How to Pray the Most Dangerous Prayer
But she wouldn't have it any other way. Jabez prayed, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request (1 Chronicles 4:10).
Isaiah 54:2 says, "Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense!". Stretch, enlarge, expand, increase - the Father's purpose. Ever changing from glory to glory.
Being multiplied and extended has no age limit. Abraham was 100 when he had a son. Ruth left her country as a youthful widow. Timothy was the young pastor of a church. As a teenager, Mary the mother of Jesus was stretched.
But of all Bible characters, I believe Jacob takes the cake when it comes to being enlarged. More than just stretched, he wanted it. Never satisfied with what life handed his way, Jacob hungered for increase.
Gripping his brother's heel from the minute he was born, Jacob wanted more. More of what he didn’t deserve. Being second born, Jacob was not meant to have anything. But he got everything. He was cunning, persistent, and it paid off.
Like it or not, Jacob mirrors the life of a believer. Born into sin, we don’t deserve anything. Jesus changed that for us. We can have it all. But it's not just going to land in our lap. Like Jacob, we have to want it. Fight for it. You know, the good fight of faith.
To be enlarged you will need the attitude of Jacob. A soul fighting for the promise with pig-headed determination. A heart saying, "I will be enlarged, I will be stretched. I won’t be comfortable. I will chase after all God has for me."
If you want increase, there will be struggles along the way, but the result is worth it. The stretch is uncomfortable and difficult, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
The Struggle of Natural Law and Order
Jacob struggled with his brother, Esau, for birthright and blessing. He was entitled to neither, yet got both because he choose to defy natural law and order. Natural laws are meant to be broken.
Walking on water defies natural law. Exiting a fiery furnace without the slightest hint is smoke, defies natural law. Scattering an army with the sound of four lepers, defies natural law. Jacob had never seen God perform miracles, but he did not let natural laws limit his life.
Being enlarged means walking in the supernatural, the realm where God operates. Stop seeing things as the world does. They look with natural eyes of limitation and reality. The Almighty created laws, but defying them is his business.
If you're handed a report of sickness, defeat, or limitation, reject it. God has more for you. Be enlarged and stretched. Life is not supposed to be lived natural, but supernatural.
The Struggle of the Past
Jacob made some stupid choices in his life: not looking at his wife on their wedding day, working for a crook, having children with four different women. Did he let stupid choices ruin him? No.
Are you plagued by the past? Let it go. Everyone makes stupid choices. To be enlarged, you have to leave the former things behind. Refuse to let mistakes define who you are. Jacob hurt people and stuffed things up pretty bad, yet he never stopped going after all he could. You make errors, move on, be enlarged.
The Struggle with God
Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26).
Sure Jacob struggled with his past and the natural world, but the ultimate struggle came in the form of a Devine man. Was Jacob a man of faith? A man of truth? Far from it. He was a man of persistence. Jacob would not let go. He would not have an encounter with God and leave unchanged. His was an insatiable hunger for a large life.
The Lord enlarged Jacob so much he made him into a nation. When I think of the people of Israel, I see lives reflecting traits of their forefather - tenacity, persistence, warrior-heart, a conquering-spirt defying the odds.
God still looks for people like Jacob. Those who will pursue him and not let go. Men and women who forget the past, and reach forward to what lies ahead. A people who enlarge themselves to the point of wrangling it out of God.
“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won” (Genesis 32:28).
Life is a battle. You can settle for the mediocre and cruise on through. Or fight to be enlarged, stretched, permanently changed. Will your heart's cry echo the prayer of Jacob? Will you wrestle every promise from his hand, no matter the cost?
God, I won’t let You go until You bless me.
Credit: Sarah Coleman is an Australian author and communicator. Her books include Single Christian Female and Make Yourself Amazing. She is passionate about the Kingdom of God. She also loves being a wife and mother to two boys. To read more of Sarah's thoughts go to sarahcoleman.com.au.
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