Is the Prayer of Jabez a Selfish Prayer?

What if I were to tell you that the prayer of Jabez wasn’t a selfish prayer, even though it may seem selfish on the surface?

First, before we get into this, you may be wondering, “What is the prayer of Jabez?” or “Who is Jabez?” or “The name Jabez sounds familiar, but I can’t quite figure out why.”

Who was Jabez?

Little is known about Jabez. He appears in between Aharhel and Chelub in the Bible in 1 Chronicles 4, leaving many to believe that he may be Aharhel’s son. When reading this genealogy section, it’s so easy to almost miss him even being mentioned, let alone the prayer and Jabez’s short history found in the Bible.

All that’s really mentioned of him in the Bible is 2 verses (but we’ll look at 3 verses so there’s a little context). 1 Chronicles 4:8-10:

“8 And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!’ And God granted him that which he requested.”

From this passage, we can see that the prayer is focused on Jabez. It almost seems like something that we can’t pray.

While it isn’t selfish, that doesn’t mean we need to pray this word-for-word, or that it is somehow the perfect prayer to pray.

Where do you know this prayer from? Likely you have heard of or read Bruce Wilkinson’s book The Prayer of Jabez, and that’s where a lot of Christians have heard of it, in addition to seeing it by reading through the Bible.

Here are four reasons that it isn’t selfish:

1. We don’t know that this is all he prayed that time.
2. Jabez was asking for responsibility from God by asking his coast to be enlarged.
3. Jabez was considered honorable.
4. God gave Jabez what he asked for in his prayer.

​Here is more detail on each reason:
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1. The Bible doesn’t say that this is all Jabez prayed during this prayer, so we don’t even know the whole context of his prayer. Therefore, we can’t call it selfish.
2. The context of this verse (and other commentaries) can lead us to believe that “coast” was dealing with responsibilities (other versions read “territory”). If this is the case, then it definitely isn’t selfish, but rather Jabez asking God to help further God’s work on the earth (and the Bible says that God granted the prayer, as well).
3. Verse 9 says that Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. Why is this in the passage? Perhaps to give context to who Jabez was. He was honorable, so his prayer was an outpouring of his heart. John 9:31 says, “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” If Jabez was honorable (and cried out to God this prayer), we have enough context to be able to understand that Jabez worshipped God and was wanting to do God’s will.
4. The end of verse 10 says, “And God granted him that which he requested.” God answered Jabez’s prayer. This is an important note because James 1:5-8 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
   If God answered the request, and God grants prayers of those who do His will (as seen in point 3) and to those who have unwavering faith (as seen in James 1), we can be assured that Jabez wasn’t selfish in his prayer.

So, can we be assured that God honors prayers like this? Jabez told God that he was ready for growth, and God honored his prayer. Based on this short, little-known passage, we can be sure that this prayer isn’t selfish, as long as you aren’t being selfish (James 4:3: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”).
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We can take a lot from this passage. One thing we can get from it is to be bold in our prayer. Will you pray today with Jabez-like faith? If you can’t do that yet, remember James 1:5: ““If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”