Welcome to this Daily PPJ devotional. Read 1 Chronicles 3 and 4, Zechariah 2, and John 17. This devotional is about part of 1 Chronicles 4, but I'll read the entirety of 1 Chronicles 3 and 4 at this time. These were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron. The firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel. The second was Daniel, by Abigail of Carmel. The third was Absalom, the son of Macca, daughter of King Ptolemy of Geshur. The fourth was Adonijah, the son of Haggath. The fifth was Shephetiah by Abital. The sixth was Ithrium by his wife Eglah. These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. And David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years, and these sons were born to him in Jerusalem, Shimeah, Jobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bathsheba, daughter of Emiel. David's other sons were Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, Noga, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishema, Eliadah, and Elephelet, nine in all. These were all the sons of David, besides the sons by his concubines, and Tamar was their sister. Solomon's son was Rehoboam. Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, Ammon his son, and Josiah his son. the sons of Josiah. Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shalom the fourth, the successors of Jehoiakim, Jeconiah his son, and Zedekiah. The descendants of Jeconiah the captive, Shealtiel his son, Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shanazar, Jecomiah, Hoshamah, and Nedabiah. The sons of Pedaiah, Zerubbabel, and Shimei. The children of Zerubbabel, Meshulam, and Hananiah, their sister Shelomith, and five others, Heshubah, Ohel, Barakaya, Hasadaya, and Jushab Hesed, the descendants of Hananiah. Pelletiah, Jeshiah, and the sons of Rephiah, of Arnan, of Obadiah, and of Shekiniah. The six descendants of Shekiniah were Shemaiah and his sons, Hathush, Egal, Beriah, Neriah, and Shaphet. The sons of Neriah, Elioweni, Hiskiah, and Azraqam, three in all. The sons of Elioweni, Hodaviah, Eliashib, Peliah, Achub, Johanan, Deliah, and Anani, seven in all. 1 Chronicles 4 the descendants of Judah. Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobel. Re'iah, the son of Shobel, was the father of Jaheth, and Jaheth was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorothites. These were the sons of Etam. Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash, and their sister was named Hazelalponi. Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathath and the father of Bethlehem. Asher, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Hela and Nara. Nara bore to him Ahuzam, Hepher, Temenai, and Hahashtari. These were the descendants of Nara. The sons of Hela were Zarath, Zohar, Ethnan, and Khaz, who was the father of Anub and Zobeba, and of the clans of Aharhel son of Harum. Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, Because I bore him in pain. And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, If only you would bless me and enlarge my territory. May your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain. And God granted the request of Jabez. Cheleb, the brother of Shuhah, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshtan. Eshtan was the father of Beth-Rapha. of Passia, and of Tehinnah, the father of Ur-Nahash. These were the men of Rechah, the sons of Kenaz, Athniel and Saraiah, the sons of Athniel, Hathath, and Mianathai. Mianathai was the father of Ophrah, and Saraiah was the father of Joab, the father of those living in Gi-Harshashim, which was given this name because its people were craftsmen. The sons of Caleb, son of Jephunneh, Eru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah, Kenaz. The sons of Jehalelel, Ziph, Ziphah, Tyria, and Ezorel. The sons of Ezra, Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jelon. And Merod's wife, Bethiah, gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishba, the father of Eshtemoah. These were the children of Pharaoh's daughter, Bethiah. Merod also took a Judean wife, who gave birth to Jared, the father of Gedor, Heber, the father of Soko, and Jecuthiel, the father of Zenoah. The sons of Hodiah's wife, the sister of Nahum, were the fathers of Telah the Garmite, and of Eshtemoah the Maccathite. the sons of Shimon, Ammon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tillan, the sons of Ishi, Zoheth, and Ben-Zoheth, the sons of Shella of Judah, Ur, the father of Lekah, Lada, the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the linen-workers at Beth-ashbiah, Jokim, the men of Kazeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jeshubilahem, These names are from ancient records. These were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gedera. They lived there in the service of the king. The Descendants of Simeon. Nemuel, Jamin, Jereb, Zerah, and Shal. The sons of Shal. Shalem, Mibsam, and Mishmah. The sons of Mishmah. Hamuel, Zachar, and Shimei. Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children, so their whole clan did not become as numerous as the sons of Judah. They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazarshul, Bilhah, Ezzam, Tolad, Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-markaboth, Hazarsusim, Bethberi, and Sharim. These were their cities until the reign of David. And their villages were Etam, Ein, Rimon, Token, and Ashan, five towns, and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record. Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah, son of Amaziah, Joel, Jehu, son of Jehoshabiah, son of Siraiah, son of Eziel, Eliani, Jacobah, Jeshoahiah, Esaiah, Adiel, Jesameel, Benaiah, and Zizah, son of Shiphi, son of Elan, son of Jediah, son of Shimri, son of Shemiah. These men listed by name were the leaders of their clans. Their families increased greatly, and they journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, in search of pasture for their flocks. There they found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful, and quiet, for some Hemites had lived there formerly. These who were noted by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hammites in their dwellings, as well as the Munites who were there, devoting them to destruction even to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks. And five hundred of these Simeonites, led by Pelitiah, Neriah, Rephiah, and Uziel, The sons of Ishi went to Mount Seir, and struck down the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped. And they have lived there to this day. This is God's Word. In the year 2000, Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book called The Prayer of Jabez, based on our passage for today, specifically 1 Chronicles 4, 9, and 10. The book was a monster bestseller, with over nine million copies sold. Many people, Christians and non-Christians, following the teaching in Wilkinson's book, have prayed the Prayer of Jabez, asking God's blessing on their lives. They treat this passage, again, because of Wilkinson's book, like it is a secret formula, almost a magic incantation, for bringing God's blessing on one's life, anywhere you want it. But 1 Chronicles 4, 9, and 10 is not an incantation or a secret formula to unleash God's blessings in your life. To understand Jabez's prayer, we need to understand that God had promised material prosperity to the Jewish people if they walked in obedience to his laws. And this goes all the way back to God's call to Abram in Genesis 12. There, and in later passages, God promised land to Abram's descendants. What made Jabez more honorable than his brothers, as the passage says, was that he believed God's promise for land and asked God to fulfill it in his life. Jabez's prayer was consistent with the covenant God made with Israel. The other descendants of Judah after David turned to idols as the source of their prosperity. They worshiped other gods in disobedience to God's law, and they hoped to obtain more land and more prosperity from these false gods. They also abused others to get what they wanted. Jabez was different and more honorable, again as the passage says, because he had faith in God and prayed consistently with God's promises for his people. So what Jabez's prayer teaches us is that God is honored when we pray according to his revealed will, that is, according to what the Bible says. When we pray in faith, asking God to honor His promises to us in the Word, God is pleased and will answer us according to His will. No Christian is promised the kind of material prosperity that Jabez prayed for. What God promises to us is to provide for our needs, to give us spiritual power to overcome sin and become like Jesus, and to be with us as we go spreading the gospel to all the nations. What if we prayed for those things instead of asking God to heal our chronic health problems? Would that transform our prayer life? Would it change our church? What might God do in this world if we prayed like Jabez, not aping his requests, but applying the spirit of them to pray according to God's promises to us and God's will as revealed to us in scripture? Think about that today, and I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.