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Summary: The Prayer of Jabez: by Bruce Wilkinson
Review: Cindy, this book is for Christians who think? This book is bogus. I gave it one star because that was the minimum. Wilkinson lifts a single verse from the Bible and promises special results when prayed regularly. He puts great credence in "The Jabez prayer". What about all of the other prayers in the Bible? The prayers of Jesus, David, Job and others dwarf this small verse. This verse becomes a center of worship in and of itself? God gave us the brains to read large sections of his Word daily, but then doesn't expect us to construct our own prayers? The multitude of stories in the Bible describe God as developing a "relationship" with each of his people, and not simply breeding robots who would focus on one grain of sand found on a thousand miles of beach. At no time does God promise life will be a simple beg and receive proposition. He does promise to be with us through our struggles and points out that all of life is a blessing for which to be thankful. This verse is only a tiny part of the whole, not the anointed part. Think about it Cindy.
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Summary: God As My Genie
Review: = God as My Genie
Reviewer: Randall Shanks from Yermo, CA United States
It is unfortunate that the blessed truths of the God who hears and answers the prayers of His people has been reduced to a self-centered means of personal gain. While Wilkinson certainly tries here and there to spiritualize the points by stating that "it is entirely up to God to decide what the blessings would be and where..." (p. 24), the overriding message is that God redeemed us to ask Him for what we want (p. 91). Even in his profusely spiritual illustrations, the ideas are that God is just waiting to perform miracles for us, and that we are destined to do heroic things for God (p. 48). There is no emphasis on stewardship, righteousness, salvation, and endurance. What about the faithful missionary who does not see converts for years? What about the faithful housewife who rears her children for the Lord? What about the faithful deacon who never got more than an eigth grade education? What about the Lord Himself who "could there do no mighty work...because of their unbelief." (Mark 6:5-6)? God expects us to be faithful stewards of what He has given us; for some that does mean great and well known feats, however, for others that means great feats that will never be known until glory.
Wilkinson's brand of Christianity is having "a loyal heart and pray[ing] the Jabez prayer." (p. 90). This is a very dangerous view of God and Christianity.Beyond the things already mentioned, Wilkinson's treatment of the text is a travisty to biblical interpretation. The overriding message is this: make the Scriptures say what you want them to say. This again panders to our 21st century thinking--we are the center of all things, not God and His eternal Word.
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Summary: To What Depths of Error will we Evangelicals sink?
Review: I can't add any further to what's already been stated by other reviews that debunk this book. But dear Christian, you need to honestly and prayfully check this book against the clear teachings of scripture. While some of Wilkensen's premises are correct, there's far too much wrong with this book. This book is dangerous....seriously! Count me as a fellow evangelical who is mature enough to discern error. Wow...The success of this book is quite a sad commentary on the state of Evangelical Christianity.
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Summary: IT'S REALLY AN INTRODUCTION TO THE POWER OF GOD
Review: Thank you, God, for this book. The prayer is the prayer to God by a bible character, Jabez, located in the Old Testament. It's Chronicles 4:10. A simple prayer "Bless me, God, and give me much land. Be with me and keep me from anything evil that might cause me pain." (And the next sentence goes on to say). And God gave him what he prayed for. People are afraid to pray to God. Well the message of this book is that not only is it OK to, but if you do,he'll answer your prayer. (Bless me, God.) I hear people say that they can't ask God for prayer for themselves. Well this prayer says those people are wrong. (Give me much land). To quote my friend and spiritual advisor, the Rev. Dan Kreller from St. Bartholomews Church in HoHOKus, the Lords Prayer is more materialistic, "Give us this day our daily bread". (Be with me). Hey, I want God to be with me, to walk with me. (Protect me from anything evil that might cause me pain). Protect me from Satan. That's why I'm walking with you, God. (And God gave him what he prayed for). People who doubt God, well this says God answered him and gave him what he prayed for. Ask and you shall receive. What a great prayer. The book is short. It's easy to read. It's warm and fuzzy, if you like that sort of thing. I've been praying this prayer every day for months, and I see results. The prayer takes 1 minute a day to pray and I'm seeing results. Do I have 1 minute to give to God. I think I do. This book is a great addition to my life I am grateful for this book.
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Summary: Wilkinson is no Paul
Review: I thought this was for book reviews so I was really surprised to see Michael Bird get away with taking shots at those of us who gave negative reviews. First off, saying that we shouldn't criticize this book because it's helping some people get closer to God doesn't cut it. Just as a good movie review is not influenced by the box office, a good book review is not influenced by all the supposed warm, fuzzy success stories. Bird's statement also implies that the end always justifies the means. Okay. Let's assume that's true. There are many documented cases of people being brought closer to God as a result of a near death experience. Using Bird logic, if you've drifted away from God, it's perfectly acceptable to put a bag over your head until you see the light. Come to think of it, this book is so bad it should come with a bag. Besides, getting closer and staying close are two different things and I suspect that when the novelty of this wears off, the sheep will scatter again or move on to the next big green pasture gimmick. Anyone remember WWJD? That brings me to the second point. There's a good reason Christians are referred to as sheep in the Bible. Like sheep, the average Christian is so gullible it's scary. In spite of biblical admonitions to test the spirits and rightly divide the word, they'll swallow whole any teaching that comes with a promise. And woe unto anyone who recognizes a false shepherd's voice and sounds the alarm that there's a wolf in the fold. I have no trouble saying outright that nominal Christians are too stupid to realize when they're being duped. We're all warned about this is Matt: 7:15 and Acts 20:29 but very few are listening. Finally, giving this book 3 stars means there's a third group - the Laodiceans. This book should not leave you simmering in a crock pot. If it does, you've failed to grasp the seriousness of mishandling God's Word. (James 3:1) Where are the Bereans? They were commended for examining the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11) If you measure Wilkinson's words with the same determination as the Bereans, you'll discover that Wilkinson is no Paul.
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Summary: Inspirational and calming
Review: I really enjoyed this little book. Like another reviewer stated, it is short, simple and to the point. I came away from reading it feeling inspired and hopeful. Mr. Wilkinson writes very well, in my opinion, providing plenty of examples to illustrate his points. He is obviously well-versed in the Bible, and he makes a lot of sense. I also enjoyed "Secrets of the Vine" for the same reasons. They are both insightful without being preachy or condescending. I will reread both of them, I am sure. I would like to also recommend a neat little book, "Legacy", by an unknown author, Christopher Jones. It's a different type of book, but I really enjoyed it. It's a spoof of family saga novels, and it's got some very funny parts in it. My final recommendation is "A Patchwork Planet" by Anne Tyler. Also insightful and touching. Check out all of these books if you get the chance!
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Summary: Awesome little book
Review: This little book had a big impact on my daily prayer! It's a Must Read.
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Summary: Great Book!
Review: I really got a lot out of Bruce Wilkinson's "Prayer of Jabez." This short book changed my life. God taught me about prayer while reading this book. The book teaches us how to pray according to a character in I Chronicles named Jabez. By focusing on the scriptures, this book goes into detail about Jabez's prayer and shows us how we can apply the same prayer to our own lives. Since I read this book, my prayer life has become much better. I have begun to see the awesome things God wants for me. This is a great book for anyone looking for a closer relationship with God through prayer. I hope that this book will help you as it did me. I highly recommend this book and give it five stars.
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Summary: The reviews on this book feel like a boxing match
Review: Any wonder why one reviewer says "five" and the next wishes he could give it a zero?
To those that this book has brought into a closer relationship with God, it is a five.
To those that find fault because "Jesus never prayed this" or a myriad of other reasons, are you really sure you want to criticize a book that is helping some get closer to God? Perhaps C.S. Lewis was sinning when he wrote 'The Screwtape Letters' or the Chronicles of Narnia after all isn't making a Lion in a child's book a type of Christ some kind of blasphemy? And certainly writing a book made up of the writings of demons has got to be a high crime. Leading the sheep astray.
All those that critique The Prayer of Jabez are really saying without saying that they feel most people are really really stupid. "Reciting this everyday would be meaningless" they say. So would reciting the Lord's Prayer if it was done as a rote prayer each day. One could pray the Lord's Prayer a million times and recite every Psalm from memory everyday and faithfully listen to Hank on the bible answer man show and still be unloving, selfish, and critical. Another could simply ask God to help them be nice to others in a sincere prayer, "God help me be kind, bless me with your favor so I can turn around and bless others, help me to not hurt others and keep me from harm" and do much more for the Kingdom. I can't imagine one of these critics saying at the airport, "Hey quit praying that the plane trip goes safe. Jesus never prayed about a DC 10,,get behind me Satan!!!!! If the plane crashes it's God will and hey aren't we Christians supposed to suffer?" Come on,,,,If you don't understand that that when Jesus talked about taking the church under his wings he wasn't really saying he was a chicken; then you have no business reading books for adults... (My apoligies to C.S. Lewis) I rated this book a three because it was too simplestic for my taste and fell short in its didatic stories. I much prefer Yancey as a modern writer when it comes to modern problems and stories. I agree that some may indeed think that they have some "formula" (they'd be missing the point) and perhaps Wilkinson could have done a better job of stressing a real need to have intimacy with Christ. But I didn't think it was some terrible evil plot to subvert modern Christianity either. As for those that are jealous and critical that Jabez is being used as a marketing tool, has profit become evil? If Wilkinson is cheating his workers or if he is hoarding money then he is sinning, but making a million dollars has never been a sin, it's what you do with the million that is either sinful or righteous.
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And what does that have to do with how good or bad this book is anyway?
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If you're sincere in your desire to know Christ, read this book. If you're a righteous, upright church man that knows it all and never misses "the bible answer man" show then don't bother reading this; it is far to simple and basic for the highminded likes of your uprightness and purity. As for the reviews I've read, people from group one above seem to rate it a 5 and people from group two above seem to rate it a 1. Which group are you?
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Summary: A lot said in a little book
Review: This book takes a small, single section of the Word of God and illustrates its brilliance. Jabez' prayer is an example of an honorable man humbly requesting God's blessing. Wilkinson breaks down the parts that make up this prayer and shows how this can work for others. So much is written about the Lord's prayer, but the Lords prayer is just one example and it isn't an example where there is an answer to prayer. The Prayer of Jabez is an example of godly prayer that explains what was prayed and the result. Wilkinson' book is a great aid to inspire and help buid a more blessed prayer life.
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