Don't know what to pray?

If you are like me, you don't always know what to pray or how to pray according to God's will. However, there is one prayer in the Bible that is always according to God's will and wish for you and me, and that is what we call The prayer of Jabez. Several years ago a book about the prayer of Jabez became very popular, and "everybody" talked about Jabez. Then, when the news was gone, "nobody" talked about him any more.
However, I believe the two verses in 2 Chronicles 4 have a lot to teach us. So I want to review them today. Verses 9 and 10 read,
And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 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.
Here we have two verses of Scripture about a man that seems to come from nowhere, and then disappeares into nothing. But Jabez' life was very real, and he left a mark on his contemporaries and also on us.
It says he was more honorable than his brethren. We don't know how or why he became that way, but I'm pretty sure it was a choice on his part. He chose to stay and live near God, and for that God gave him honor and granted his request.
What did he pray? The prayer in vers 10 is divided into five parts, let's look at them. Jabez' requests were

• Bless me indeed
• Enlarge my coast (or territory)
• Let Your hand be with me
• Keep me from evil
• Keep me from grief

Jabez longed for God's blessing on his life, and God granted it. We don't know what Jabez did for a living, but God enlarged his territory. If he were a farmer, he might have gotten more land; if he were a salesman, he could have gotten more customers. We don't know, but we know that his request was granted by God.
Have you ever prayed "Let Your hand be with me"? It's a strange prayer, but very "Biblical". The Bible has lots to say about the hand of God, (which is another study). God's hand might be outstretched both to judgement and to blessing. Jabez saw God's hand bless him.
He also prayed that God would keep him from evil. Evil and grief belong together. Where there is evil, there is grief. The only way to stay out of grief, is to avoid evil. And according to Jabez it is possible to stay out of both. How do I know that? Because at the end of vers 10, it says that "God granted him that which he requested".
Does God grant all requests that we send up to Him? No, not mine, anyway. But the five requests Jabez sent up to God, were granted. That means that they were according to God's will for Jabez, and I believe they are according to God's will for all of us. If we pray like Jabez prayed, we get results like Jabez did.
Don't know what to pray? Pray like Jabez and see the results!