May 21, 2001
Ancient prayer taps modern concerns
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___If you've still got a "WWJD" bracelet lying around, the time may be right to pull it out and give it a new application.
___"What Would Jabez Do?" is quickly becoming a focus of Christian thought and conversation across the nation, due to the soaring popularity of a little book called "The Prayer of Jabez."
___The book, written by Bruce Wilkinson, has sold 4.4 million copies and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 11 consecutive weeks. It also tops the bestseller list for Publishers' Weekly and in some Christian bookstores has sold more copies than any individual book in the blockbuster "Left Behind" fiction series.
___Wilkinson offers the biblical prayer of Jabez as a model for modern-day Christians to follow in seeking God's blessing on their lives and ministries. It is a prayer, he says, that "distills God's powerful will for your future."
This devotional book has sold 4.4 million copies.
___Due to the book's popularity, churches are forming Jabez study groups, and Christians are reciting the prayer of Jabez daily as they seek to "enlarge their territory." Some churches are including the prayer as part of their Sunday worship routine.
___The little four-part prayer is tucked away amid a string of genealogy in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. The roll call of begats stops just long enough to declare that Jabez was "more honorable than his brothers" and to report on a prayer of Jabez that God answered.
___That prayer states: "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."
___Nothing more is known about Jabez from the Bible.
___Yet millions of Americans today have become fascinated with this Old Testament figure and are seeking to emulate his simple prayer in hopes of finding God's blessing and enlarging their territory.
___At First Baptist Church of Denton, Pastor Jeff Williams often closes his Sunday morning pastoral prayer by quoting the prayer of Jabez. The text of the prayer appears weekly on the church newsletter. Many church members have told the pastor how the prayer has made a difference in their lives.
___In homes and offices across the land, individuals touched by the book's message have typed out the words to the prayer and posted them in conspicuous places.
___At Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, 750 adults recently gathered at 50 homes for small-group Bible studies built around the Jabez book.
___In churches seemingly everywhere, pastors are preaching sermons based on the prayer of Jabez.
___When Pastor Buckner Fanning preached a Jabez sermon at Trinity Baptist Church, it"really hit home," said Associate Pastor Johnny White.
See a comparison of major prayers in the Bible
(view as Acrobat Reader PDF file)
___Likewise, a sermon series built around the four points of the Jabez pray was well-received at First Baptist Church of Lewisville, reported Pastor Stephen Hatfield.
___Wilkinson's book on Jabez is surprisingly small to be a bestseller. Its 94 pages aren't much larger than a postcard, and the entire book easily slips into a jacket or purse.
___So what's the big deal?
___"It's so concise and brief and very easily assimilated," White explained. "We have this short attention span in the world today. The short and brief and concise, easy-to-put-a-handle-on messages are symptomatic of our day."
___Also, the book connects with many people at a point of need, said Ted Elmore, prayer coordinator for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
___"The bottom line is there's such a hunger in the hearts of people for the reality of God," he said. "They're tired of religion. They're hungry for God."
___Hatfield agreed.
___"Connecting with God and communicating with God is a big issue for people," he said. "A lot of people don't mind talking to one another, but when it comes to talking to God, a lot of people don't do that. They don't know how. They feel self-conscious, awkward. This book has kind of reminded us that we can pray."
___Even critics of the book acknowledge its influence.
___"It connects with people's desire and longing to feel like they're blessed," said Jim Holliday, pastor of Lyndon Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., and a book reviewer for the Kentucky Western Recorder.
___"It ties in to people's desire to be affirmed and to have God's stamp of approval on them and on their lives," he added. "People are just hungry for that kind of affirmation and acceptance."
___Dan Crawford, professor of prayer and spiritual formation at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, acknowledged some people may be prone to see the prayer as a magic formula. But the basic message of the book, rightly understood, is positive, he added.
___"You have people reading about prayer who haven't thought about it in years," he surmised. "That's got to have some positive effect."___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
