X marks the spot for a gem for Christian literature afficionadoes…. are there any out there..?…..<\/p>\n
The challenge in the first few chapters of Chronicles is to focus through all the sirings and begats (depending on which translation you’re reading) until you come to two verses which inspired a bestseller.<\/p>\n
Here they are:<\/p>\n
“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers…. And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.”<\/p>\n
I have never read “The Prayer of Jabez” but I have had it pressed into my hands fervently by various evangelicals over the years, with the injunction to read it and understand God’s promise of wealth.<\/p>\n
Being from the “man of sorrows” tradition of Christianity, I’ve always had a couple of issues with the “God will bless me so I can be a blessing to others” strand of our faith….. but God certainly has blessed me gazillions of times over, and I wasn’t even worthy or terribly righteous, although I try to be now…..<\/p>\n
So I’ve often had problems asking for more blessings from God, except healing for others…. Jesus wants me to take up a cross with him, so how does that fit with asking for blessings…. although Jesus does say we should ask of our heavenly father what we need, and He will give it to us…..<\/p>\n
If you’re still reading in the hope of some sort of conclusion, or which side I fall down on, I can’t help you there. It’s a living faith and you need to pray about it and read and think…. but if you have any ideas, please tell me!<\/p>\n
Dear Father, Thank you for all the blessings you give me. You do answer my every prayer (sometimes beyond what I ever imagined, sometimes in a way I can’t see at first) Thank you for the awe-inspiring gift of listening to me, despite all my sins and limitations and confusions and rebellions. Please help me learn to pray for healing in a way which is pleasing to you. Thank you for my family. Help me to teach them your paths so that they stay on them forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
X marks the spot for a gem for Christian literature afficionadoes…. are there any out there..?….. The challenge in the first few chapters of Chronicles is to focus through all the sirings and begats (depending on which translation you’re reading) until you come to two verses which inspired a bestseller. Here they are: “Now Jabez […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-around-the-bible-in-365-days"],"yoast_head":"\n