The Prayer of Jabez, also referred to as Jabez's prayer was that little book, and it was based on a one verse prayer.
I was one of the many who caught the Jabez fever, incorporating that little prayer into my prayer life, almost as if it was a magical, all-powerful formula for spiritual success.
God's Word is no doubt powerful and supernatural in every way, however, with any prayer we speak frequently, we need to remember the meaning behind the words rather than simply reciting them by rote.
Prayers that become mechanical often lose their power for us.
I'm not saying God's Word ever loses power, I'm simply saying when we fail to mean what we say and say what we mean, we are in danger of reducing our prayers to quickly uttered words with little or no real meaning.
Lately, I have made it a daily habit to pray through my neighborhood on my way to work. I often include the Lord's Prayer and ask the Lord bless to and protect my neighbors, their families, their pets, and that He would protect them from harm and evil.
In addition, I ask that those neighbors who have yet to meet the King of Kings and do not know him as Lord and Savior would invite Him into their lives. Then I plead for the believers to enter into deeper more abiding relationships with their Creator. Including my own family and pets in the mix, of course! Can't forget my own household!
Well, out of the blue, these past couple of weeks, I have been praying the "...bless them indeed and enlarge their territories portion of the Jabez Prayer, only to discover, after repeating it however many times before that I couldn't remember it in its entirety.
Then, tonight, lol and behold, I was searching my bookcase for another book and found a barely used, mini-journal created to accompany the original Prayer of Jabez book by Bruce Wilkinson.
I think perhaps the Holy Spirit led me to it! (No perhaps about it)
I love the quote found on the page I opened the journal to, where it emphatically says:
God's nature is to bless.
How powerful is that?
- Not to punish
- Not to blacklist
- Not to bury
- Not to abandon
- Not to destroy, ruin, or smite.
The next thing I knew I was penning this prayer:
Lord, may I be open and ready to receive and embrace your blessings, in whatever form they come in. And may my nature reflect yours more and more everyday. May I become a "bringer" of blessings NOT curses. In Jesus' Name, amen.
Next, the sudden urge to post here, something I have been unfaithful about, overcame me. So...I was obedient. I'm not sure what the Lord's plans are for this post or this little prayer, but I know without doubt his words never return void.
I can't think of a better time in our world to live our lives as blessings to others, to become bringers of blessings, hope, and light where there is so much strife, hostility, and darkness. I hope you will join me on this journey of love.
Your Sister in Christ and Bringer of Blessings,
Carol
Please comment below to proclaim your commitment to become a Bringer of Blessings in the days ahead. I'd love to hear from you!
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