The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life by Bruce Wilkinson
Nonfiction

An Old Testament man named Jabez is named in a long listing of names in I Chronicles chapter 4. There is a pause at his name before the next name of a long lineage is cited. That pause opens a small window into one man and the powerful prayer he prayed. It is that prayer that Bruce Wilkinson breaks down and explains line by line. The prayer is a short and concise request to God. It consists of four parts: to be blessed, for an enlarged territory, for God's hand to be with him, and to be protected from evil. It is also recorded in the passage that God answered Jabez's prayer. Jabez prayed this prayer only once in scripture, but what it showed was that his heart was desiring God's best and God's protection. And also, that God answered his prayer because He saw his heart. The book challenged me to reflect on where my heart is when I pray, to look for more opportunities to influence others for the kingdom of God, and to not put limits on all that God has for me and my life.