Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, “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 my might not bring me pain. And God granted what he asked.”
– 1 Chronicles 4:10
So 1 Chronicles 4:10 is a verse that has been used in a variety of ways and even abused in a variety of ways, taken out of context and applied in ways that are maybe, at best, questionable. But the reality is, this is a beautiful verse, a picture of one man, Jabez, calling boldly upon God, asking for God’s blessing in his life. “Oh God, that you would bless me, that you would enlarge my border.” Even praying that is an acknowledgement that every good thing we have or could have comes from God and that God is our father in heaven. And he delights in giving his children good things when they ask.
Even praying this is an acknowledgment that every good thing we have or could have comes from God and that God is our father in heaven.
1 Chronicles 4:10 Teaches Us How to Pray
This is exactly what Jesus teaches about prayer. So it is good to pray that God, our father, would bless us. “Bless me, enlarge my border,” Jabez prays, “that your hand might be with me.” What a great prayer to pray. I want to pray that prayer every day, that the hand of God might be with me, his hand leading me and guiding me and directing me and protecting me and blessing me.
And I want to pray this over my life, my family, my wife, and my kids, over the members of the church I’m a part of. I want to pray that in just a moment over all of us, that God’s hand might be with us. And that he would keep us from harm. What a picture of looking to God as our protector. Jesus taught us to pray like this, to pray to our father in heaven who desires to give to us for his grace and his mercy in our lives. That he would lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil.
Pray Boldly And Humbly
And first Chronicles 4:10 says that after Jabez prayed this, God granted what he asked. Why not be bold in asking before God, obviously trusting that he is a lot wiser than we are? And if we ask for something that would not be good for us, that he will not give it because he is a loving father. But it’s good to boldly come before God and ask him. According to his word, it’s what this whole podcast is based on, praying the word, asking for what God has said in his word, and for things that are on our hearts before our loving, generous father. So how bold are you in your asking in prayer right now in your life? And I want to encourage you based on 1 Chronicles, 4:10, to be bold, humbly bold before God, our generous father.
1 Chronicles 4:10 Encourages Us to Be Bold
Let’s do that now. God, oh, we praise you as our father in heaven for your power, your authority, your sovereignty over all things, and your generosity with good things, that you promise to give good things to your children who ask that you tell us in your word, oh God, we have not because ask not. And so God, I just want to pray in my life and pray over every single person listening to this right now that we might pray together before you, God, that you would bless us in Psalms 67 kind of way. Be gracious to us and cause your face to shine upon us, we pray.
God, may your good hand, in a Nehemiah like way, be upon us. Lead us, oh God. Guide us, we pray. Protect us. Keep us from harm. Keep us from temptation. And keep us from sin. Save us from ourselves. All day long we pray.
1 Chronicles 4:10 Calls Us to Pray for the Unreached
And as we pray these things, we pray these things not just for us. We pray for others, for your blessing in others’ lives. For your protection in others’ lives. For your hand upon those around us, those closest to us. God, we pray for those far from us. Particularly those who don’t know you, God, for the Chauhans people of India, half a million of them, no followers of Jesus. God, we pray right now, together, for your blessing on them, that they would hear the gospel.
God, we pray they would experience your salvation. And God, we want to be bold right now in asking you for this. Please bring salvation to the Chauhan people of India. God, we pray for that, and many others around the world who don’t know your grace, and people all around us, that you would help us to be a blessing to them today.
God, we pray that you would help us, teach us to be bold in prayer, according to your word and the leadership of your spirit. And as we are, God, we pray, trusting your wisdom and your power that you might grant what we ask. In Jesus’ name, we pray. And we are so thankful for the privilege of prayer to come before you boldly in these ways. Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus, for making this possible. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
