Jabez haters better understand this.

Originally posted by quizzler
don't remember 16. What i know is my experience with this.

I'll seise on this. It seems people didn't read it with the same mindset i had. I never read it to get something from God but to be used by God.

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Okay.  But still how does this prayer tself help you do that more than a different prayer?  See the book (especially pg 16) makes a point at saying the prayer itself is what makes one be able to be used by God.  I say no.   

Originally posted by quizzler
We went through this in our Adult Team. We believe it to be grounded in Truth. We have witnessed truths behind this book. Not wealth. Not healings. But God opening doors to share the gospel with others.

That is what i believe the book is truly about. Reaching others for Christ.

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I have no problem with the truths behind the book but the book makes explicit statements that I disagree with greatly.  Reread p.16 and it might help you to understand why I think the general truths behind the book are okay but the explicit statements in the book are not. 

Biblical truths? Seeking God's blessings are the ultimate act of worship? That is a Biblical truth? (p.49) God's blessing is limited only by us, not by His resources, power or willing to give.(p 29) That is a Biblical truth?
The best strategy for defeating the devil is just to avoid him and confrontation altogether? "Oh keep me from evil" (p.67) Like I said, the prayer is in God's word so I have no problem with it per se. But I have a problem with the way the author represents it.

Michelle

Fad: A popular practice, interest or philosophy followed for a time with exaggerated zeal.

Originally posted by Blackhawk
pg 16 of the book illustrates why I do not like it. It talks about testimonies of people who prayed this prayer for a length of time and got blank.

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Blank check.  LOL!

Michelle

Originally posted by Anthony
The Prayer of Jabez in the Bible is fine, exploitation for profit, and the repackaging of it over and over again is not.

Dear Reader,

I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers. It is brief --- only one sentence with four parts --- and tucked away in the Bible. But I believe it contains the key to a life of extraordinary favor with God.

This petition has radically changed what I expect from God and what I experience every day His power. In fact, thousands of believers who are applying it truths are seeing miracles happen on a regular basis.

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Anthony, I agree with you.


Let me highlight these parts of the intro page of the prayer of jabez books that made me want to vomit.

1. How to pray a prayed that God ALWAYS answers

2. The prayer of Jabez contains THE KEY to extraodinary favor with God.


WAVING A BIG RED FLAG IN EVERYONE'S FACE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait, Bruce, you can sell the prayer of jabez book marks, the prayer of jabez lunch box, the prayer of jabez for children, the prayer of jabez for teens, the prayer of jabez for dogs... Give me a break!!!

I am sick and tired of christians running to the christian book store to go fix their spiritual problem for the week. Oh, if I have a bad marriage, the prayer of jabez will fix it because bruce said it was THE KEY to favor with God. Oh, I have a problem with masturbation, so I will pray the prayer of jabez because God always answers THIS prayer.

Oh man, that book makes me angry.

Great news everyone! I have found a little known jewel in the Bible that we can exploit. It has a prayer in it that will unlock all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly store houses. Yup, if you just pray this prayer, God will like you more than anyone else for your vain repetition. If you are not praying it RIGHT NOW, then God does not like you. In fact, God will only answer this prayer. Let's take a look .........

This rare and special jewel is found in 1 Kings 19: 4

Elijah, what a prayer he prays, take a look.

while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD ," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."

Don't you get it? If we simply pray that we might die, God will look upon us with favor. This is THE KEY to everything in life.

Start praying this daring prayer with me ! After all.... IF A PRAYER IS IN THE BIBLE... IT MUST MEAN WE HAVE TO PRAY IT TOO !!!!

I think Dave is right. The only prayer I've ever used "because it was in the Bible" is one or another of the variants on the Lord's Prayer, which I think is entitled to some consideration because *Jesus said to pray that way*. Roughly, anyway, allowing for translation problems and the like.

I will actually point out, just to annoy everyone on both sides of this, that I know many people who have prayed The Prayer of Elijah, or some variant on it, and God has answered them. I have known lots of people who said "I give up, I can't hack it anymore", and God has helped.

Yes, the prayer of Elijah, I will be as rich as Bruce Wilkinson.

The prayer of Elijah lunch boxes are gonna go like hot cakes. Anyone wanna get in on this before it gets huge?

Originally posted by DaveKerwin
Yes, the prayer of Elijah, I will be as rich as Bruce Wilkinson.

The prayer of Elijah lunch boxes are gonna go like hot cakes. Anyone wanna get in on this before it gets huge?

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C'mon, all I need to do is declare something and it automatically comes true. Let me try. God always answers this pray, POOF, its true! What a miracle. God is using me and the prayer of Elijah in wonderful ways already!
Let me try again. If you pray this prayer, you will have extrodinary favor with God, POOF! Whoa, it became true again. With this kind of favor, I should become the next Benny Hinn. Wait, if I just say it, it will come true just like Bruce Wilkinson does. Ok, I got lots to declare, so I better get offline. Whats that noise? Oh, its vain repetition, and it sounds like a money maker !!!

This is a very sad thread! Such "anger" over a simple prayer in the Bible! I don't think that is what God had in mind when He put it in there. There is no love, forgiveness, tolerance, or understanding in most of these posts!

The tone of this thread is by nature confrontational. It is assuming that everyone who disagrees with the Prayer of Jabez or the marketing connected to it is a "Jabez Hater." I am not a Jabez hater, because I have never met the man and I do not hate human beings anyway ~.^ and because I do not oppose people privately praying any Biblical prayer. I DO oppose the idea of prayer as a magical charm or moneymaker.

Therefore, I am not buying the Prayer of Jabez hat, windchime, lunchbox, tissues, specially bred Chihuahua, or whatever other Jabez product that someone comes up with, and I am also going to continue to oppose the idea of THIS prayer being one "God always answers."

What makes it any better than any other prayer like the prayer of Elijah, the proverbial prayer of Agur, or the Magnificat in the NT? Who is to say that God will not answer it with a flat "No. It is not time yet."

There is only one prayer that God always answers with a "yes," and that is the sincere request for salvation.

ALL other prayers (including Jabez's) have the possibility of being answered with things like "no" and "wait."

Very well argued, Susan. I think you expressed my opinion better than I did. I don't object to the prayer; I object to the portrayal of it as somehow "special".

My attitude in my posts was to prove a point, which it seems was not well received. I like sarcasm, what can I say.

This is my official stance. I would never buy that book because I feel it contains false teachings and I believe it misleads people.

AMEN DaveKerwin. If I am spending money on a book to find advice or help on anything, I want to make sure that it is as accurate and helpful as possible, rather than misleading.

I don't believe in using different prayers as "good luck charms", nor do I think that one prayer is necessarily "more special" than another. I will say, however, that different prayers can serve different specific functions at different times in our lives. I believe that that is one of the reasons why there are 150 different songs in the book of Psalms.

Ummm...Prayer of Jabez. I have read the book, didn't do much for me personally but I actually preferred the Prayer of Solomon. Praying for wisdom is for me paramount -- for others it may be different.

One of my concerns is that Wilkinson never suggest that the person prays in Jesus name. “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”(John 14:13-14)  It concerns me that a Christian book on prayer does not mention this?   

Another concern is the "mantra" nature of repeating this prayer, which is what the author generally suggests to, for thirty days. In comparison the Lord's prayer was an outline. Would you suggest that his is an outline and if so why does he suggest to the reader they repeat the prayer verbatim?

My other concern is that there is a promise for miracles. I quote:

"You don't reach the next level of blessing and stay there. You begin again -- Lord, bless me indeed! Lord, please enlarge...! And so on. As the cycle repeats itself, you'll find that you are steadily moving into wider spheres of blessing and influence, spiraling ever outward and upward into a larger life for God.... You will know beyond doubt that God has opened heaven's storehouses because you prayed."

How does that leave the disabled one who wants to see the miracle of healing? How does that leave the Christians around the world how are facing torment, persecution each day -- how do they interpret this enlarging/blessing to them? What about someone whose child dies in this period ? The Christians of the old school tended to suffer more persecution than any material blessing -- why has our philosophy changed?

For me there are plenty truths contained in the book, but I do not like the success driven approach. Of course God will always answer prayer but this book never suggests that it will be no. Look how confident Paul was when praying but God still told him not to go to Rome until he was ready.

God shows us that the state of a believer's heart is as, if not more, important than the particular words used in his prayer. This is not "hating" rather concerned that prayer is so much deeper than this, and what was succesful for Jabez is not neccessarily a formula for people today.

God is my strength
Dave 

Very well thought out, excellent post Simple Plan!

btw ~ I keep forgetting to tell you I love your avatar