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Chronicles chapter 4 lists the rest of the descendants of Judah and
Simeon. It is funny that many of us imagine that if we did a
thorough family history, we would eventually find we are related to a
king, but I suspect the reality is more like this chapter. This
chapter lists the other cousins, the ones not born in the palace. In
fact, the most famous person listed is an obscure man that is known
today because of a prayer. We have lots of lists published in our
magazines, from the “most beautiful” to the “richest” to the
“best dressed”. The fact that they make new lists every week
shows how tentative this kind of fame is. What list do you desire to
make?
The
chapter mentions a man named Jabez, who was “more
honorable than his brothers“.
The text goes on to provide what sounds to me like a prayer of
desperation. This is the prayer of a man that recognized his
dependence on God. “Jabez
cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and
enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm
so that I will be free from pain’. And God granted his request“.
It is funny how we are always looking for the “six keys to
success”, or the shortcut to a life of fulfillment. Some people
have taken this short prayer and made it a model for how to pray. I
believe the power of this prayer is not the exact wording used, but
the
God to whom he prayed.
Romans 8:26-
27 expresses my own inability to express myself in prayer. So often
I don’t have the words to describe the need. Praise God, the
success of my prayer does not depend on my eloquence! When we come
to God in humility, our prayers are effective! “In
the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know
what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us
with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts
knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints in accordance with God’s will“.
Are you in need? Let God hear your groans!
The
chapter ends with “The
descendants of Simeon“.
We read, “their
entire clan did not become as numerous as the people of Judah“.
Simeon was the second oldest brother, but according to Joshua 19:1,
“Their
inheritance lay within the territory of Judah“.
The Book of Numbers indicates that during the exodus wanderings,
their population dwindled. In Genesis 49:7, Jacob declared of Simeon,
“Cursed
be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter
them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel“.
Remember, Simeon was the brother that took action, but he did not
always pause to inquire of God beforehand. We want God to answer our
prayers immediately, but God’s timing is not our timing. We all
have the short, emergency prayers we lift up on the run, but I find
that the tender time of fellowship with God comes in the calm moments
set aside with His Word open before us. Are you in need of answers?
Maybe it is time you pause and inquire of God?