Rating: 
Summary: As You Like It
Review: This little book was sent to me by a cross the way friend by surprise. My secret wish was to find something meaningful in my everyday life. And, I can give testimony to that whatever your deepest desire in your heart, God is there to answer you in some way. The book itself doesn't just say from this most obscure, little prayer [KJV I Chronicles 4:10] what we all expect from it. It's what God intend for us to do more and to be more as His children. What Wilkinson gets across to the reader is his own personal testimonies and those of others. He shares with all of us how these words and all the words from the Bible can help obtain and sustain a blessed life. The same prayer is applied to all our lives who believe in God's word. It attests to God's infinite power and ever present to give abundantly. As we shouldn't forget that the testimonies of His Son Jesus Christ also stems much greater into the abundant, blessed life.... It was Jesus' words who spoke the model prayer, "Our Father which art in Heaven" [KJV Luke 11:2-4]. He is the true Vine of Life and Bread of Life [KJV John 6:35-40]. So when in doubt, read the King James Version New Testament for supplemental material for lasting inspiration and the teachings of Christ....
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Summary: The Jabez Prayer
Review: Bruce Wilkinson's "The Prayer of Jabez", a popular bestseller that deals with the Jabez Prayer (from 1 Chronicles 4:10) which basically encourage Christians to pray for God's blessing. It is a simple prayer asked by a man named Jabez who prayed to God that He would bless him, expand his territory and that the Lord's hand would always be with Jabez and keep him from evil. God did grant Jabez for what he requested. Wilkinson showed how this simple prayer can be extremely powerful. Wilkinson explains each of the verses (of the Jabez Prayer) and how we can apply it to our lives. I thought it was interesting how Wilkinson noted that Christians take for granted the word "bless" as it is so overly used. He pointed out that asking God to bless us is actually "crying out for the wonderful, unlimited goodness that only God has the power to know abour or give to us." It is a short and easy to read book with a simple yet important message.
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Summary: Millions of Christians CAN Be Wrong.
Review: This little book has now been out for a few years. It's made it's millions of dollars and sold its millions of copies. The sequels have also made their fortunes. There are Prayer of Jabez calendars, journals, Bibles, inspirational guides, The Prayer of Jabez for Teens, and The Prayer of Jabez for Preschoolers. I am surprized there are not Prayer of Jabez Pez despensers. Personally I always wondered why preschoolers needed a Prayer of Jabez? Couldn't they just ask their parents for permission to cross the street and thereby enlarge their territories? Wilkinson has probably made millions off this little book, while at the same time damaged his reputation as a serious scholar. This is unfortunate, because Wilkinson is a good author, and an inspiring speaker, and this little book has a valuable message for the Christian community. I do not believe he intended Christians to jump on this book as a band wagon to revive the prosperity gospel. I rather believe that he wanted to encourage Christians to be bold enough to dream great dreams for God and step out beyond themselves in faith. But unless one has the opportunity to hear Wilkinson speak, this book could revive the old belief that godly people are blessed with health, wealth, and prosperity, while hurting people are the victims of their own lack of faith. The book is small and doesn't cost much. It is hard to believe that someone hasn't read it. But, if you haven't, go ahead and purchase it, just to see what all the hype is about. If it encourages you to throw caution to the wind and follow God's call into new arenas of ministry, that is what it is there for. If you get the impression that God's blessing means you will greatly prosper, read another book to balance your thoughts.
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Summary: The Prayer of a Parent
Review: I was given my own copy recently of this latest Christian bestseller. I takes an hour or two to read. The actual prayer of Jabez in the Bible consists of less than 30 words (found in 1 Chronicles 4:10) and offers an excellent simple outline for prayer. What I appreciate most about Wilkinson's book is his faithfulness to the spiritual calling of prayer over thirty years, focused around this simple outline for prayer. He offers a variety of stories revealing God's hand at work, "blessing", "enlarging territory" and "keeping us from harm". What concerns me about this book is two-fold: 1)How little of this book points people to the prayer Jesus taught us, called "The Lord's Prayer", or the "Our Father" prayer. This is the pattern of prayer Jesus gave to all humanity as our outline for prayer, our instructor in prayer. "The Prayer of Jabez" would have been a deeper, more powerful book on prayer if the author had tied each of Jabez's prayer phrases to the "Lord's Prayer", showing us God's gift of prayer as revealed by God's Son, Jesus Christ. 2) The other concern has to do with packaging and marketing. At a very slim 83 pages of text in a 4x6 book, this essay is really a glorified magazine article. Yet, Multnomah puts it into a hardback format, with excellent graphics and layout, with quotation insets every few pages, making the work look bigger than it really is, and thus is selling for $... Underneath this glitzy marketing design of the book, you'll find lots of devotional oriented writing, with faith stories to illustrate these devotional insights. Yet, I longed for more meaty teaching from God's Word about the challenges of prayer, the "breakthrough to the blessed life" promised on the cover, and wrestling with such questions of how to handle prayerlessness, why are many of our prayers seemingly unanswered, and where is God when I'm hurting inside and trying my best to pray. Bottom line: I'm grateful for Wilkinson's encouragement to pray and glad to see so many people across our land reading this practical guide to prayer. For another book on prayer, this one for parents who desire to make prayer for a part of your family life together, look at "The Family Cloister: Benedictine Wisdom for the Home", by David Robinson (New York: Crossroad, 2000) and the soon to be published new title, "The Christian Family Toolbox: 52 Benedictine Activities for the Home", also by David Robinson (New York: Crossroad, Sept. 2001).
Rating: 
Summary: the miracle of God's love
Review: I haven't read this book, but would like to mention the impact of this prayer. I'm giving it 5 stars, because if it brings even one person to the full awareness of its meaning, it deserves 5 stars. On my 5th reading of the Bible, over a year ago, this verse "jumped" out at me...overwhelmed me with its power, its direct connection to God the Source of All, and the reciprocal connection when living within His will. That of course, is the starting point, the willingness to live within His will. You can't take this verse out of the context of who Jabez was. When you ask for your boundaries to be enlarged, they won't be enlarged the way you think, or have ever imagined. It will be much bigger...walls will be knocked down, new inner worlds visited. Be willing to walk the path He has in store for you, and you'll be amazed. I have this prayer framed, and read it, think it, and "feel it" every day. It's not about "things", or getting it "your way", it's about the infinite, boundless and merciful love of God.
Rating: 
Summary: "Blessed Life?"
Review: You know, it's too bad the patriarch's of the faith had not the wisdom and insight of Bruce Wilkinson...they might have saved themselves a whole lot of paing and suffering. Poor Jeremiah would never have been "stuck in the muck" for all that time. Hosea never would have needed to marry a harlot. Paul's thorn in his side would have been removed. None of the apostle's would have needed to die a martyred death. On that line of thought...none of the Christian martyr's throughout the ages needed to die such horrible and torturous deaths. Christians in the middle east and in China are suffering only because they cannot get their hands on this "wisdom" espoused by Wilkinson. We can also cut out Christ's words from the bible, much in the same way Thomas Jefferson cut out the miracles from the bible. There is no need to read about how He came to bring the sword and not peace (Matt. 10:34-36) or how the Son of Man has no place to lie his head (Matt. 8:20). Carried to it's logical conclusion, it commits the ultimate blasphemy...Christ needn't die...if only our Lord had the wisdom of Bruce Wilkinson. What a pity. But, praise be, Bruce Wilkinson can help us, by this prayer usher in that hope that is promised in Rev. 21:4 and we will suffer no more. Please, people, all joking aside, read your bibles. Start with 1 John 4 then read Matt. 7:15 and Acts 20:29. Maybe, just maybe, your eyes will be open to the false teaching that is in these pages.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book - but read it very critically!!
Review: The prayer of Jabez is the prayer of Jabez, a little known character in 1st Chronicles 4 who prays the following prayer : "O 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!" Bruce Wilkinson interprets this prayer as a master plan for christian life. He puts forward a somewhat radical argument, suggesting that the Christian should ask God for "plenty" each day. The one redemption to his misguided interpretation of prayer is that he attempts to expains this plenitude of blessings, he urges us to request, as equivalent to submerging ourselves in the "river of God's will". I still feel though that the overall impression he conveys, and incidentally the very impression he mildly tries to denounce, is that prayer is a self-serving tool of personal enrichment or something of the sort. This is a clear misinterpretation of the act of prayer, which he himself admits is the "ultimate act of worship." The prayer of Jabez is no doubt an interesting and well thought out book however I feel that the fundamental argument is a misrepresentation of the value and true essence of prayer. The book ends up deceiving the undescerning reader into thinking that prayer is merely a tool for accessing the goods that God has in store for his children. I finished the read feeling as if the prayer of one character had been elevated and blown out of proportion and used as the basis for .... There are more exemplary prayers such as the Lord's prayer and it would have been great if Burce Wilkinson had modelled his masterplan on the prayer that our Lord himself taught us.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much to be concerned about
Review: While Dr. Wilkinson does have some good things to say, I would have a hard time recommending this book. Some of my concerns are : 1) Dr. Wilkinson claims in the preface "I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers.... I believe it contains the key to a life of extraordinary favor with God". I become immediately wary when someone claims to have a found a "key" that's related to only one scripture passage and when they relate God's favor to something we do. 2) Wilkinson draws conclusions and makes application of 1 Chron. 4:10 which cannot be supported by the text. At no point does he claim that these are his own personal applications but he speaks as if Jabez specifically intended his prayer to be applied the way Wilkinson is doing. "He [Jabez] wanted more influence, more responsibility, and more opportunity to make a mark for the God of Israel" "What is the secret to the enduring reputation of Jabez? - Things started badly... - He prayed an unusual one-sentence prayer - Things ended extraordinarily well Clearly, the outcome can be traced to his prayer" "...we added evening crusades for youth in local churches. God blessed our efforts beyond anyones expectation but right in line with the scope of our Jabez prayer" 3) Wilkinson ignores the difference in the concept of blessing between the Old and New Testaments. 4) The act of asking/praying is emphasized more than our spiritual condition or our relationship with God. While Wilkinson does sparodically mention that we should not consider the prayer a formula, he still focuses on the external rather than the internal. For example, to "expand our borders" or "receive blessings" Wilkinson never mentions that our pride or selfishness could be hindrances. Rather, his focus is that we don't have them because we aren't asking for them. This comes across as no more than a spiritualized "name it claim it" theology. 5) There are inconsistencies in the message. In one chapter, Wilkinson notes that Jabez "...left it entirely up to God to decide what the blessings would be, and where, when, and how Jabez would receive them." But in a following chapter, he is exhorting a group of college kids... "Why not look at the globe and pick out an island.... put together a team of students, charter an airliner, and take over the island for God.... You should ask God for Trinidad, and a DC-10". 6) Wilkinson presupposes that because God answered Jabez's prayer, it's one that God would want us to pray. Suppose we apply that to the following: Judges 6:36ff - Gideon and the fleece Judges 11:30ff - Jephthah and his daughter Judges 16:28ff - Samson avenges his eyes 1 Sam. 8 - Samuel prays for a king God answered these prayers, but does that mean He wants us to pray them? 7) Here are a few quotes that really caught my attention: I read this section and almost decided to put it down. Wilkinson is talking about a time when he was a youth pastor and they decided to do backyard Bible studies as part of a larger evangelistic effort. A person who helped them train said getting 13-14 kids in each study would be a success. After he leaves, Wilkinson says to the kids "If we don't have one hundred kids in each club by the end of the week, we should consider it a failure". "Even though there is no limit to God's goodness, if you didn't ask Him for a blessing yesterday, you didn't get all that you were supposed to have" "With the fourth plea of Jabez [keep me from evil] as part of our life, we are now ready to move up to a higher level of honor and exponentially expanded blessings" "Reread this little book once a week for the next month, asking God to show you important insights you may have missed"
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Summary: Definitely NOT a "Health and Wealth Gospel" book!
Review: Wilkinson does not tell us how he interprets the passage of scripture he talks about in his book. For example, he doesn't compare scripture with scripture, nor does he interpret the prayer through personal experiences. (Wilkinson's personal experiences only illustrate the results he has gained through the prayer, not his reasons for interpreting it in this manner.) However, it's obvious that he has interpreted Jabez's prayer through the Holy Spirit because this entire little book is about the Great Commission--that is, the spreading of the good news of Jesus dying for our sins. Of course, Jabez himself could NOT have used his prayer in that manner: (1) Jabez lived long before Jesus, and (2) Jews in those days didn't try to convert the world to Judaism. Nonetheless, Wilkinson's interpretation of the prayer is a useful one for Christians. For one thing, it encourages us not to interpret the prayer of Jabez or any other prayer for our personal gain (materialism or selfishness). Instead, Wilkinson reminds us to pray all our prayers for God's glory instead of our own. He asks God to empower us to serve Him. Wilkinson thinks he's asking God for opportunities to spread the Gospel (in part, he is); but God uses prayer to change our hearts, and it's clear that God has used this prayer to change Wilkinson's heart away from selfishness toward a life of serving God. God has also touched my heart through this book. Although I don't pray the Jabez prayer, and I'm not planning to reread Wilkinson's book anytime soon (since I prefer to read the Bible itself over other Christian books), I have gained by reading it because it reminds me of the duty and delight of a saved believer to tell others about Jesus. Because the Jabez prayer overlaps and compliments the Lord's Prayer, I have taken portions of each prayer with Psalms 51:2 to make my own prayer, which sometimes helps me to overcome weak temptations to sin: "Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. Protect me from evil. Cleanse me from evil." Normally, it's better just to read the Bible instead of a book about the Bible. But this book is an exception. Anyone who thinks this is a book on selfish prayers needs to (re)read it, and pay closer attention to the first three chapters. The Health and Wealth Gospel existed before this book was written, and is 180 degrees contrary to the teachings of Wilkinson's book.
Rating:
Summary: I think it is a great book
Review: I have read the book once..A friend of mines bought it...after reading it i immediately went out to buy a copy for myself..
I have said a prayer many times over the past 6 months...and god has indeed blessed me...
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