The Prayer Request Of Jabez42

1 Chronicles 4:9 - 10

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MATTHEW 11:28 - 29
Then Jesus said, “COME to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

1 Chronicles 4:9 - 10
9Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain."
10Jabez 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.

How do we pray?

• When we are desperate, we pray desperate prayers –
  we do not pray religious prayers…instead, we will pray relationship prayers!

What seemed to have started badly for Jabez ended up well!

In his prayer, Jabez prayed/ requested/asked/pleaded/for four things from God!

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel,

• 1. "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!
  2. Let your hand be with me, and
  3. keep me from harm so that
  4. I will be free from pain."

2 LESSONS TO LEARN FROM PAIN

• LESSON 1: God uses “pain” in the form of problems, people, and persecution to mold our character! Don’t always pray your way out of such problems, people and persecution but instead learn to praise through those situations.
• LESSON 2: God uses “pain” to help us to grow. As children, we learn to have healthy respect for certain boundaries when we experience PAIN, like when we touch fire for the first time, or feel a pot of boiling water or when we have a fall! We learn to walk properly and look where we are walking.

CONCLUSION
Every day we pray for God's blessings:

• 1. Let’s pray as righteous or honorable men and women.
• 2.Let’s pray knowing that God wants us to ask Him for His blessing.
• 3.Let’s pray giving Him credit for His blessings.
• 4.Let’s pray thinking first about God and then about ourselves.