From Jeff:
I agree with your critique of the Dream Giver. It seems simply to be a
variation of Schuler's emphasis on "self image." It's all about self and
promoting self as opposed to dying to self. God seems to need to go through
whatever one's passion is to get to us, as opposed to us passionately
seeking God. His whole approach to this, is clearly out of step with the
overall message of Scripture. Thank you for your ministry of exposing this
to as many as will see it. I think it is excellent that since there is so
much exposure out there for the Purpose Drive Church (and the Schuler and
Wilkerson messages as well), that in your writings, and overall website,
there is an alternative for Christians to look to and consider prayerfully.
I would pray that Christians really pray about all of this, and use the
Bible as their standard for how they want to judge all of this.
Personally, when I look at the Bible and then I see what
these ministries are saying and doing, it is clear to me, they are not
basing their ministries and proclamations on Biblical Truth, pure and
simple. In the end, I know God will judge their hearts and their works,
that's not my job to do, but I do think we have an obligation to be
discerning and truthful about all things. For those of us that can see this
trend and understand its dangers, let us pray that God's Holy Spirit will
convict Rick Warren, Schuler and Wilkerson and others like them, to where
they will turn away from this very dangerous direction they are headed
(especially since they are leading a lot of others with them).
From Kevin:
I just happened to come across your article
online re; The Problems with The Prayer of Jabez! Now although my time
would not allow me the opportunity of reading the whole article, the first
thing that came to mind from the title alone was...how insulting and
degrading to the Christian faith is such an attack.
All of a sudden all Christians sit front-row-center, appearing like all
false religions, empty and foolish, full of back-biting and envy and no
different than the pagans. Kind of like the denominational craze, all of
mans doing, with each one proposing to be better than the next. This is not
what Jesus taught us to be like at all.
Why is it that we so-called 'Perfect Christians' continue to bite the backs
of others, choosing to tear down, ridicule, make mockery of, etcetera,
etcetera...and make all Christians, not only look like fools, but also as
one more group of odd balls out chasing fantasies and full of wild and
outlandish expectations.
Not everyone is perfect Berit, especially you or I, nor can the conservative
or liberal, or the positive thinking preachers of today ever match up with
God's true holiness and righteousness. I don't agree with everything I read
or see either...but on that note, Jesus Himself said in Mark 9:39,40, (NIV)
"No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything
bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us." In other words...if
they are not against Him, then they must be for Him.
It is one thing as a leader for us to stand against issues that deliberately
defile scripture, Same-Sex Marriage and their underlying agendas or Bishops
and Ministers, lifting up and endorsing Homosexuality within the pulpit
etc., ... but it is yet another to shun the direct work of the Lord who has
clearly worked through the author of The Prayer of Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson,
whom I do not know by the way. Bruce like all of us cannot get everything
perfect, but once again, at least the word of Christ is being preached and
the people are being drawn to the word so that God Himself can implant to
them their role in sharing His perfect word, by means of His imperfect
messengers.
I know that I'm not perfect, Kevin.
But I want more than anything to more deeply know, serve and follow my
Lord. And that involves checking everything I read, hear and do
according to the Scriptures He has given us.
My article was not an attack on Bruce
Wilkinson. I was responding to many letters from concerned visitors who
asked me to read and advise them. I wrote the review after much prayer.
By His grace, I sought to understand what the author and publisher
together were teaching people (believers and unbelievers) around the
world concerning our Lord and His promises.
I'm not going to repeat the concerns
I shared in the article, but I would like to urge all our friends and
visitors to carefully and prayerfully consider everything they read in
light of God's Word. The following exhortation may not be very
politically correct in today's postmodern churches and dialectic groups,
but it as relevant as ever to you and I and others who long to follow
Jesus and His narrow way:
"Be
ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For
the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according
to their own desires, because they have
itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will
turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
But you be watchful in all things..." 2
Timothy 4:2-5
From John B:
Ran across your take on the Jabez deal -- I agree -- it's
one of many prayer formats that the Word of God gives to us -- it has it's
place along with many others.
Regarding the following sentence from your article, I
have a question for you:
"Since the prayer of Jabez
precedes the New Testament call to absolute commitment...."
I don't quite agree with the term "commitment" -- I was
saved in 1972 and have been learning over the years, so I've been at this for
awhile. Where does it say that we are to "commit our lives to Christ?" -- I
hear that quite often. To me, salvation has nothing to do with commitment --
if it did, then we would have to "work" our way to Heaven. Commitment involves
work -- salvation and eternal life has to do with belief, not commitment. What
is your opinion on that?
That's a very good question, John.
Yes, salvation is by faith in the redemption Jesus Christ bought for us
through His death on the cross.
[See
What it means to be a Christian]
Likewise, our walk with Him is by faith in His all-sufficient life and His
strength in all our weakness.
See
The Secret of Abundant Life
He has called us to a wonderful covenant
relationship with Himself, but He will not take second place in our lives. He
calls us to surrender our lives and love Him with all our hearts, which means
following His ways. And He warns us that if we walk according to our human
nature and selfish desires rather than by His Spirit, we have reason to
question whether we were actually regenerated (born again) by His Spirit.
Consider these Scriptures. They show us that we must follow God's way, but we can only do it by
His grace. We must choose to repent (turn away from our old ways) and to
follow Him -- then He enables us by His Spirit. Both our salvation and our
daily walk must be by faith.
"...work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do
for His good pleasure."
Philippians 2:12-13
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall
love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment."
Matthew 22:37-38
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with
him."
John 14:23
"...whoever does not bear
his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending
to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has
enough to finish it..."
Luke 14:27-28
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find
it."
Matthew
16:24-25
"...work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to
will and to do for His good pleasure."
Philippians 2:12-13
"...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God.... Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."
Romans
12:1-2, 9
"...do not present your members as instruments of
unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive
from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under
grace."
Romans 6:13-14
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Matthew 11:28-30
"I also count all things loss for the excellence of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in
Him..."
Philippians 3:8-11
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you
completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is
faithful, who also will do it."
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Find more Scriptures here:
Called to Total Commitment
From
Francis Egenias:
I'm from the Philippines. I'm a part-time student in an
evangelical seminary. I've been a Christian for 20 years. But I still haven't
figured out the correct theology of prayer.
Yes, the booklet suggests "name it and claim it." I agree with your comment
that it is not the words that make the prayer answered, it is God who answers
the prayer. The booklet focuses on the prayer itself, not on the God who
answered the prayer of Jabez.
Sometimes, a Korea study prayer tour is conducted by my church. I cant help
but think that it might suggest that if we Filipinos just pray like the
Koreans, then God would bless the Philippines in the same way He is blessing
South Korea now"!
Sometimes I feel that the prevailing sentiment is that the most number of
answered prayers is the mark of spirituality; or if not that, the more
"holier" a prayer sounds, the more spiritual the person is (example - remember
the 2 missionary hostages in Mindanao? people who pray for their release seem
to be less spiritual than those who prayed that the 2 won't be released so
they can still reach out to their captors!).
I'm confused. But I still pray, without ceasing. Whether He grants my prayer
or not, praise Him! I don't believe in "name it and claim it." I know that God
solely decides whether He grants a prayer or not, and He is not persuaded by
prayers in the same manner Judges are persuaded by lawyers. If He grants a
prayer, it is because He wills it and it will give Him glory, and not because
of the right choice of words.
This may sound selfish but what I like about prayer is the "peace of God that
surpasses all understanding" which God gives immediately after praying. God's
peace is the best antidote to unbelief. God's peace assures me that He heard
my prayer and I am assured that whatever His response is, it is in exercise of
His sovereign will. Either way (yes or no), praise the Lord!
It seems to me you have found the answer,
Francis. Maybe it has more to do with you relationship to God than the words
you use to talk with Him.
Your letter reminded me of some of the psalms where David or other psalmists
begin by expressing their concerns and griefs -- but end up just praising
their God and delighting in Him. I so appreciate your faith and
responsiveness!
From Linda Cooper-Smith:
In reading the book Prayer of Jabez, I did receive the message from Mr.
Wilkerson that God gives us everything we want. What I understood the author
to say is God loves us and wants to bless us. Christians need to build their
faith through prayer and study, just as we build our bodies through proper
food and exercise. God wants a personal, intimate relationship with each of
us, and he wants to bless us with gifts and his love.
God does answer our prayers. Sometimes the answer is not what we want to hear.
Sometimes it is “Yes”. Sometimes the answer is “No”. Sometimes the answer is
“Wait and listen for MY will.” As our faith builds, our eyes are opened to the
wonders and blessings that have been part of our lives all along. Maintaining
a positive, joyful attitude attracts people of like mind. God’s power and
spirit are present where 3 or 4 of his people are gathered in worship.
Perhaps you could re-read the book. Keep an open mind to the message of God’s
love for us and his desire to bless us. Surely, you do not expound that God
wants bad things for us. It is true, sometimes bad things happen, and we may
not understand why. That is when faith comes into play, and we must be
patient. Many, many times the picture becomes clearer with time and distance
from pain.
Linda, you didn't deal with my specific
concerns. Perhaps you could re-read my article. Jabez words are Biblical and
God answered his prayer. But Wilkinson and his publisher promise readers who
follow his extra-biblical formula -- whether believers or not -- more than
God tells us in His Word.
From
Al: You
would give Jesus a good laugh. Your diatribe on the prayer of Jabez is purely
intellectual jealousy, or certainly appears to be. Probably commercial based
as well. "Gee why didn't I think of that". It's pitiful.
Absolutely nowhere in the prayer or in the P.R. regarding
the prayer have I read where it is said to "say this prayer instead of
others". Your type of self-righteous indignation toward a beautiful concept
and prayer, with your academic field dressing of it's true message, puts you
in the same category as those who tried to trip Jesus with their questions.
The prayer is simply that. It's tool for communication with God. Someone has
called our attention to it, and has given us some ideas on how it may be of
benefit to our spiritual and natural lives.
I think Jesus, Moses, David, and especially Paul would have
a good howl over a glass of wine and say, " Is this guy nuts, doesn't he
realize that we'll take anything in this day and age that will bring our
people closer to the Father. Even a little obscure prayer. We're glad SOMEBODY
NOTICED, after all these years. This crossroads, guy, whats his name, whoever,
needs to stop majoring in minors, and find some practical spirituality. The
kind Jesus talks about". Then Paul would smile and say, "I think I wrote
something about
that in one of my letters, didn't I ?" To which Jesus would respond, " Yeah,
with my help."
Al, did you really read my article?
You didn't address any of my concerns. I don't believe you understood any of
my points.
From John:
Why is it when someone finds out how thing really work your
can find the time to take issue with it? I am only responding to your web site
because while deep despair I received the book Prayer of Jabez and, guess
what, it worked. I like you say jesue loves me this i know because the bible
tells me so.
My simple thought is this, all of the things that God did were simple. He said
"let there be light" and there was light. He said let the earth bring forth
cattle and grasses and if did. So why when one man who was more honorable
than is brethren prays a simple prayer and get his request honored you find
that selfish?
No, I don't, John. I appreciate both Jabez and his prayer. God obviously
heard him and responded with love and blessings.
Did you not ask for forgiveness? Did you not as a little
child belive? Did we forget that even the woman was caught in the very act of
adultery was dismissed by a simple and elegant statement. Where have your
accusers gone? Go and sin no more least some thing more terrible befall you.
Simple and to the point. The world will not change because of our veiled
attemps to condem them and point out the errors of their ways, They choose
those ways on a simple one choice at a time. I cannot tell you why I found
your web site nor can I say if we will ever meet. But this I hold true. God's
ways are simple and child like It is us the wise beyond our age folks who
could stand to look at one thing that Jesus the Son Of God Said. Verily I say
unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Just a thought.
I appreciate your emphasis on the simplicity of faith and life in Christ,
John, and I agree with you. I also appreciate the Scriptures you included.
And I know that Jabez’ prayer is a Biblical prayer. But you didn’t really
answer the concerns I mentioned in the article. It is so easy for our
finite minds to think that a particular prayer or formula "works," when it
is God (not our words) Who brings the answer.
Second letter from
John: Berit, The point that you made is what
started me thinking maybe it was not the prayer of Jabez being repeated, but
the act of writing a book about it that was God's way to, in principle, answer
the authors prayer and he in over looking the simple process of acting and
sharing the prayer with others, his borders where enlarged. This is the point
that your article helped me arrive at.. Neat how when we set out to instruct
others we learn a little bit ourselves. thanks for you site.
I am glad we can encourage each other, John.
From
Terrence Clark, DMD:
I have just read your article, Problems with The Prayer of
Jabez. Just wanted to let you know I felt it was absolutely right on. It
drives at the heart of what Christianity really is, what our true relationship
with God is and what our obligation to Him in our daily lives is.
The commentary about people today wanting a “feel good god” is correct and
insightful. People buy every gadget on TV that promises better health with
only one simple exercise a day, only one daily supplement, only this or only
that, because it promises what they want and they don’t have to work for it.
It is the lottery mentality of something for nothing, of getting everything
you want without any real effort or sacrifice. Everywhere we look in the
world, people want to do as they please and avoid any consequences for their
behavior.
As a dentist, I make a living fixing what generally people could have avoided
if they would have just made a reasonable effort to take care of their teeth.
Doctors treat diseases every day that are primarily diseases of choice, caused
by people’s lifestyles. Invariably, people come in to see us, wanting us to
wave a magic wand and make all the problems they themselves have created,
simply go away. They want simple answers that don’t cost too much, cause any
pain, and can be done without any real change in their lifestyle.
Many Christians want to treat their spirit like they treat their body. They
think the Gospel should provide a simple, painless, quick formula that will
make their sinful lives OK again. Christ never taught this and His life’s
example was just the opposite.
The old cliché, “I never said it would be easy; I only said it would be worth
it”, is right on target. Christ gave His precious and perfect life for us and
all we want to give in return is a repetitive two minute prayer each day?
Mr. Kjos quotes the right scriptures, and there are many more good examples
that prove beyond any doubt, that God expects us to do our very best, to give
our all, to sacrifice whatever it takes, even our own lives if necessary, for
the Kingdom of God. This is what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.
Following the formula from the Prayer of Jabez, no offense to the good things
within it, is like buying the Abs Machine and assuming we’ll never have
another health issue again.
From
Rob:
I
just read your comments about the Prayer of Jabez and thank you for your
insights. I don't fully agree with you though. I believe that if we pray the
prayer "in His will," then the answer will come. This is where I believe the
problem lays.
Perhaps some would like to see the
Scripture that supports your words, Rob:
"Now this is the confidence that we
have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we have asked of Him. "
1 John 5:14-15
Many believers wish to pray the Jabez for their will. If we
pray it so that our territory enlarges so only He may be glorified, then it is
in His will. I agree that many Christians try to take the shortcut in their
sanctification, and this mis-understanding of the Jabez prayer can be one of
them. Also, I agree the repetition of a prayer is wrong if it is more like
chanting. We should be never ceasing in prayer, but not chanting.
I really enjoyed your insight into noting Jesus gave us another prayer, which
emphasized praise, His will, praying for provision, and obedience.
Thank you, Rob.
Anonymous: I
don't like the prayer namely because it seems to me people want to use it for
selfish gain, but like James said, God does not hear selfish prayers.
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that
you may spend it
on your pleasures."
I do believe God does provide for us though, and it is his
will for Christians to prosper in everything, but the big 'Prayer of Jabez'
explosion seems more like religious nonsense. I don't mean good religion, but
the Pharisee kind of religion (if you know what I mean).
I'm not sure I know what you mean, but I
appreciate the quote from James 4:3.
God -- in His love and wisdom -- may
answer our self-focused requests, but sometimes His answers become part of
His disciplines. For example, when ancient Israel complained about their
monotonous diet during their years in the wilderness, God heard their prayer
but His answer brought pain after a short moment of pleasure:
"They did not wait for His
counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the
desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their
soul."
