UTTER ... PAIN (JABEZ, 1 CHR. 4:9-10)

Speaker: Pastor Tristan Sherwin

'Some of us will recognise this prayer, not from Chronicles itself, but from a popular Christian phenomenon: the so-called Prayer of Jabez book. In 2000, an author called Bruce Wilkinson brought these two verses to the attention of millions of people as a sort of universal prayer formula to unlock God’s blessings and receive anything you ask for if you pray with enough faith and persistence.

Far from being a genie-like prayer for material prosperity that God is obligated to answer, Jabez is asking to know and follow God’s methods in everything he does. His prayer is not a magic formula.

Jabez wants God’s presence to be with him in such a way that, whenever people encounter him, they encounter the handprint of God’s way, not the fist-print of human ambition.'

Tristan shares his sermon notes on his own blog. You can read the full notes here: UTTER ... PAIN (JABEZ, 1 CHR. 4:9-10)