Rating: 
Summary: prayer of Jabez..to who?
Review: The prayer of Jabez does not focus on our need for salvation through Jesus Christ. Everyday pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, the Lord's Prayer, not the prayer of Jabez. Also, when we sin, Wilkinson mentions we need to make it right with God. We do not. Christ has done that for us. There is nothing we can do, nothing we need to add to what Jesus did on the cross. The Prayer of Jabez is based on an inaccurate translation. Jabez was not necessarily an honorable man, the translation should read Jabez was honored above his brothers. This does not necessarily make him honorable.
Rating: 
Summary: Become a BLESSING!
Review: This definitely isn't a "Get-Rich-Quick" publication.Read this book if you want God to increase and bless areas of your ministry and work. In a nutshell, it is a basic parable about God's intervention into the life of a nobody--whose future forcast was painfully bleak. Jabez prays that God may bless him, increase his "territory", and keep him from evil. God did do that, and the Old Testament declares him to be "honorable" for it. Expect God to work some changes in your life if you aren't presently already doing His will.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm curious
Review: The vast discrepancy between viewpoints among reviewers has encouraged me to buy the book for myself to see what it's all about. Selfish or not? I can't judge by reading these reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Please read this other book!
Review: I've already reviewed this book, but was led to write another review in light of the following... Hank Hanegraff of the Christian Research Institute (he's the Bible Answer Man on Christian radio each day) has written a book that is his answer to Jabez - it's called "The Prayer of Jesus". I HIGHLY recommend this book! Hank isn't attacking Bruce Wilkinson or the prayer of Jabez as it is in the Bible. However, he does center on Jesus, which is what are prayers should be focused on. It isn't the best book I've read on prayer, but it is an excellent response to Jabez and being a similar size and shape, it's a quick read. The other thing that troubles me is the commercialization of this whole Jabez thing. Here on Amazon, you can order a 2002 Jabez calendar, a Jabez "sand mug", Jabez Cards (and what are those?!), and Jabez for ALL ages of children - including a board book for toddlers! On another website, you can purchase 75 Jabez items including Jabez ties in 5 colors, Jabez shirts in all sizes, a Jabez travel mug, Jabez Bible Covers, Jabez lapel pins (in a package of 12), and a Jabez candle, just to name a few!! If I had written a book on prayer that people were reading with great enthusiasm, the LAST thing I'd want would be the mass marketing of a variety of items on that theme. To me, it cheapens the message. The book's author depicts this as a book that will change your life. And from reading these reviews, it obviously has had a great deal of impact on a lot of people. What bothered me about the book was his formulaic approach (pray this prayer every day, read the book once a week), and his comment that if you pray THIS prayer, God will answer it! Like God doesn't answer all our prayers (albeit with yes, no, or wait)?! If you're interested in my review of this book, or other Christian books, click on the "About Me" link above. God bless you!
Rating:
Summary: One way ticket to blessing..hmmm...dont think so
Review: It is sad to see so many christians being "duped". It is sad indeed. Say this one prayer daily and you will be blessed. Nice idea, too bad it goes against the whole idea of being a follower of Christ. There is too much to debate in a small space. Pray repeatedly, daily: Matt 6:9-13 rebukes that. God always answers prayers: James 4:3-4, Psalm 66:18 rebukes that. James 5:16 anyone??? Nothing righteous about repeating the same thing over and over. Not enough?? How about Romans 8:16-17. That passage completely rebukes this book. What a gimmick. Is GOD our rich uncle who we call on for financial and personal gain?? Is that all it takes? One prayer? All your dreams come true? God is our fairy godfather. WAKE UP! You want GOD to give you all you deserve? You want GOD to provide all you need? READ THE BIBLE INSTEAD OF THIS BOOK! The Bible tells us exactly how to recieve provision from GOD. Better than that, it tells us how to reach him in heaven!! How much better is that. What? The Bible too big? Man, are we that lazy of a society that we would give in to this? Another man praying on the hearts and wallets of fellow beleivers. Sad, sad, sad. For those of you just discovering Jesus and the Lord and beleive this nonsense, please save yourselfs. This prayer will not get you into heaven. I repeat, this prayer will not get you into heaven. And is that not our point here? Get into heaven and be with the Father? Or is it personal wealth and happiness on Earth? Arent us Christians supposed to be persucuted? Are we not supposed to have it the roughest here on Earth? Wake up and read the word brothers and sisters. Read the words and save your souls.
Rating: 
Summary: Walking A path of Faith
Review: The prayer of Jabez is actually a call to walk in complete faith. Jabez is not offering gold coins, jewels or other material entrapments as blessings.
What Jabez offers is this: Should you decide to accept God's challange to expand your territory with His blessings, be ready to go where He deems it best. In other words, whatever you need to clean out in your life, whatever issues you have been avoiding, whatever relationships are unresolved, or dreams you've never acted upon, be prepared to face it all. Jabez is a Divine housecleaner!
Saying the prayer of Jabez does several things: Expanding your territory means being awake when opportunities come knocking. It means allowing God to choose what's best for you. It means giving up trying to control everything.
If you allow God's hand to be with you, you offer a healing prescence to everyone you encounter. The Grace of God shines through to everyone.
Keeping you from evil, so that you may not cause pain- translates into Living honest without abusing others. Following kindness and compassion in our treatment of ourselves and others.
Most of all, the Prayer of Jabez is a daily reminder to let go and let God. To walk forth in Faith and Love. What more could one aspire to?
If you are not ready to change, or find walking forth into the unknown frightening, do not read this book. Because the Prayer of Jabez is really a challange. A call for you to take the hand of God and work in places you never even dreamed of.
Rating:
Summary: From a former skeptic
Review: As many, I was initially skeptical about this book and refused to read it. I have now read it and had the opportunity to hear Dr. Wilkinson himself in a Prayer of Jabez conference. Truly there have been many misconceptions to his book, many spurned by envy or unbelief.
The amazing thing about this little book is not that the idea itself is revolutionary, but that it opens our eyes to a message that has been taught in the Bible many times: "We have not, because we ask not". The Prayer of Jabez teaches us a wonderful way to ASK; not for what WE want, but for what GOD wants for us. To ask for God's blessing is to ask for what He desires to give us. The book does not encourage us to forget all other prayer, but to include this into our daily prayers.
I encourage all christians to read this book, to open their eyes to the amazing mercies of our Father who wants to bless us beyond our wildest imagination!
Rating:
Summary: A Prayer for More Money
Review: I find it repugnant that Bruce H. Wilkinson is legitimizing people's desire to pray for personal success. Of course the book is flying off the shelves. Suddenly people do not need to feel guilty any more about being greedy pigs.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring & eye-opening
Review: I agree with the author's theory that there must be a reason that Jabez's prayer is included in the bible. I was one of those who felt I shouldn't ask for much, that there was a tally card up in heaven keeping score of how many favors I had requested.
The bible, however, tells us differently. This is not being selfish as some churches have complained about this book because when you pray the prayer you are asking for God, in His infinite wisdom to bless you with what HE wants for you and so that you can help others. Bruce Wilkinson makes this very clear.
This book helped me to not be afraid to ask. I have recommended it to others and I would suggest after reading it to purchase the companion Prayer of Jabez Devotional as well!
Rating:
Summary: Start with scripture -- not the ideas of men.
Review: Rather than give you a list of conclusions about the book,
I simply ask readers to apply this simple test: As you read
this book, use a yellow marker to highlight every statement
by the author that is not directly supported by the Bible.
Don't just accept his fictious stories about going to heaven
and being shown storehouses of "blessings not asked for".
(You won't find that story in the Bible.)
Don't be impressed by his claims of incredible accomplishments
(and endless bragging about the significance of his ministry)..
Simply ask yourself: "Are these claims based on the Word of
God or simple fabrication and myth?" Make sure you buy
several yellow markers -- because you are sure to use them
up. When you are finished, you will be looking at a yellow book -- vivid proof that this book is not based upon scripture.
Wilkinson combines a total misunderstanding of the Jabez passage with lots of "warm and fuzzy stories" to create a
man-centered theology.
But common sense should tell us the obvious: If the Jabez prayer is TRULY the most revolutionary of all prayers (except the prayer of salvation, says Wilkinson), then Jesus would have taught it to the disciples -- instead of what centuries of believers have called "The Lord's Prayer". By the way, don't let the claims of "what the Hebrew text really says" [not Greek, folks, unless you are reading the Septuagint translation] mislead you. Wilkinson is NOT skilled as an exegete and his "translation" reveals a profound misunderstanding of the passage. But you don't need to be
a scholar to realize the obvious: neither Jesus nor the Apostle Paul or any other New Testament writer repeated these
"Jabez concepts" because they are NOT primary to the Christian life. Most of them were pulled out of one man's
imagination. (And our standard is the Word of God. If the
Jabez concepts are Biblical, show me where the Bible teaches
them.)
Jesus Christ gave us a prayer. Use it. Meditate upon it. Study
it......and realize how profoundly different it is from
the Jabez prayer. The difference is sobering. The difference
is shocking.
Oh, by the way, despite Wilkinson's claim, bringing 99 people
to Christ is not "a total failure". Indeed, Jesus left the 99 to save just one. So should we. His proud boasts about
telling God what would be a "success" and what would be
a "failure" are almost frightning. Read the end of the Book
of Job where God "answers" the babblings of mere humans
who presume to dictate to the Creator what is what. Many who praise the book cannot answer my most basic questions about it. What they are praising is the fact that God answers
prayer and that he cares about the little things. Unfortunately, Wilkinson says many things that are far
less conventional and far more shocking. His teachings
are common in our world today. What is amazing is that
this time the worldly teachings have sneaked under the RADAR --- because they are coming from a Christian celebrity.
Please. Regardless of your opinion concerning this book, pick up your BIBLE and read what it says about prayer.
Study the prayers of the Bible. Believe me, you will find
teachings on prayer that are directly opposite of what you
will find in Wilkinson's book. (In scripture, prayer is
not about dictating to God what he must do. Rather, it
is "death to self" and letting the Holy Spirit control you,
pray through you, and doing things God's way. When Wilkinson repeatedly told God what to do in this book, I
thought of Christ saying, "Father, not my will but yours."
This book is not shocking because of what the author teaches.
It is shocking because millions of people who SHOULD be familiar with their Bibles are accepting the book (and
chanting its contents). The fact that the book is so
popular says far more about "us" than it does about one
author. We have so neglected the study of God's Word that
we are ready and willing to abandon it for the man-centered teachings of one Biblically-illiterate individual
Meanwhile, does anyone have need of some dried up yellow
markers and a very yellow copy of Prayer of Jabez?
|
