Friday, 11 January 2019

Prayer changes me

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In biblical times a name had significance and proclaimed a blessing of God over the child. Most often when reading lineage in the word, we read "son of". Such is the case in 1 Chronicles 4 except for verse 9. Here we read about a man who was named Jabez by his mother. One would have to ask, what about his father, who was he? Going even further we read that his mother gave birth to him in pain. The meaning of his name is sorrow or "he makes sorrowful". This is not a name which we would connect with having

much hope for a future, in fact we could say that Jabez was destined to be a failure.

How did this change? The answer is in verse 10, he prayed. It is important to understand that it is possible to change the future of a person even if they are destined to failure. We have the authority to reverse curses against us. This prayer was not only for Jabez, we are called to take authority over our lives. We must agree with who we are according to the word of God not according to what others say about us.

In comparing this prayer and the Lords prayer there appears to be a contrast. It would appear that Jabez is praying for himself yet really he is praying or longing with all his heart for God to bless him. Why is this important for us to understand? So that we will walk in faith, hope and love, called to move in love. In this way we will avoid the trap of falling into the poor me, no one cares about me attitude; remembering that God cares about me.

The place of prayer is where changes occur. When we are stuck in the corner and it happens some times, prayer is our key. What happens first of all is that it brings change in us. Praying for our enemy is not manipulative when praying for God's will for that person. We see the situation from a different perspective. We are called to proclaim blessings over ourselves and others. Let us be careful not to despise these small beginnings.

This is taken from the Harvest of Asher Facebook page.