't seem to notice.

  In the book the author appears to be saying that he has found the magic words which will get you what you want from God. Now on the one hand I believe that God always answers any prayer made by His children, although not always the way we want or in the time period we want. I don't believe that is what the author it trying to convince people of, it seems pretty straight forward that he is trying to say that he has found the prayer that God always answers and he wants to teach us to pray it.
  
  

• Beyond Jabez: Expanding Your Borders
• Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance
• The Prayer of Jabez Bible Study
• The Dream Giver
• A Life God Rewards: Why Everything You Do Today Matters Forever