Comfort and Enlarge Us

A very familiar prayer in the Bible, yet one that we must not forget to pray in our own lives is the Prayer of Jabez.  Found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, Jabez was a man who was greatly respected, even more than anyone in his family. His name is a bit puzzling, as it means "affliction." How often is affliction the mark of our lives? How often do we see affliction torment the children and families of today? The good news is that there is hope for them; hope that can be found in our prayers for them.

Jabez prayed the following to the God of Israel, "Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from harm, that it may not pain me!"

Notice the "it" in the prayer. He is praying that God would enlarge his territory, but he prayed that this blessing would not pain him. I do not know Jabez's story or his affliction, but I do know that God answers prayers and is indeed in the midst of our pain and is able to comfort us, bless us, and help us prosper in this land where so much turmoil and hurt abide. Sometimes that blessing can come at first in the form of pain. But pain often times is the entrance to His Light in our life. Without pain, we often times cannot change for growth brings change and change can be painful. But we can pray that God makes this transition to His blessing quick with glimpses of His assurance that eases the pain.

God granted Jabez's prayer and He can and will grant us our prayers. We must beleive that God is Who He says He is and that He can do what He says He can do. Pray with me the following for our Kids Quest Families and Ministry:

God You are the granter and giver of good things. You know and understand our deep afflictions. Many families today in our church and in our communities are hurting for all sorts of reasons. We pray and ask you, Lord, to meet each family where they hurt, where they suffer, and help them find strength in Your Spirit and Hope in Your plans for their life. Give them a glimpse of Your faithfulness in the godly people that love them, and in the classrooms we offer to their children each Sunday. And God, we pray that You will enlarge our ministry to children, families and volunteers. We also pray that you will enlarge our ministry to more territory like the building next to ours. We pray that You will mightily move us to ownership of this building so that our Children's Ministry can grow physically and spiritually! We trust You in this prayer that You will answer like you did for Jabez. In Jesus Name, Amen.