Snuggies. The ice bucket challenge. Pet rocks. The macarena. Rubik's Cube. Linsanity (3 points if you remember that one). Teletubbies. Moonwalking.
Cultural explosions...that disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived.
As we think about some of the prayers in God's Word there is one that falls into this category.
The prayer of Jabez.
"Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm[a] so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked."
1 Chronicles 4:10
For a brief season it seemed to be the only thing Christians were talking about. Suddenly, this brief single verse was treated as the key to unlocking an entirely new level of the Christian experience. Move over John 3:16...here comes Jabez!
It was a little crazy. All of these trends are a little crazy.
But you know what? Moonwalking (both Neil Armstrong's and Michael Jackson's version) is still pretty impressive if you think about it.
And there is value in Jabez's prayer.
"Lord, expand the spaces and scope that I can serve you and represent you. Give me a greater opportunity to carry your name and your glory everywhere I go."
It may not be the most important verse in the Bible. But it remains one worth shaping our prayer life.
May God expand your spiritual borders this week!
Your pastor
Tim
