The Prayer of Jabez falls short in Africa...

I've been interested in some of the chat that has been floating around regarding God's blessing. I'm sure the Prayer of Jabez fuels some of that thinking but I find myself wondering if the whole concept of blessing may be a tad more profound than health and wealth (whatever currency!). I found this tucked away in my drafts which I found challenging when I read it.

The Prayer of Jabez falls short in Africa by David Batstone. An interesting reflection (here)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Interesting piece Gordon!

I've always had an uncomfortable feeling about the Prayer of Jabez phenomenon. Whilst I don't doubt that many have been blessed through it, both materially and spiritually, it has always felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy which is far to close to the so-called "health and wealth" teaching.

It's a huge shame that Dr Wilkinson's mission has failed as I'm sure he had the best intentions. For me it shows the problems of going into a mission situation with pre-conceived ideas of how you will solve it. In the end no one wins least of all those who you genuinely wanted to help.
11:16 AM
BrownEyedGirl said…
my husband once said to me.." We are not called to be blessed, we are called to be faithful." It was a word from the Lord to me at the time. To stop seeking blessings and seek only His face. Recently God has led me to Dan. 3. This is an amazing statment of faith. God can deliver but even if he doesn't we still will not bow down to any other gods.
God may bless us abundantly but even if he doesn't...what is my responce?
2:24 PM
jacki said…
Hmm... I already did not think the whole "bless me" thing seemed so sound, but that gives me more to think about.
2:41 AM
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