Think Big

Positioned to Prosper – Part 7

What Does It Mean to Prosper?

The word "prosper" in the Greek literally means "to help on the road" or "succeed in reaching." It means to advance, make progress, succeed, or be profitable.

It is very clear from this definition that prosperity is more than money and the accumulation of wealth, but rather an ongoing state of success that touches every area of our lives. It means to have nothing missing and nothing lacking. You can have wealth with no health and you are not prosperous.

If you can make what's important to God important to you, God will make what's important to you important to Him.

3 John 2 (AMP)

Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].

To handle more, I have to build my ability to carry more weight.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

The Prayer of Jabez

There are many things in life we don't have any control over. We don't control the family we are born into. We don't control the color of our skin, our race, or gender. And some of us surely didn't control being named Pain. Some of us came out of some bad situations.

Imagine that every time a person saw you, they thought of pain—especially the woman who gave birth to you. Like Jabez, you would want to change something.

The Bible mentions 600 names, then it pauses and mentions Jabez.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (AMP)

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; but his mother named him Jabez, saying, "Because I gave birth to him in pain."

In spite of him being honorable, he had to deal with something out of his control. What a person names you often sets the direction for your life.

A Father Changes His Son's Name

The name was so important. In Genesis 35, we see a father change his son's name.

Genesis 35:16-20 (MSG)

They left Bethel. They were still quite a ways from Ephrath when Rachel went into labor—hard, hard labor. When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid—you have another boy." With her last breath, for she was now dying, she named him Ben-oni (Son-of-My-Pain), but his father named him Benjamin (Son-of-Good-Fortune).

But Jacob, because he would not renew the sorrowful remembrance of the mother's death every time he called his son by his name, changed his name and called him Benjamin, the son of my right hand; that is, "very dear to me, set on my right hand for a blessing, the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand."

Believer, you shall not be marked by the pain of your past. I will not be marked by pain.

The Four-Part Prayer of Jabez

Part 1: Pray for Blessing

You Got to Think Big – Ephesians 3:20 (AMP)

1 Chronicles 4:10a

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would indeed bless me..."

The first part of his prayer is for God to bless him. The word "bless me" here means to prosper me. I'm asking You to change my destiny.

Psalm 5:12 (AMP)

For You, O Lord, bless the righteous man [the one who is in right standing with You]; You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Proverbs 10:22 (AMP)

The blessing of the Lord brings [true] riches, and He adds no sorrow to it [for it comes as a blessing from God].

Why Does God Want to Prosper You?

The word "prosper" in the Hebrew means wherever you get on your own, God will push you further.

Genesis 26:12-15 (NKJV)

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.

Genesis 12:2 (AMP)

And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you [abundantly], and make your name great (exalted, distinguished); and you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others].

God doesn't want to just meet your need, but give you more than enough to bless others.

Jabez didn't pray for the pain to be removed but to be blessed in spite of it. If you can find the purpose in your pain, you will find power. God often allows us to go through pain to fulfill purpose. Jesus had to go through pain, Job had to go through pain, Paul had to go through pain, Ruth had to go through pain, the woman with the issue of blood, Abraham, Sarah—all went through pain for a purpose.

Part 2: Pray for Influence

1 Chronicles 4:10b

"...and enlarge my border [property]..."

Once God blesses, it will begin to influence others.

Ephesians 3:20 (AMP)

Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us.

God never intended for you to stay where you started. Lord, use me so that my life might make an eternal impact in the lives of others.

Part 3: Pray for Presence

1 Chronicles 4:10c

"...and that Your hand would be with me..."

Once you get the blessing and the influence, you're going to need His hands on you—pray for presence.

Acts 11:21 (AMP)

And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior].

Blessing, influence, presence. God wants to take you further than you want to go. If you're not dreaming big dreams, it's insulting to God. Lord, put Your hands upon me.

Part 4: Pray for Protection

1 Chronicles 4:10d

"...and You would keep me from evil so that it does not hurt me!" And God granted his request.

Genesis 28:18-22 (AMP)

Blessed, influence, God's hand on you—the devil will come. Lord, strengthen me in and rescue me from every attack of the enemy.

This prayer got the attention of God. Now we have to wonder why this prayer got God's attention. Jabez prayed God's will:

• God wants to bless
• God wants to expand you
• God wants you to want His hand on you
• God wants to protect

So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took the stone he had put under his head and he set it up as a pillar [that is, a monument to the vision in his dream], and he poured [olive] oil on the top of it [to consecrate it]. He named that place Bethel (the house of God); the previous name of that city was Luz (Almond Tree). Then Jacob made a vow (promise), saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, and if [He grants that] I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. This stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument, memorial) will be God's house [a sacred place to me], and of everything that You give me I will give the tenth to You [as an offering to signify my gratitude and dependence on You]."

Be the Light! Let It Shine!

Matthew 5:14-16 (MSG)

You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

The Big Give

1 Chronicles 29:2-9 (MSG)

I've done my best to get everything together for building this house for my God, all the materials necessary: gold, silver, bronze, iron, lumber, precious and varicolored stones, and building stones—vast stockpiles. Furthermore, because my heart is in this, in addition to and beyond what I have gathered, I'm turning over my personal fortune of gold and silver for making this place of worship for my God: 3,000 talents (about 113 tons) of gold—all from Ophir, the best—and 7,000 talents (214 tons) of silver for covering the walls of the buildings, and for the gold and silver work by craftsmen and artisans.

"And now, how about you? Who among you is ready and willing to join in the giving?"

Ready and willing, the heads of families, leaders of the tribes of Israel, commanders and captains in the army, stewards of the king's affairs, stepped forward and gave willingly. They gave 5,000 talents (188 tons) and 10,000 darics (185 pounds) of gold, 10,000 talents of silver (377 tons), 18,000 talents of bronze (679 tons), and 100,000 talents (3,775 tons) of iron. Anyone who had precious jewels put them in the treasury for the building of The Temple of God in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.

And the people were full of a sense of celebration—all that giving! And all given willingly, freely! King David was exuberant.

Discussion Questions

1. Breaking Free from Labels: Jabez was named "Pain" but refused to let that label define his destiny. What negative labels—whether from family, past failures, or painful circumstances—have you allowed to shape your identity? How can you, like Jabez, pray boldly to break free from those limitations and step into God's blessing?
2. Purpose in Your Pain: The message teaches that "if you can find the purpose in your pain, you will find power." What painful experience in your past might God want to use for His purposes? How could that very thing you've tried to hide or forget become a source of blessing and influence for others?
3. The Four-Part Prayer: Jabez prayed for blessing, enlarged borders (influence), God's presence, and protection. Which of these four areas is most lacking in your current prayer life? What would it look like to pray this bold, comprehensive prayer over your own life this week?
4. Thinking Too Small: The sermon declares, "If you're not dreaming big dreams, it's insulting to God." Be honest—have you settled into small, safe prayers that don't require much faith? What "superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20) dream has God placed in your heart that you've been afraid to pray for?
5. Blessed to Be a Blessing: Genesis 12:2 reveals God's purpose in blessing Abraham: "you shall be a blessing to others." How are you currently using your blessings—whether financial, relational, professional, or spiritual—to be a source of blessing to others? If God enlarged your borders and increased your influence tomorrow, would you be ready to steward it for Kingdom purposes?