Rating: 
Summary: 7.4 million christians can't be wrong
Review: So I read the book (Prayer of Jabez) a few weeks ago and it strikes me as odd that this book is popular. It's not a particularly profound or a new idea (people have been touting the power of prayer, positive thinking, future-vision, etc.) for as long as I can remember, and the prayer itself is a rather simple plea although the author tries to present it as complete solution to spiritual growth. (I mean he doesn't say it, but wilkinson almost implies that this prayer is all that is needed to align one's self with god and the internal destiny of the spirit and its intended blessings...in other words, forget all that other theology and the other 65 books of the bible...i got it all simplified into a bite size formula). Its apparent that the prayer is asking for a greater blessing of spiritual responsibility, yet most people seem to be frightened of being called in closer to god then they are already standing. For some reason the people turned on by the book seem to have their sights set on success in their own terms, but the prayer is asking for success on god's terms which might differ quite a bit from what we have in mind for ourselves. I get the feeling this prayer is being mumbled more at the crap tables and slot machines of life then anywhere else. What I mean is, it is being prayed as we work for that job promotion or that child to be accepted to a great university or as we buy that new biotech on the Nasdaq...I guess we can want something so bad that we believe it is providence and that is where this prayer comes in. But then its merely a superstitious saying no different then 'baby need a new pair of shoes!' as the dice are released from our greedy little hands. but this prayer is really a prayer to be made aware of what blessings are before us and using those blessings wisely...not a prayer of redistribution of blessings. don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with desiring something and making that goal a priority, but this prayer seems to run askew to asking god to grant us our desires...this prayer asks god to grant us god's desire. Maybe god does really desire for me to get that Cadillac Escalade but somehow I think God is not nearly as much of a car buff as I am. I think we all know that (sometimes very faint) voice that God uses as his personal messenger for his will and this prayer is asking that the messenger's voice be amplified drowning out all the other mixed messages flying around. Now knowing that, the earnest recital of this prayer is kind of scary...for many of us hesitate to give god the reigns and let him direct us to those infinite blessings. Jabez was not messing around...who amongst us can say the same thing? The Jabez book is strangly similar to another book (a book rivaling jabez popularity in the new age world) The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Wilkinson's four truths are different though. His aredisguised within a prayer and up for some interpretation...but they are none the less as short and pithy as ruiz' agreements. I do like the fact that Wilkinson makes no empty promises of happiness or particular results (Ruiz sounds like an infomercial selling spiritual get rich quick schemes with his four agreements)...Wilkinson's Jabez only promises that earnest application of the thoughts and perspective instilled with Jabez' prayer will be life changing. If someone changes internally there will usually be external evidence that something life-changing occured, but its the inner affirmations of the prayer and not the actual prayer that is working here. In other words, not so much God hearing and answering a prayer, as our own inner spirit getting in touch with the blessings that are abounding just within our reach but out of our sight every moment of our lives. (new agers would say that the blessings are a vision intended for the third eye). No doubt about it...this book has some real meat in its svelte 93 pages, but like recipes adapted for mass consumption...something might have got lost in the sauce on the national level. Is the Jabez movement the evidence of a rennaisance for god and the spirit or merely a fad springing from America's desire to recitfy its puritanical foundation with unrelenting manifest destiny? what do you think?
Rating: 
Summary: One of the finest books I have read
Review: I have circulated my copy of this book to members of my church congregation with instructions to pass it along to the next read. I used the text as a basis for a sermon on a Sunday on which I substituted for the pastor. The follwoig Sunday the pastor also provided a copy for circulation. I highly recommend it for Christians and all who profess to be interested in mankind. It should give them insight on their needs for interelations in both private and public lives. I am 78 years of age and understand the need for this enlightenment
Rating: 
Summary: The Prayer of _Whom_?
Review: Amazon reviewers are generally enthusiastic about the subjects of their reviews, but I am glad to see other reviewers express some skepticism about this book. Nothing that induces prayer can be totally bad; but this book is little more than an off-beat sermon for a Sunday buried in an obscure part of the liturgical year. It is not a theological or religious breakthrough, nor is it a great addition to the literature of prayer. The Psalms have Old Testament prayer pretty well sewed up (though there are plenty of other beautiful prayers in these ancient books). And when the disciples asked Jesus to "Teach us to pray," he did not respond with the prayer of Jabez - who was probably hidden in OT obscurity for reasons we'll never really know. This book comes perilously close to the "name it and claim it" school of theology, and is at best a shallow call to a rather narrow Christian life. I have no wish to question Bruce Wilkinson's motives or learning, nor to denigrate the "Jabez" industry that seems to be growing up. But I think I'll stick to the Psalms and the Lord's Prayer for my devotions.
Rating: 
Summary: Would you like some fries with your Prayer of Jabez?
Review: I have to say "thumbs down" for the Prayer of Jabez. In a fast-food culture that is already bent on over-consumption, urban-sprawl and "me-ism", it seems the last thing Americans need is a book about "expanding our territory". Certainly there are many good principles in this book. It is right to ask God to "expand our territory" in order to have a positive impact on the lives of other people, but I highly doubt this is what Jabez had in mind. Wilkinson reads far too much into a very obscure passage of scripture and even uses a less-common translation in order to emphasis the phrase: "that I may not cause pain" -- which appears to promote a more noble image of Jabez. Every other major translation has the subject and object in the reverse order: "that it may not cause ME pain.". Wilkinson would have done much better with "The Lords Prayer". At least here, God (and not "me") is placed at the center.
Rating:
Summary: Closeness beyond belief
Review: I am the master sceptic. I never believed that such a small book could help lead me to such a consistently prayerful life. My husband and I both have read the books and now enjoy a closeness with the Lord that was not present before. No, the book doesn't make the change by itself, the practices of a prayerful life that you begin once you read bring about the changes. I have gone from a person who prays "sometimes" to a person that has open communication with the Lord as I shower, drive, work, eat, etc... What a blessing!
Rating:
Summary: "That I may not cause pain"
Review: After reading Mr.Wilkinson's views on The Prayer of Jabez: etc., I found it to be very thought provoking. I enjoyed it very much for the most part, but there is something that truly bothered me. Being one who has both caused and endured a lot of pain in my own life, I found it odd and questionable that he would not even discuss the part of the prayer that is most important to me. "That I may not cause pain." To me, it is a little arrogant if not sad to overlook one of life's most important principles and foundations of the Christian religion. The "Golden Rule " I learned as a child is applicable here. The mere fact that Jabez included these words in his prayer tells us how important they are! To not cause pain to anyone is a lofty ideal worth the effort and prayer it requires to accomplish. Thank you to Mr. Wilkinson for his book and keep up the good work. glb
Rating:
Summary: It's NOT just a book, it's a LIFESTYLE, People!
Review: If you really are surrendered to the Lord, this Prayer is in sync with what God has planned for your life -- and that's to bring HIM glory by touching others' lives IN HIS TIMING! It's not my own agenda..it's not my own anything!! It's ALL HIM AS HE CHOOSES and I make myself available to do and speak whatever He gives me wherever He leads. That's the message of the book and if God has given you a vision, praying HIS MOST PERFECT WILL in your life as outlined in this book and watching HIM bless your life abundantly -- well, He'll blow your mind and knock yer socks off. He's a simple but awesome God and He just wants us totally surrendered so He can bless us indeed FOR HIS GLORY!
Rating: 
Summary: Give me a break
Review: This book was recently given to me by a church pastor. And then I read the reviews here, and said to myself "This is what all the fuss is about?" Something that has generated so many reader reviews in such a short time must indeed be worth reading, right? Wrong! This book reads like an infomercial, complete with stunning claims of success. It seems the message "It's okay to ask for more, and you'll get it!" is typical of today, and this 96 page book is a synopsis of society. I found nothing uplifting or inspiring in its pages, and the authors claims I do not intend to refute. The author was once lonely while on a ship for business reasons, and wondered how he could help someone. Apparently, the Jabez prayer came through. He was led to help someone in a struggling marriage that he briefly met when the ship docked in Turkey. What bothered me is the way his advice was found to be helpful, with the newly restored couple running to the dock as the ship pulled away, screaming "Thanks!" He also ministered to woman on a plane, who also had marriage troubles. He was just led to her, and boldly walked up and said something to the effect he wanted to help her. Of course, they ended up sitting together.And before the plane landed, you guessed it, her marriage was shored up also. It is not being led to these people I doubt. The Lord will always work in peoples lives this way. However, it is the miraculous transformation this author makes in peoples lives in a matter of hours, not coincidentally how long it takes to read this book. And therein lies its message. It seems everyone is looking for instant gratification. There are always advertisements for exercise machines that provide "AMAZING results with just 3 minutes a day!" Is "The Jabez Prayer" any different?
Rating:
Summary: Spread the bounty
Review: I have been praying this prayer for 5 months and I can only say that my life has been made more bountiful by the good stuff I got. (My favorite was the big screen TV. Thanks, God!) Now, you must each send a copy of this prayer to five of your friends, and they will send it to five of their friends. Of course, if you break the chain, you will be subjected to five years of bad luck (not to mention the rotting in Hell for all eternity part). Good luck! He who dies with the most stuff wins!
Rating:
Summary: Christian-lite
Review: You know, I wanted to like this book...I really did. And as I first started reading it, I was excited. The prayer, taken as a Biblical reading or reference is powerful and speaks to me of the love of God. But as I continued page to page, a nagging intuitive and spiritual doubt grew stronger and stronger. The author has taken a prayer, and like the worst athiest, used it out of context and without supporting Biblical truth to elicit what he desires from it. The prayer stands alone and any conjecture of deeper meaning is simply that--conjecture by the author. Yet he rides that conjecture to the Nth degree! I have no doubt that people who are either non-Christian or Christian-lite (those without a strong Biblical center, knowledge, understanding, and not particularly Christ-centered) will flock to this as the next best "how-to" self-help book. I couldn't help feeling the author was playing to the lowest common denominator with a "you too can..." application that is rife in nearly every self-help book. That really turns my stomach. I have a great fear that this book, without a solid foundation in faith, will be more of a danger to many people than a help. In minimizing our relationship with God and Christ to a prayer recital, it plays right into the enemy's hands. A deep relationship with Christ doesn't come cheap, it requires understanding grounded in the Bible. You can't replace that with a daily recital. In fairness to the author, his efforts (and I have no reason to believe they did not happen--I take him at his word) seem to point to some significant ministry events. However, I believe that likely has more to do with God's unconditional blessing (NOT the prayer), a righteous relationship with God, years of ministry training, and good old fashion hard work than a specific prayer recital. As I said, I would have liked to recommend this book. I just can't in good faith and conscience.
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