Robot building with the girls! They couldn’t agree on a name but both agreed that it was a lot of fun. The kit Jen found us comes with 5 other things to build, but the girls are a bit disappointed that none of the robots will do their chores or schoolwork for them!😏 Robots can’t do everything, and there are definitely times it’s good we aren’t mindless, emotionless robots.
One of those times is prayer. Robots are supposed to be mechanical. Prayer is not!
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 says, “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.”
It’s a famous prayer, but why are so many surprised that God answered his prayer? He answers ours all the time too!
Many people get hung up on Jabez’ exact words and even think we’re supposed to recite them with no more heart than a robot, but it was God hearing Jabez’ heart, not the precise words used.
Jabez seems to have wanted good things for the right reasons, and God said yes to those requests.
In the next chapter we see God again answering a heartfelt prayer from people turning to Him in trust:
1 Chronicles 5:20 says, “And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.”
No specific words are given to us from that prayer, but God again answered a heart-felt prayer for a good thing.
I’m glad that when we pray we don’t have to say just the right thing but can pray and trust God to do just the right thing.