The Jabez Journey: Part III | His Fingerprints

“Lord, bless me indeed.

Do something so big in my life, that it is obviously from you.

Lord, increase my influence and opportunities for you.

Please give me the awareness of Your continual presence and direction.

Protect me and keep me from Satan’s traps.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

– The Jabez Prayer based on 1 Chronicles 4:10 –

Reflections 

Days 8-15

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in Truth.” – Psalm 145:18

I’m overwhelmed. 

I’m overwhelmed by His goodness. 

He meets you right where you are. He doesn’t say “Get better first.” He doesn’t ignore. He sees exactly where you are and He leaves Heaven to come and meet you. Right where you are. 

The Prayer of Jabez has made this Truth so real to me. It overwhelms me and it thrills me. That despite ourselves, God loves us that much. To meet us. 

One thing I’ve noticed most through these 15 days of the Prayer of Jabez, is being more aware of His fingerprints in my daily life. I’m more aware of where He may be active and moving. Sometimes I don’t find the importance in the daily, in the mundane. However, my journal is slowly filling up with “God Moments,” where I am seeing the work of His Hands with a fresh perspective.

And the best thing is – these are just glimpses. These are just the very few that I recognize and see. He’s shaking mountains behind the scenes at an even greater rate than the very few I notice and define.

We’ve been praying for big things. We don’t know what that big thing or things may be, but we’ve been praying for a better view of our BIG God. We’ve been praying for increased influence and opportunities to bring Him glory. 

 –Fingerprint Moment–

One of the most notable examples of God’s fingerprints during this prayer so far is that Hawk was able to share his faith with a fellow soldier. The soldier even brought the subject up. While it would be easy to say that this was just by chance, I refuse to discredit and remove the Holy Spirit’s obvious sign of His power and answering of this “increase my influence and opportunities for you” prayer.

And it’s still just the beginning.

We’ve also been praying for “an awareness of His continual Presence and direction.” It would take many more blog posts than this one to fully describe all the ways He is making Himself known to us. These “God Moments” encourage, inspire, convict, and thrill. 

 –Fingerprint Moment–

 I’ve started the study “The Beloved Disciple: The Life and Ministry of John” by Beth Moore at our church on Wednesday nights. This study has absolutely nothing to do with the Prayer of Jabez and was picked at random – but it wasn’t random to God. The first lesson began with “You are in this study on purpose. It’s no coincidence you are in this study at this exact moment in your life.” The Lord left no doubt in my mind that this was orchestrated by Him. 

There are so many different correlations to the Prayer of Jabez and what God is doing within my heart. Sometimes we let fear cheat us out of the fullness of a grand adventure with Christ. We make our God small because we let fear and worry control rather than trusting Him for the BIG. We make Him small so we can keep our comfort. And by doing that – we miss Jesus. We miss His Glory.  We miss experiencing His Bigness because we are content with the supposedly safe “small.” 

“Do something so Big in our lives that it’s obviously from you.” Squash any small perceptions we have of You, Lord. We want the Big. We want the adventure. We’re sick and tired of the same old. May we never think we’ve learned enough or grown enough or experienced enough of You.

–Fingerprint Moment– 

At the end of the first video lesson, Beth Moore prayed “Lord, bless us indeed.” Her exact phrase was not lost on me. She had no obvious reason to use that exact Jabez quote. She could’ve just asked the Lord to bless us or bless our time together in His Word and this study. No, she used “indeed.” She used Jabez.

The Lord spoke right to my heart. It was another fingerprint. It was another sign of His Presence and His activeness, and awareness in my life. He so desires to bless us indeed. He so desires to bless us with more of Him. 

I’m learning He is always moving, He is always active. Sometimes He divinely places before our eyes opportunities to see His fingerprints in our daily lives – if we just open our eyes to see them. Other times He may move behind the scenes, perhaps protecting us from unseen warfare. However, if I’m learning anything from this Prayer of Jabez journey it is that His fingerprints cover His Children completely. There isn’t an area where He deems unworthy or impossible. We are saved by His Blood, but we are continually redeemed by the Fingerprints – by the BIG and capable hands gently molding, tenderly changing, intricately making. 

Molding and changing and making us more like Him.

He knows where you are. And He comes to meet you right where you are. 

Melting hard hearts. Restoring breath to dry bones. 

So keep your eyes open. He’s alive. He’s actively moving. And His fingerprints are everywhere. And sometimes, if we open our eyes to see – we get to experience His nearness and just a glimpse, just a mere sliver, of His splendor and glory. 

And that’s truly overwhelming.