Why Do We Ask God to Bless Us?

by Janis Cox

We are attending a church that started a 6-week study of Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. Many years ago my Bible study worked through his book and we saw amazing things happen. Not sure why I stopped praying this prayer.

Here are some dictionary definitions of the word bless:

express or feel gratitude to; thank:
call (God) holy; praise (God).
consecrate (something) by a religious rite, action, or spoken formula.
to confer or invoke divine favor upon; ask God to look favorably on:

Bruce tells us that:

to bless in the biblical sense means to ask or to impart supernatural favor*.

Bruce does ask the question:

Is it possible that God wants you to be “selfish” in your prayers? To ask for more from the Lord? *

It is not asking more for ourselves – it is asking more from the Lord. It is a blessing from God that we seek.

The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth; all our work adds nothing to it (Proverbs 10:22, TLB).

God decides the blessing. We trust Him to give good gifts to His children.

Bruce states this so clearly.

When we seek God’s blessing as the ultimate value in life, we are throwing ourselves entirely into the river of His will and power and purpose for us. *

READ that again. And again.

Putting ourselves into His will – ENTIRELY.

This year I have decided to be even more intentional in my prayers.

My books for this year include:

Power of Persistent Prayer by Cindy Jacobs
Possessing the Gates of the Enemy by Cindy Jacobs
Not a Fan by Kyle Idelman
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson

Now I think I am ready for the Jabez prayer. I have seen miracle happenings and divine appointments in the past 2 months.

I am ready for more.

God’s power to accomplish great things suddenly finds no obstruction in you. You are moving in His direction. You’re praying for exactly what God desires. *

Bruce says there is a CATCH – there is always one, eh? We must ASK for the blessing.

ASK – ASK – ASK

Lord, bless me indeed.

God’s bounty is limited only by us, not by His resources, power or willingness to give. *

What do you think?
Are you willing to trust God in His will for your life?
Are you willing to pray this prayer – Lord, bless me indeed – every day?

If you write about the Prayer of Jabez please email me and I will feature you next week as I continue this 6 week adventure in prayer.

You can also tell me your experiences in the comments.

* All quotes are taken from Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson.

Tweetables:

Are you putting yourself into God’s will – entirely? (tweet this)

God’s bounty is limited only by us, not by His resources, power or willingness to give ~ Bruce Wilkinson (tweet this)