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1 Chronicles 4:10, 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.

I believe as one goes deeper in their journey of faith, the desire to do more for God increases.  I believe that each believer has their thoughts about how God should use them.  You know what I’m talking about, right!?  For a number of years, I told Him how He should be using me to increase His Kingdom; I even believed He was agreeing with me.  It did not work out when I tried to implement my plan.

Jabez prayed for the Lord to “enlarge my territory”.  He was asking the Lord for more influence, more impact, more opportunity to further the Kingdom of God.  The only other thing that the Bible tells us about Jabez is he was “more honorable than his brothers”.  That could mean that he had risen to a place of prominence among the people as a land owner or as a leader among men; he had distinguished himself in some way.  By his prayer, he is known as one who prayed to the God of Israel and not foreign gods or idols. 

Jabez asked for God to take what he had and use it to have greater influence for Him.  If he was doing things that God approved, he was asking for more, more opportunities to serve Him.  The question becomes how each of us can apply this to our own life.  Wilkinson states in his book, The Prayer of Jabez, “When in faith you begin to pray for more ministry, amazing things begin to occur.  As your opportunities expand, ability and resources supernaturally increase too.”   I believe as the days we are in become more difficult, more fearful, God will place people in our path who need to know about the hope we have in Jesus Christ.  This does not need to be any great theological discussion.  We just get to explain what the Lord has done for us, to explain our trust in Him.

Wilkinson gave this formula: My willingness and weakness

                                            + God’s will and supernatural power

                                            = my expanded territory

If you want your territory expanded, the key is to ask and to seek, believing that He wants to grant your request.  Remember, He will do it in His time, and in His way.  It is a great adventure!