Explore the remarkable transformation that faith can bring into lives by revisiting the profound words found in the Prayer of Jabez. Rabbi Schneider shares inspiring lessons on how to align our prayers with God’s will, assuring us of divine goodness and protection. This episode is not merely a lesson but a call to embrace a richer, more fulfilling spiritual journey, unlocking a deeper peace and sense of belonging in God’s eternal family.
God bless you and shalom, beloved ones. My name is Rabbi Schneider. Welcome today to this important broadcast of Discovering the Jewish Jesus. We’re continuing our series today called Capturing God’s Heart as we’ve been doing a study on the great prayers of the Hebrew Bible. I’m going to continue today with a very well-known prayer called the Prayer of Jabez. I’m going to begin reading now from the book of 1 Chronicles, chapter number 4. verses number nine and 10. Hear the word of God. Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez, saying, because I bore him with pain. Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, oh, that you would bless me indeed. and enlarge my border and that your hand might be with me and that you would help me and keep me from harm, that it might not pain me. And God granted him what he requested.” What a beautiful, pure, childlike prayer. Can all of us relate to this prayer? I mean, these were just simple, pure, childlike heart issues. And you know what, beloved? God answered that prayer. And when you and I pray to the Lord with a pure heart, these simple things as Jabez prayed, we can be assured that God is going to answer those prayers and that His goodness towards you and me will be the same as it was towards Jabez. Do you know the Bible tells us that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, get this now, is toward us. And you know, the scriptures begin in almost every letter that Paul wrote the same way. Paul says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says, grace and peace to you, Paul said, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. What this means? is that God’s favor is on you and me. And God wants us to believe that he loves us. He wants us to believe that his favor’s on us. He wants us to believe that when we ask him for good things, he’s gonna give us good things. Jesus said, if you, speaking of you and I, know how to give good gifts to our children, He said, how much more will your heavenly father give good things to those that ask him? So right now, Father, in Jesus name, we break off every wrong concept that we have about you. Father, we break off every thought that’s making us think that we’re condemned before you. We break off every lie that’s telling us you’re mad at us. We break off every deception from the devil that makes us think that there are bad things up ahead for us. Father, we declare today that you love us, that we’re your children, that you desire for us to prosper and be in good health according to your word, even as our soul prospers, and that you’re going to do for us, Abba, even what you did for Jabez. Many of you know when I just said that name Abba, that’s the Hebrew word and it means daddy. You know, the Bible tells us that we’ve been given the spirit of adoption by which we cry out, get it now, Abba, daddy, father. Let me give you a little litmus test here. When you listen to yourself pray, do you address God as God or Or do you address Him as Father, as Abba, as Daddy, or as Papa? Now some of you, if you’re honest, every time that you pray, you never say Father, you never say Abba, but every time you pray, I’m just trying to help you, you always say God. But our God came to us in the person of Jesus so that He could become our Father and so that we could know Him as Father. We’ve not received a spirit, beloved, of isolationism, but we’ve received the spirit of adoption by which we cry, Daddy, Father. I recently read the story of a Muslim from Pakistan. And she was telling the story how she was raised on the Quran and went through a very, very difficult time in her life, how some supernatural things started happening to her. Eventually somebody, put a Bible in her hands. She wasn’t even interested in the Bible, but so many supernatural things began to happen that she began to pick the Bible up, the Judeo-Christian Bible. Spiritual life began to emerge in her. Suddenly, as she began to read the Bible, the Old and New Testament, it was like something became alive in her. But she was terrified because she was taught her whole life that the Koran was right and that the Bible that we have as Christians is incorrect. that the Koran told her that Jesus isn’t really the Son of God, that He didn’t really die on the cross and ascend to heaven, that Muhammad is the highest prophet. So when she began reading the Old and New Testaments, she discovered that the writing of the Old and New Testaments contradicted what the Koran told her and what she had been taught as a Muslim. And she began to become very, very confused. Finally, in desperation, she fell on her knees and she said, God. She held up the Koran in one hand and the Bible in the other hand. And she said, God, which one is true? And she said the spirit of the Lord spoke to her, get this church, and said to her, which one tells you to call me father? Because in the Koran, she was never taught to relate to God as Father. In the Koran, God was just way up there, too holy to be really approached, too holy to know. But in the Judeo-Christian Bible, in the Old and New Testaments, Jesus said, when you pray, pray in this way, our Father that art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Jesus said, children, it’s your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. And so I want you to know, as we study the prayer of Jabez, beloved, we’re praying to one that is a father to us and loves us as his children, that God has good things in store for you and wants to bring good things, hallelujah, into your life. Wasn’t that a moving story, though, that I just share with you about that Muslim? It’s a true story. Which one tells you to call me father? And as soon as she got that question, she knew once and for all. that the Judeo-Christian Old and New Testaments was the real Bible, and that Jesus was God’s Son, the Messiah, and the only way to heaven, and the only way to know God as Father. And it saved her life, and she was changed and transformed forever.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he’ll be right back. But first, I want to ask you, did you know that Jesus built his teachings on the laws of Moses? Many Christians, they focus on the New Testament, but Jesus was constantly pointing back to the Torah, where God first revealed timeless principles for a holy and thriving life. Too many believers, they often overlook these foundations and miss the wisdom that shaped Israel’s history and the very faith that we live by today. In Rabbi Schneider’s new book, Decoding the Torah, he reveals how these ancient commandments hold life-changing principles. God’s laws, they weren’t just rules. They reflect his heart and guide us into his blessing. You can order Decoding the Torah at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. That’s discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now back to Rabbi with the second half of today’s lesson.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, just building up that confidence, how God loves us as his little children, that he’s our good dad, he’s our papa. He wants to do good things for us. With that background, let’s look again at Jabez’s prayer, knowing that God wants to do these same things for us. So once again, Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez, saying, because I have borne him in pain. Then verse 10. Now Jabez called upon the God of Israel, Beloved, our faith in Jesus, get it now, it’s a Judeo-Christian faith. Jabez called upon the God of Israel. Your God as a Christian is the God of Israel. The God of Israel is the Father of the Lord Jesus. That’s why it’s important for you to know your God, not just in the vacuum of the New Testament only, but to know God’s revelation in the Old Testament so that we can have a complete and full understanding of our faith. This is why Jesus said to the woman of Samaria in John chapter four, salvations from the Jews. Jabez’s prayer was to the God of Israel. Now Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, Oh, that you would bless me indeed. Don’t you love that? I mean, Jabez didn’t just want to be blessed, get a church. He wanted to be blessed indeed. I mean, he wanted God to bless his socks off in some of your language. I mean, this is an awesome thing. We’ve got a big God. Let’s believe God, get a church for big things. Let’s not believe him for a little bit. Let’s believe him for a whole lot. Amen. When Elijah told the king, to jump for victory and to stamp his staff on the ground for victory, to take his sword and his arrows and stamp for victory. The king only did it like three times. Elijah said, you should have done it six or seven times and you would have had a complete and an absolute victory. But now because you only believe God for a partial victory, that’s all you’re going to get. Jesus said, be it done unto you according to your faith. And so I want to encourage you not just to believe God to bless you. Ask him to do what Jabez did for you, to bless you indeed. Father God, I just speak blessing and blessing on top of the people of God because we are doubly blessed in you, Jesus. And we want to bring glory to your name by living in that blessing because you gave your life and spilled your blood, Jesus, that we would walk in it. We receive it. We believe that we are blessed and doubly blessed and highly favored. And we thank you for our Papa, Abba, Daddy, God, in Jesus’ name. So Jabez begins, says, Lord, that you would bless me indeed. And then he continues on. And he says, that you would enlarge my border. So first Jabez says, Lord, that you would bless me indeed. And then he continues and says, and that you would get a church. Enlarge, Jabez asked, my border. God wants to bring you and I into a fuller and bigger place in the spirit. Listen, God doesn’t want you to stay where you’re at. God wants more for you. And so Jabez prayed, Lord, and enlarge my border. Bring me into a fuller experience. Bring me into a fuller peace. Bring me into a fuller victory. I want you to know, my friend, there is more for you and I in Jesus. If you and I don’t believe that, then something’s wrong. Did you know that our God is continuously effervescently, effortlessly, eternally bubbling up more. He’s always new. He’s always fresh. He’s always more. That’s why those angels in the book of Revelation, chapter four, don’t cease crying out day and night. They continually cry out, holy, holy. holy, holy. Every time they say holy, it’s because they’re responding to a new revelation of the glory of God. Every time they say holy, it’s like a fresh wave of who God is, is rolling over them. And so every time they say holy, it’s like their breath has been taken away. And every holy that they say is in response to the ever new thing that they’re experiencing. God has more for you and God has more for me. And so, Father, we pray right now that you would not only bless us indeed, but that, Father, you would enlarge our borders in Jesus, that you’d bring us into a deeper peace, a deeper realm of your shalom, a deeper experience of fullness in the Holy Spirit. You said, King Jesus, that if your spirit was in us, he would become within us a well of living water springing up to eternal life and we would thirst no more. Father, I speak more over your people and enlargement, Father God, over their souls and minds. In Jesus’ name, amen and amen. There’s more for you. Keep asking, keep seeking. Because as you continue to ask, as you continue to seek, and as you continue to knock, God’s going to bring you and I into more. Aren’t you excited about that? That’s what makes living for Jesus exciting. Because it’s a walk of discovery, a discovery of the more. And so Jabez prays here. enlarge my border. And then Jabez prays this, and that your hand might be with me. And so Jabez is praying to Father God. He’s praying, Father, wherever I go, that your hand might be with me. Don’t you want to walk with a supernatural consciousness of God’s favor on your life? That’s what Jabez is saying. He’s saying, Lord, Put your hand on me. Wherever I go, may your hand go with me, that you would give me favor wherever I go. Remember Jacob? Wherever Jacob went, wherever his sheep were, his flock multiplies. Wherever Jacob was, he was blessed because God was with him wherever he went. And not only that, whoever was with Jacob was blessed just for being with him. Do you know, I believe that’s what God wants for you and I. He wants to bless us indeed, just like Jabez said. And not only does He want to bless us, but listen, He wants everybody that is connected to our lives to be blessed and to be better off for having been in relationship with us. I know that’s how I am. I want all my staff to be blessed because of their relationship with me into this ministry. And that’s what God wants for all of us. He blesses us, beloved, just like he did Abraham to make us a blessing. And so once again, Jabez is praying here that your hand would be with me and that I’d carry the blessing and that I’d have favor wherever I go. Notice Jabez continues here. And he says, and that you would keep me from harm. Beloved ones, this is so important. There are so many dangers in the world all around us. And these dangers in the world, they’re not pretend dangers for people that don’t know God. But for people that do know God, we can have the assurance, listen beloved one, of being safe and secure even in this dangerous world. Psalm 91 is a beautiful example of this. In Psalm 91 we read, he that abides under the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. That a thousand may fall at our side and 10,000 at our right hand, but no evil will come near us or near our dwelling because we have made the Lord, the God Most High, our refuge and our dwelling place. I remember years ago I was struggling in life. And I was seeing all these dangers around me. And I was seeing so many of God’s children just failing and getting hurt. And I was so grieved by it. And I said, God, I mean, what can I do? I mean, I want to trust you and I want to believe you, but it seems like so many that say they know Jesus are not being protected. And the Lord spoke to me and he said, the reason you’re seeing what you’re seeing is because my people are not clinging to me. In other words, they’re not abiding under the shelter and the shadow of the most high God. They’re out there on their own, not depending on God, but living independently of him, even though they called themselves Christians. First, the Lord showed me that, that because of that, they weren’t living under his protection. And then the Lord said to me this, he gave me the assurance that I could trust him for Psalm 91 that I just quoted you. And I said this, I was in my office and my Bible was outside in the sanctuary under a chair. And I said, Lord, if I can really believe you for Psalm 91, that you’ll really do for me. This is years ago. I said, if I can really believe you, Father God, to do for me what Psalm 91 says that you’ll do, that you’re going to keep me safe under your protection, that a thousand may fall at my side and 10,000 at my right hand, but no evil is going to befall me. I said, Lord, if I can really believe you for that, I said that I’m going to go out there to where my Bible is sitting under the chair in the sanctuary. And I’m going to go pick up my Bible. And Father, I said, if I pick up my Bible and if when I open it up, I open it up just randomly and it’s at Psalm 91, then I know that I can trust you to do for me what Psalm 91 says you do. You know what happened, beloved. I walked into the sanctuary. I took my Bible out from under the chair that it was sitting. I just randomly opened it up. Where did it open? Exactly to page 91. And beloved, what he does for me and what he’s doing for me and is going to do for me, he’ll do for all his children as we trust him and cling to him, church. Not living in our flesh, not living independently, but living, beloved, depending on him. Well, finally, Jabez says here, he says that you would keep me from harm and not sin. pain me. And it says, and God granted him what he requested. I’m here today, beloved, to announce to you the good news of King Yeshua HaMashiach over your life. I’ve come to preach the gospel. You know what the gospel is? The gospel is good news. And I bring you good news today. that the relationship with Jacob enjoyed with the God of Israel, you and I, every one of us, also now enjoy with the God of Israel through our relationship, church, with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I’m here today to proclaim and assure you of the good news that what God did for Jabez, listen, he’ll do for you and I. But hear me, we must ask him. Jabez asked God, I want to encourage you as part of your prayer life, begin your day doing what Jabez did. Ask God to bless you today. Ask God to enlarge your territory, to open you into a fuller place in his spirit where you’ll experience more joy, more peace, more love, more shalom, and more dominion in the spirit. Ask God that he would go with you where you go today as you depend on him, giving you favor and opening up the way for you. Ask God to keep you from harm and to keep you from unnecessary pain through his divine protection your whole life. As you look to him in love, beloved, he’s going to do it. I want to encourage us now to be honest with ourselves before the Lord. Many of us are aware of the fact that we’ve surrendered to Him in some areas of our life, but yet there are many areas of our life that perhaps we’ve not yet submitted to Him in. I remember when I was in school as a young boy, they gave us a microscope and they put something on a slide and we looked at what was on that slide through the microscope. At first we saw nothing. But then when we adjusted the lens and turned up the power, suddenly we were able to see on that slide little organisms moving around. It took the amplification of the lens to be able to see it. Some of us right now are being convicted by the Holy Spirit in the area of our finances. He’s turning up His power. He wants us to see that we need to surrender to the Lord and trust Him with our finances. Beloved, while we’re on this earth, we have an opportunity to do good. And all of us should be sowing into the kingdom for the furtherance of the gospel. If you believe in this ministry, I want to encourage you, beloved, make an offering today. God will reward you for everything that you do.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. Thank you, Rabbi. And if God is calling you to support Discovering the Jewish Jesus with the gift of any amount, please call us today. You can reach us at 800-777-7835, or you can give online. Our website is discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And to say thanks when you give, we’ll send you our latest newsletter. This monthly publication is full of extra content, sharing info about the ministry, exciting updates, and so much more. We’ll also send you Rabbi’s exclusive monthly teaching booklet, and I believe it’ll inspire and encourage you to go further into Scripture each day on your own. And for those of you who feel called to join us as brand new monthly partners, I want to let you know we have a special token of appreciation for you. It’s an authentic, handcrafted shofar that’s made in Israel. And it’s really beautiful. You can display it on your mantle or wherever you would like. It will be a powerful conversation starter when people see it. It’s a traditional ram’s horn instrument that holds deep spiritual significance And it’s the type of trumpet that was blown in the Old Testament, and it’ll be used to announce Jesus’ second coming. So become a monthly partner today, and we’ll send this beautiful shofar to you. Once again, join us at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here’s Rabbi with the Aaronic Blessing.
SPEAKER 02 :
In the book of Numbers chapter 6, the Lord gave instructions to Moses and Aaron to speak this blessing over his people. And the Lord said, When you speak these words over my people, I will place my name on them and bless them. Receive the impartations of the Lord’s blessings.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with His countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, His peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Join us next time when Rabbi Schneider explains how to have momentum in your spiritual life. That’s Tuesday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
