Saturday, July 26, 2008
Next Previous Today
Prayerful Pressing
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).
Several months ago, my wife, Mary Jane, came across the book, Beyond Jabez: Expanding Your Borders, by Bruce Wilkinson. It is a sequel to the bestselling Prayer of Jabez which he had published in the spring of 2000 and has sold in the 10's of millions of copies. We had heard of the original book but neither of us had read it (I must confess that I tend to avoid whatever is the latest "Christian bestseller"). We both read the sequel, however, and then we did something dangerous, we began to pray the prayer of Jabez. Every day. And we still are. And we are seeing amazing things happen as a result!
It is a simple prayer from a simple man. We know nothing about Jabez other than that he was an honorable man — more honorable than his brothers — and had been named Jabez (which sounds similar to the Hebrew word "pain"), because it was a painful birth (1 Chronicles 4:9). "Jabez cried out to the God of Israel,
'Oh, that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!'
And God granted his request" (1 Chronicles 4:10). It is a heartfelt, passionate prayer to God and God answers that kind of prayer!
Years ago, when I was a youth pastor in Winnipeg, a speaker at one of our youth retreats challenged all of us to pray a simple prayer every day: "Fill me and use me." The prayer is based on Ephesians 5:18, which tells us not to be drunk on wine but rather, to be being filled with the Spirit, and the earlier prayer of Paul, "that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). It sounded like a good idea. This prayer couldn't possibly hurt anything!
At another time in my life, the focus was more on Ephesians 3:20 and the God "who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us." That was a very simple prayer: "More, Lord!" And, we could choose the Lord's prayer or John 17 or the benedictions of Paul's letters or one of the Psalms or any other prayer that we find in the Bible. I don't think that the form of the prayer makes all that much difference.
It is the simple theme that runs through all of these prayers that is important. More. More of God. I don't have enough yet. And so I press on. That is, I believe, what prayer is all about. Pressing in for more of God. A closer, deeper, more intimate relationship with him. Forget about getting things. That would be to waste our prayer time (James 4:3). That most prolific writer, Anonymous, reflecting on Matthew 6:33 has said, "Seek God first, and the things you want will seek you." When we pray a prayer that seeks God, we are praying what God wants most of all: More of us. All of us.
There is a second thing that makes any of these prayers effective in our lives. It is focus. Persistence. Aim. There is no magic in the actual words of Jabez' prayer or "fill me and use me" or any other. Somehow, when we pray a thing over and over — not merely repeating empty words (Matthew 9:7) — from our hearts, becoming increasingly passionate about and familiar with what we are praying into, we find ourselves coming into a place where we are open to receive the immeasurably more that God has for us.
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you" (Jeremiah 29:13-14).
So, pick a prayer, any prayer. And press in. Today and continue in the days to come. "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying" (Ephesians 6:18). Press in. Daily. God's promise is to reward you (Hebrews 11:6) if you do! Jabez got what he asked for and so will we. More of Him!
Next Previous Today | 
