"10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "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." And God granted his request." - 1Chronicles 4:10
1) Bless me
2) Enlarge my territory
3) Be with me and stay close
4) Keep me from harm
Jabez passionately prayed for these four things in his life because he knew that he controlled nothing. His life was God-centered. I used to think that this was kind of a selfish prayer.. for someone to ask God to only grant him things. But as I'm reading the Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll, we are only able to ask of these things because of this wonderful gift called grace. This is the kind of prayer we need to pray with fervor and the right mentality. We're not asking Him to "bless me because I deserve it" but rather "bless me so that I may in turn glorify You"
Sometimes I get carried away in my repentance.. Because I have soooo many sins to confess, I feel so undeserving to ask of Him for anything. I have the mentality like "who am I to even come into Your presence and ask You to give me this and that?" But then we would never be utilizing the full gift of grace that which Christ freely gave to us. I need to learn to pray for things with the heart of wanting to use the blessings that He gives me and lift it back up all for Him.
