To me, this is one of the prayers I turn to when I’m feeling down.
These are the words I cry out to God asking Him to bless me, the way only He knows and desires.
This prayer has been like a breath of fresh air in difficult times, when I was struggling to move forward and was so disappointed that I couldn’t see my way.
Those were the words that described my soul when I spoke to God in my lowest moments.
You see, in my life, I can honestly say that pain and tears were my second names.
From an early age, and even into my childhood and teenage years, it has been a series of tribulations.
For many years, my life was very much wandering through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalms 23) until Jesus came to me and set me free from all the darkness in a miraculous and supernatural way.
Yes, His unfailing love saved me, His tenderness enveloped me, and forgiveness was spoken over me.
I was praying the prayer of Jabez, among others, shortly after my conviction, and my heart grasped every word of it.
Believe me, Jabez’s words had nothing to do with egoistic success.
It was about the soul finally seeing light in God, that He will open doors to the one who no one imagined would ever become something from him.
He only saw hope in God, crying out to Him.
Tell me, who on earth can hear the soul’s cry?
Only God can hear the fragments crashing within us, the brokenness that has been inside us for so long that nothing could ever heal it.
Scripture: 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. – 1 Chronicles 4:10
The word “crying out to God” is the pause that changes everything in the prayer.
Can you hear that cry?
The sound made by the heart when it crushes in despair, hurt and deep pain? When tears fall and the lips open and groans aloud?
Can you hear the anguish?
The desperate need for help and guidance?
Can you hear a heart that has no one in this world to call for help? Can you hear a heart that cries out to God with all that it is, because it has no one else to turn to?
Can you hear Jabez crying alone, with no one believing in him, no one seeing something good in him, no one reaching out to him?
Even his own mother referred to him as “pain.”
He had no one. No one.
His wail was more than just a cry.
His cries are a plea to the Savior.
Is a request to the One who created him, for a complete and dramatic change in life.
Even though Jabez realized God created him this way, his faith in God was strong and enormous. He knew that God allowed his mother to suffer when giving birth to him, yet he continued believing in God no matter what.
Jabez cried out to God to change the course of his life, to bring spring in the darkness, and blessings where no one believed anything good can come out.
He turned to God. He called Him. Not a man, not a woman, not another Savior, but God the Savior, because only God hears the depths of the soul.
God understands the tears as prayers. And they explain more than what human words can.
God sees us. And He loves us!
Seeing us – means He understands our wounds, and sorrow, and hears the sound of every pain we have experienced in our lives, because He was right there in the midst of it.
As Cece Winans would say in her song – Alabaster Box (live performance):
“No one knows what you’ve been through”.
God is the only One who was present in the midst of the chaos, the agony, the deep sorrow, the traumatic experiences, and the events that bruised and abused you.
He was right there, easing the suffering and allowing what hurt you to first hurt Him, in order for you to be healed when you encounter Him.
With My Sufferings…
“Why does it hurt so bad?” This was my question during my sophomore year of high school.
Pain that began years ago and has lasted for years later.
And God, in His Sovereignty, could’ve given me the answer even back then, but He let it happen in His time.
I was curious as to why He didn’t respond immediately; I was yearning for an explanation, but He revealed the answer a few years after I was saved (at the age of 25). I had to wait more than ten years for that answer, you know. But it was worth the time!
And believe me, when I say that His timing was perfect.
For He was preparing my heart for His response.
There is great wisdom in the way He explained deeper things to me, and looking back, I wouldn’t have been prepared to accept that answer because I lacked the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom needed to grasp God’s mind and how He sees.
So, to my question “Why does it hurt so bad?” one day, God answered me:
“Sooner or later everyone will experience pain. It’s either at a young age or later in life.
Pain is inevitable.
What you need to understand, child is that during the painful time you fellowship with the sufferings of Mine. That made you endure and wear My cross even at a young age.“
I wasn’t a person who will return to evil with evil. I was suffering from within, and kept quiet all the time, surrounded by people who only added to that pain with even more pain and wounds.
But now I thank the Lord for allowing all of it to happen, even though it was tremendously hard, because now I can understand how deep wounds and profound sadness heal over time, and how my character is shaped into the likeness of Christ’s character in the process of healing.
That’s why people can entrust to me their deepest wounds. God sends them because He knows He can entrust me with those who are in great sorrow or have been through a lot in life because I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT PAIN IS.
I understand it on a deeper level.
Scripture: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3,4
Calling on God as the Highest Priest
The Israelite tribes had priests who will bless the nations in the name of the Lord with the words:
Scripture: The Priestly Blessing The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ – Numbers 6:22-26
But Jabez had no one to bless him, not a single priest, not a single person, even his own mother named him pain or someone who causes pain instead of speaking a blessing over him. (It breaks my heart when I think about it)
As a result, Jabez prays to the Most High calling God to be His Priest, with words that sound something like this: “No one blesses me, but You, o, Lord, do not reject me, accept my petition and bless me! Even me, o Lord! Even me!
May your blessing be upon me all the days of my life, and may mercy and grace follow me! Hear my wailing heart. When everyone rejects me You do not reject me, but hear me and answer me when I call.”
Jabez cried out to God and God heard him.
This is the most powerful and touching way to speak to God.
Because the depth of Jabez’s heart reached out to the deepest parts of God’s heart.
God never rejects anybody who calls out to Him, especially those who put their whole trust in Him.
Jabez called in anguish, and the pain reached God in Heaven.
And mountains began to move in Jabez’s life!
Winds that blew so heavily bowed down and vanished at the roaring sound of God’s voice.
The evil that accused Jabez of being “painful” or “unworthy to live this life” disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Jabez’s weeping had turned to delight because he felt the change has arrived since God’s Word has come into His life.
Scripture: “For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” – Psalms 30:5
Jabez Calls For A Blessing
Scripture: “And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “ If only You would bless me…. “ – 1 Chronicles 4:10
When I started comparing English versions of this part of the scripture with the versions of my language (Macedonian) and the Russian language I came across with this very interesting thing.
In two Russian versions BTI and SYNOD (Синод) this part of the scripture is written like this:
10 “Воззвал он к Богу Израиля: «О, если бы Ты благословил меня благословением Своим..” (SYNOD RU) 10 Jabez called out to the God of Israel: «O, if only You would bless me with YOUR BLESSINGS… (translated into ENG)
And I kinda like how the word “indeed” in this passage is described with “Your blessings”or God’s blessings.
What more can anyone ask for if God blesses him with His blessings?
That person will have all he NEEDS and will lack nothing in life (as it is written in Psalms 23)
Scripture: “The LORD is my shepherd, I will not be in need.” – Psalms 23:1
If God’s hand is on you to bless you, there isn’t a single person who can stop it.
As David said:
Scripture: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” – Psalms 23:5
To Jesus is given the key to open doors where there was none.
He is the One who closes every other door that is not supposed to be open and opens that which it needs to be open.
For you.
Scripture: “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of Him who is Holy and True, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. – Revelation 3:7
And Enlarge My Territory
Scripture: And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! – 1 Chronicles 4:10
Other versions mention enlarging of coast or land.
At that time, every person’s wealth was measured by the enlargement of their coast or land.
But today, “enlarging our territory” can mean spiritual, emotional, physical, psychological, as well as material.
It is relying on God for His blessing in the spheres where we lack something and are in desperate need of transformation – that He gives enlargement, upgrade, or expansion.
He gives us what we need and where we need it. As we ask God and rely on Him, He will do this swiftly in His time.
Scripture: The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly.” – Isaiah 60:22
May Your Hand Be With Me – To Protect Me From The Evil One
Scripture: And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez. 1 Chronicles 4:10
“May Your hand be with me” – means if God’s hand is with me, upon me, in front of me, beside me, around me, who can ever touch me.
When we talk of God’s hand, we are talking about personal protection from Him. It shields us from all harm.
As Jesus taught us to pray in “the Lord’s Prayer” saying:
And lead us not into temptation (O, God), but deliver us from the evil one.
This means that though a 1000 may fall at my side, and 10 000 at my right hand, no harm will come near me, for I look to God as My Defender (Psalm 91:7).
Scripture: My Refuge and Fortress …Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High no evil will befall you, no plague will approach your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. – Psalm 91:9-12
Do Not Let Me Grieve
Scripture: “…and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” – 1 Chronicles 4:10
And the last one is the pure expression of his crying soul, “…and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain” or in other versions it goes like this: “And do not let me grieve”
It means – do not let me be embittered again, protect my heart and mind from all that might hurt me, that might bruise me, wound me, harm me, abuse me emotionally psychologically and even physically.
Scripture: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7
“Do not let me grieve, o Lord! Heal my spirit, and mend my broken heart.
O God, don’t let me dwell on the past, on the evil and painful words shouted over me;
Instead, help me focus on You, on the vision You’ve given me.
O, Lord, heal my spirit and soul, for I have no one to turn to, no one to come and help me.
Nobody knows me better than You, and nobody can hear my cries, except You.
No one can treat my soul as well as You have.
Met me at my lowest point, when I have nothing and no one on my side. Met me where I am.
Find me, pursue me, pour out Your Love on me, and let my cup overflow. May the touch of Your Love dramatically change the course of my life!
MAY YOUR LOVE BECOME BIGGER IN MY LIFE THAN ANY OTHER FEAR, WOUND, HARM OR EVIL WORD SPOKEN OVER ME.
MAY YOUR LOVE OVERSHADOW ME, O LORD!“
Prayer According To Jabez’s Prayer
“God of All, You Who Created Heaven and earth, there is none like Thee! You Who gave Your unfailing Love to dwell among us and be crucified for us – Your Beloved Son Jesus Christ.
Father, if I find favor in Your sight, I ask that you out pour Your mercy and grace on me; That You hear my cry and my aching heart which desperately needs the touch of Your Love.
Love me today once again, help me see You in everything and everyone. Heal my heart from all the wounds. Let me not see the past but You in it, help me to walk with You every day, and have a heart that obeys You in everything You say.
Help me, help me, I call upon You as the highest priest. If there is none to bless me, You bless me – and keep on blessing me with Your blessings.
Even when people curse me, You bless me. You bless me. You bless me. Even me o, Lord! Bless me.
Scripture: Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice. – Psalm 109:28
Scripture: And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! – 1 Chronicles 4:10
Bless my heart and mind with Your peace, o Lord!
Bless me with a sound mind; bless my thoughts to be pure and clean;
Bless me with pure heart; bless me with anointed eyes and ears;
Bless my body to be healthy and vital;
Bless my walk and my talk;
Bless my tongue and the words that come out of my mouth;
Bless my emotions and feelings;
Bless me to be in tune with the Holy Spirit all the time;
Bless me to read Your word passionately and with trembling of heart;
Bless me financially; bless my work, my job, my workplace; bless the deeds of my hands and everything I do;
Bless my intimate relationship with You Jesus;
Bless the ministry You have given me and everything You entrusted to me.
Bless me, bless me, bless me…
Bless my family o Lord, bless my closest and trustworthy friends, bless my colleagues. let them all see and keep on seeing Your Light, Your path, bless them indeed!
Bless my beloved ones, bless the sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus that have been with me in the darkest hours of my life.
Save me, o Lord, and I will be saved; Heal me and I will be healed;
Set me free and I will surely be free – Bless me o, Lord, Bless me My Father and I will surely be blessed!
Then my territory will expand at the command of Your voice, because of Your unfailing Love for me! (I Shout Hallelujah)
Then my heart will enlarge to a degree unknown before, my heart will expand the limits of the impossible and reach heaven.
With You I can move mountains and jump over walls – nothing will be impossible for me,
for You are with me!
Stay with me, o Love; May I dwell with You and You with me.
May Your Love surround my heart as a shield, so that nothing might come against me.
May Your Loving, Kind, and full of Mercy Hand surround every sphere of my life protecting me from all harm, delivering me from the evil one.
Let the tactics of the evil one never prosper against me (Isaiah 54:17).
Let Your love swallow all the fears, hurt, all curses, evil and harmful words the evil one send against me. May nothing touch nor come against me, even if 1000 or 10 000 come against me.
Surround me with Your Unfailing love, o Lord, for In You I put my trust and hope.
Let me not be put to shame or in disgrace.
Surround me with YOURSELF in every way, in every cell, and every bone of mine.
Surround me with Your Presence that I might not dwell in despair, sorrow, or pain.
Met me where I am and hear my crying heart, wipe the tears from my face, and uplift me;
Help me see You, help me stand up again, help me believe even more in You as I encourage myself in Your Greatness and Goodness.
You will keep me safe till the end of the age. I trust You.
You will never let me go!
You, o Lord, have summoned me by name. I am yours forever.
In the Name of Jesus, I pray o, My Gracious and Loving-kind Lord.”
Scripture: …And God granted him the things he prayed for. – 1 Chronicles 4:10
Song: Yolanda Adams Even Me – Bless Even Me (the chief of all sinners)
