And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:10
So many prayers we have made yet we do understand why they have no answer. Sometimes we wonder: What’s going on? Am I not doing it well? Have I sinned without realizing it? From that moment on, we start to do analysis and draw conclusions, to seek other methods to pray that give us a result.
We do not get to God with methods or rules, but with the heart. For praying does not consist on saying many words, repeating many learned prayers or impressing Him with pretty words, as his heart is touched by the one who humbles himself and acknowledges who He is.
Jabez is mentioned only once in the Scriptures, in order to make us understand how his prayer received an answer on the part of God.First he acknowledged that the God of Israel that he was invoking was the source of all blessing, he raised an outcry, asked to move to another level (acknowledged that he had reached his limit) and requested to be kept from evil for his blessings not be hindered.
If we prayed like this, acknowledging and humiliating ourselves, our prayers would have a scope so strong in the heavens that God would grant our requests.