A Closer Walk

There are times when our God chooses to bless us. Did you realize this? It's His call, because He is God and He does as He pleases. “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases,” Psalm 115:3 NASB. But apparently we are allowed to ask our Heavenly Father to bless us. “And Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from harm, that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested,” 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NASB.
What's incredibly interesting about these two verses is that they appear inside a list of names of different men. But in the case of Jabez, his name is not only mentioned in this list but we also learn that he offered a prayer to God. What did he ask of the Lord? That God would bless him. And not just bless him but bless him indeed. And then he asked God for a specific request. He requested that the Lord God Almighty would enlarge his border. In other words, to expand the territory that he, Jabez, had dominion over. He was asking for more responsibility and for the Lord God to expand his dominion.
Some see this request as being selfish, or presumptuous, or both. American Heritage Dictionary defines selfish as: “Concerned chiefly or excessively with oneself, and having little regard for others.” It also defines presumptuous as: “Going beyond what is right or proper; excessively forward.” But did our God consider Jabez's request as selfish or presumptuous? Apparently not, because of what happened next. The Bible states clearly that God granted his request. Would He have done that if the prayer was selfish? Or presumptuous? Likely not. The fact that, “God granted him what he requested,” would seem to indicate that the Lord was okay with it. Otherwise He could have just as easily said no.
So is it okay to ask our Heavenly Father to bless us? It would certainly seem so. Additionally, it seems it was also okay for Jabez to specifically ask the Lord to enlarge his border, to expand his dominion. Stated a different way he was asking God for more land to farm and plant and harvest crops. Or for him to have more land to graze his livestock, which would logically indicate he could have more livestock. Or perhaps both. And God granted his request! But a word of caution. A farmer friend once said that as a young farmer in his twenties he had set a goal to eventually have 1,000 head of cattle. And he began working toward that goal. He also said in that same conversation that when he got to be about fifty, even though he had not yet achieved his goal, he began to ask himself, “If I had 1,000 head of cattle, what the heck would I do with them?” What indeed. The wisdom of age. They must be fed during the winter when there isn't much grazing. And they must have access to water every day even if the pond is frozen over. So in his case, reality had set in and he realized how much work, effort and aggravation he was signing up for with that goal. We should be cautious about what we ask for. Because what the heck would we do if our God actually granted our request?
In our passage above, Jabez expanded his request to include asking that the Lord's hand would be with him. This seems to mean he was desiring God's guidance and direction. We, you and I, can never know everything there is to know. About anything. So each decision we make, each path we choose, we set out with incomplete knowledge and understanding. So by asking God's hand to be with him Jabez could be asking, “Lord, please don't let me do something stupid.” If we think about that, isn't that a great thing to ask for? Please don't allow me to do something stupid. (Stupid is, as stupid does. Forrest Gump) That simple request can help to keep our bacon out of the fire. And that is not a desirable position to be in.
In addition, Jabez asked that God would protect him and keep him from harm. So that it might not cause him pain. Ever been in physical pain? We likely all have at one time or another. Whether from affliction or injury, physical pain causes us to lose focus on whatever might be the task ahead. And focus on the affliction or injury we must. That is if we intend to get better. We must go to to the doctor, have the x-ray, or have the blood drawn, in order to see exactly what might be causing the pain and what we need to do to help make it better. So then getting better becomes our full-time job. We should do what the doctor said. Otherwise, why bother him or her? We should go to physical therapy if that is ordered, do our exercises, and so forth. So Jabez is asking God to protect him and keep him from harm. Nothing wrong with that either.
It seems to be okay to ask our God to bless us. But we should be cautious about what we pray. Because what the heck will we do if our Lord grants our request? It is also okay to ask our Heavenly Father to have His hand with us for guidance and direction, and to keep us from harm. So. Ask.
“And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints,” Revelation 5:8 NASB
“And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne,” Revelation 8:3 NASB.