Changing Status Quo

By Ifeoluwa Fatoki

Devotional Reading: 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 4:10 NAS)

The Bible, among other things, is a compendium of the dealings of God with chosen figures in history, as an instruction for the rest of us. Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul…the list is endless. Some have books dedicated to them, and others have chapters, yet God found two verses sufficient to tell us about a man. His name is Jabez.

The problem of Jabez began at his birth. Due to the painful experience of childbirth, his mother gave him a name that added pain to his destiny. His whole life was defined by pain. We do not know how long he lived with the identity of pain, but we know that the day he turned to God in prayer, God changed his story.

Prayer changes situations. Problems will persist until prayer is introduced. Analysis or complains about a problem changes nothing, but prayer to God changed everything. The testimony of Jabez was that when he prayed, God granted him what he asked. Do not recycle your problems, rather, pray about them.

Prayer and Confession.
Dear Father, I receive grace to turn my problems to prayer points in Jesus name, Amen.

Further Reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-20