Blessing to my Spiritual Growth

Reading this book coupled with meditating on the scriptural references used in the book has blessed my life. This process has strengthened my spiritual development. My relationship with my Heavenly Father has intensified because I'm compelled to seek him even more --- on a daily basis --- throughout the entire day.

Close but no Cigar

This book has the right concept, God will bless those who earnestly seek to do his will, but the author misses the point. Also there are times where he could really demonstrate the importance of some fundamental Christian principles, but misses those as well.

First, he doesn't even mention Jesus until a third of the way into the book and then it is just to quote him. Jesus is the center of our faith. Without his death and resurrection we could not approach a holy and perfect God. In addition, the promises of God are for his children, not just anyone. Although anyone can become a child of God, we must do so through Jesus Christ. I am sure that the author understands this, but those not familiar with the Christian Scripture could assume from this book that anyone who would pray this prayer would receive the promises of God. We can't "con" God with some simple little ditty. We must submit ourselves to his will for our lives.

A second major omission is the lack of emphasis on the end of the prayer. Here it says "And that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain." Isn't that a major point in our Christian belief? Don't we shun evil because we don't want to cause pain, pain to ourselves, pain to the ones we love? More importantly, if we truly love God we strive to please him, to cause him the opposite of pain which is the joy of having children who love him. There are hours worth of discussion on this point alone.

A third issue is the name Jabez, it means born in pain. As Christians we were born in pain, the pain Jesus suffered on the cross so that we might receive salvation. How nicely this could have tied the salvation message in with the message that God seeks to bless those who love him. The idea was just not developed.

As a Christian, I understand what the author is trying to say, but he inept in his explanations. I would sum it up differently. First, the children of God were born in pain, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Second, if we genuinely seek to fulfill his will for our lives he will bless us in that endeavor. Third, the purpose of this blessing exceeds earthly riches, but the extension of God's love and blessings to all with whom we come in contact.

In short, I would have preferred to have heard more of discussion of how this relates to our relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Although the author expressed his views poorly, from reading the book his heart seems to be in the right place.

Prayer of Jabez

Although not every statement in this book is biblical, it does serve to counter some of the misconceptions about prayer that many people have. It also encourages Christians to prayer for greater growth and influence in this world for God's glory.

I also recommend "Love Your God with All Your Mind" by J.P. Moreland, and "On Good and Evil" by Vincent Cheung.