A Critical Look at Bruce Wilkinson’s, The Prayer of Jabez:

Breaking Through to the Blessed Life

 

 

Preliminary Remarks

 

I’m often reminded of J. Gresham Machen’s introduction in Christianity and Liberalism wherein Machen insightfully states that “Presenting an issue sharply is indeed by no means a popular business. . . . Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder, but it is always beneficial in the end. The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from ‘controversial’ matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life.” (p.1). It is with this trepidation that I approach the un-coveted task of evaluating Bruce Wilkinson’s book, The Prayer of Jabez.

 

In some sense, this review isn’t necessary, for many critical reviews are already in print. In fact, it’s rather ironic that most of the reviews that I have read are more content oriented and spiritually edifying than the book itself. Among those who have critically reviewed this work by Wilkinson include, Dr. Philip G. Ryken, Sr. Pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Judith Shulevitz of the New York Times, Dr. Mark Talbot, professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College and member of the Alliance for Confessing Evangelicals, and scores of pastors across the nation who are having to inform their congregations why this pocket sized book is presently the best selling book in America. My efforts here are not motivated by a desire to join in on the stoning of Wilkinson, but rather to further warn the Christian community that Wilkinson’s book is inundated with themes and concepts that are, in a word, unbiblical.

 

But if this book is truly unbiblical, why are professing Christians so enamored by it? I fear that the answer, at least in part, is that Christianity in America is just like the book, sadly shallow and deeply narcissistic. The very success of this book patently demonstrates this conclusion for at least two reasons: (1) that a theologically educated man would author and publish a book that blatantly misrepresents the biblical message, and (2) that the book’s reading audience, as a whole, have failed to see this misrepresentation of God’s Word and how the book precariously falls into the literary genre of the health and wealth gospel. Had the reading audience been a tad more biblically proficient, they would have tossed this book aside as a waste of $9.99 and a waste of the hour or so that it took to read it. Unfortunately, many people are reading The Prayer of Jabez and then passing it along to others as a worthy read. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association apparently finds the book so worthy of reading that they offer free copies of the book on the Internet. Christian bookstores are taking advantage of the ride as well, many have shelves lined with The Prayer of Jabez paraphernalia. You can buy Jabez coffee mugs, t-shirts, calendars, and more! And the present craze is apparently only just beginning. Heading for the shelves are new spin offs, The Prayer of Jabez for Teens, for Mothers, etc. ad nauseam.

 

No one should be too surprised by all the attention this book is receiving, for evangelical Protestantism is fertile ground for this type of religious euphoria, regardless of the unbiblical basis for that euphoria. It’s what Jonathan Edwards called heat without light. Religious euphoria/heat is a good thing when it is grounded in the light of sound doctrine, but when religious euphoria has no biblical warrant, when there is heat but no light, then it’s just plain ole pagan debauchery.

 

One last note before we take a peek at the book in question. Some will surely say that my words seem rather sharp, perhaps even unloving. To this, I would say that Scripture twisting concerns me, and it should concern every Bible believing Christian. People that can read literature that is characterized by heinous theological error and biblical distortion, all without getting a bit upset, need to examine the genuineness of their religious convictions. The apostle Paul exhorts us to “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16). Paul goes on to say in 2 Timothy 4:2-4,

 

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For a time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths.”

 

Perhaps Paul’s words ring louder today than ever before. It’s so important for us to study God’s Word regularly and carefully, with tenacious attention to context and consistency. We need to do our very best to present ourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). We need to study God’s Word with a passion for truth and then we need to apply that truth in our daily walk with God. Might we all hunger and thirst for the riches in God’s Word, just as a hunted and weary deer pants and thirsts for the cool waters of fresh running streams (Ps. 42:1). We all are subject to error, and with that in mind, might we all burn the midnight oil in our efforts to present God’s Word as truthfully and accurately as possible, and I say this especially to those of us who are pastors and/or teachers, for we are the ones that are largely responsible for much of the confusion. As it has been said, a little haze from the pulpit leads to dense fog in the pew. Let’s honor God by giving Him our very best!

 

 

The Prayer of Jabez

 

As founder and president of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, Bruce Wilkinson is well known and respected by many. I without reservation consider him a brother in Christ and am thankful for all of the positive contributions he has made to the body of Christ.

 

The Prayer of Jabez is a book about prayer. In the preface of this book, we find Wilkinson’s stated objective, namely, to teach Christians to “pray a daring prayer that God always answers” (preface, emphasis mine). The thought of a “daring” prayer strikes me as a bit suspicious, after all, where in Scripture is prayer ever said or even implied to be a “daring” endeavor? It’s as if Wilkinson wants us to push the limits in our prayer life, but what does that really mean and what is the biblical basis for such a model of prayer? Granted, most of us need to develop healthier prayer lives, but is this what Wilkinson is driving at? Having examined this book, I cannot answer that question in the affirmative. What Wilkinson seems to be doing is setting up a tone from the very start, a tone that very easily feeds into the shallow character of far too many Christians because it all sounds rather exciting and self-gratifying and results are guaranteed! Wilkinson encourages us to pray daringly! Pray a daring prayer that God ALWAYS answers! Toward the end of this book, Wilkinson assures his reader that the day will come when you will be so overwhelmed with God’s graciousness that tears will stream down your face. Wilkinson says that you will be so overwhelmed by God’s blessings that you will eventually have to say, “’It’s too much! Hold some of your blessings back!’” (p. 84) Wilkinson suggests that you will be so inundated with blessings that you will have to stop praying for more blessings, at least for a while (Ibid.). With promises like these it’s easy to understand why this book by Wilkinson is taking Christianity by storm.

 

While Wilkinson doesn’t explicitly say it, the idea that God “always” answers our prayers to our satisfaction is strongly implied. When Wilkinson writes, “pray a daring prayer that God always answers,” he makes no mention that it is rather commonplace for God not to answer and/or respond to prayers in the manner that we often desire. One of the fundamental teachings on prayer is overlooked, namely, God answers prayer that is in accordance with His sovereign will. If we pray something, anything, that is not in accordance with His sovereign will, it simply isn’t going to happen, not even when those prayer requests are honorable. God didn’t grant Christ’s prayer request in the garden of Gethsemane, nor did he answer Paul’s repeated prayer for relief from his “thorn in the flesh.” So for Wilkinson to imply that he has found a model of prayer that God always answers is, at best, failing to provide the full picture, and at worst, it is deceptive. Sure, we should pray about everything, but biblical prayer isn’t about aligning God’s will with our will, it’s about aligning our will with God’s, and until we do that, we have no reason to think that our prayers will be answered to our satisfaction. This is why the prayer of a righteous man is a powerful thing, because righteous men have their wills in tune with God’s will, and thus they are far less likely to pray for those things which are contrary to the sovereign will of God. Furthermore, the prayer of a righteous man seeks God’s will, not the covetous desires of selfish men. Christ himself sets the pattern when he ends His prayer in Gethsemane with, “not my will Father, but your will” (Matt. 26:39). God’s eternal plans are not thwarted by anyone or anything, and that certainly includes prayer. 

 

Wilkinson goes on to tell us that he is absolutely convinced that the “key to a life of extraordinary favor with God” is found tucked away in a relatively obscure passage found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain’ And God granted his request.”

 

Most Christians have favorite Bible passages, passages that have been instrumental in sculpting us into who we are in Christ, and Wilkinson is no exception. Wilkinson states that 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 is his life revolutionizing passage. “If you were to ask me what sentence, other than my prayer for salvation—has revolutionized my life and ministry the most, I would tell you that it was the cry of a gimper named Jabez, who is still remembered not for what he did, but for what he prayed—and for what happened next” (p.11) This passage became so key in Wilkinson’s life that he has prayed it daily, word for word, for the past 30 years. Wilkinson desires that his readers do the same, for to do so guarantees that God will dramatically revolutionize our lives, and Wilkinson has proof that this will happen. Unfortunately, the proof isn’t found in the Bible, but rather in his “experience.”

 

Experience alone has never been an epistemological strong hold, or to say it another way, experience isn’t a good foundation for proving that something is either true or false. Furthermore, if experience alone were the measure of truth, if we say that God is working in our lives because our “experiences” testify that God is working in our lives, then we have no basis to argue against Mormons and/or any other cult. Mormonism is just as valid as Christianity if we are to examine the two on the grounds of experience alone. Indeed, if experience reigns as the foundation for truth, then one person’s experience is just as valid as the next person’s experience, and if various experiences lead to contradictory conclusions, no one can argue for superiority of one view over another and the end result it that everything becomes relative. One man’s convictions are just as valid as the next. Experience alone validates most, if not all, forms of religion. But, when we use the Bible as our ultimate source of truth, and if we approach it with an eye toward context and consistency, we are far better positioned to say that we know this or that because it comes from the mouth of God, in whom there is no error, no inconsistency, no contradictions, no un-truth.  

 

Anyway, back to Wilkinson’s life revolutionizing passages. Out of all of the wonderful passages of Scripture, it seems odd that Wilkinson would devote his life to 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, but then again, it is the Word of God as much as any other passage in Scripture and if it’s the passage that has meant the most to him, I suppose we should not scoff, but to suggest that it should become the core passage for other Christians seems rather presumptuous. But even more concerning than this is Wilkinson’s desire for people to repeat this prayer daily as if were some magical incantation. This formulaic, mechanistic approach to prayer is, in a word, unbiblical. It’s also rather concerning that Wilkinson thinks that this passage of Scripture is in some way an avenue and/or key to receiving “extraordinary favor” with God. Favor with God is found in our relationship with His Son, and it is solely on the merits of His Son’s life and ministry that we will ever find “extraordinary” favor with God.

 

It should also be noted that while persistent prayer has a biblical basis (Lk. 11:5-8; 2 Cor. 12:8-9 et al), it would seem that what Wilkinson is calling for here encroaches upon Jesus’ warning against the use of meaningless repetition (Matt. 6:7). Prayer isn’t about a vain repetition of the exact same words for 30 years, but rather it is about communion with God. As we are taught in Scripture, we should adopt a lifestyle that reflects ceaseless prayer. Throughout our day we should be in constant communion with God, praising His name, asking for direction and insight and wisdom. Christian prayer is personal, not mechanical, it is relational, not rote. One of the finest statements concerning prayer is found in Westminster Shorter Catechism. It states that “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable with His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” That our prayers should be “agreeable with His will” too often goes unnoted and yet, it is Christ Himself that sets the standard when He prays not according to His will, but His Father’s will (Lk. 22:42). But Wilkinson never mentions the need for our prayers to be in accordance with God’s sovereign will. Nor does he pay much attention to the fact that Christians approach God through Christ, and in this sense, the prayer that Jabez uttered is antiquated via progressive revelation. With this in mind, the prayer of Jabez, when not augmented by the abundance of other teachings on prayer, is a poor paradigm for prayer. It’s also interesting that Jabez makes no mention of his need for forgiveness, nor does he make mention of his thankful acknowledgement of God’s gracious mercies.

 

Interestingly, when Jesus’ disciples asked Him for instruction on how to pray, Jesus didn’t refer them to the prayer of Jabez, but rather He said, pray like this, “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The phrase “give us today our daily bread” is generally interpreted to be a request for our basic needs, what it takes to get by for that day. So while Wilkinson asserts that we should pray for more and more, more than we could ever imagine, that we should pray, to use his word, “selfishly,” Christ’s model for prayer instructs us to ask for our basic needs, not selfishly, not in super abundance, but according to our daily needs. The Lord’s prayer primarily focuses in on God, His glory, His kingdom plans, that His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. The Lord’s prayer is inherently God centered. One might also consider how the Lord instructed believers to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33). With this in mind, shouldn’t prayer be more characterized by thirst and a desire for His kingdom and His righteousness, and less on our worldly possessions? Having looked at the Lord’s model and instructions on how to pray, should we really adopt a prayer that asks God to bless us beyond our wildest imaginations? Should we be begging God to bless us and to bless us a lot? Is this type of self serving attitude the attitude we should have as we approach our wondrous God in heaven?

 

Wilkinson goes on to make the amazing claim that the prayer of Jabez “distills God’s powerful will for your future” (p. 12). Of the four requests made in this prayer, Wilkinson wants to “show you just how dramatically each of Jabez’s requests can release something miraculous in your life” (p. 15). In fact, Wilkinson suggests that not only will something miraculous happen in your life, but that the miraculous will occur on a regular basis (p. 16)(doesn’t this sound a lot like the health and wealth / signs and wonder’s movements?). Perhaps this was just a poor choice of terms, but the idea that this verse in some way magically “distills” God’s will for our lives is rather suspicious, and seems to offer believers a special tap into the perfect will of God. God’s moral will has been clearly revealed, we all have access to it in the Bible. But all attempts to tap into God’s sovereign unrevealed decretive will have been futile. The fact of the matter is, the only way to know God’s sovereign decretive will is retrospectively. We don’t know what God has in store for us in the future unless it has been revealed in Scripture. We do well to know what He “seems” to have in store for us tomorrow, but we all know how each new day brings new surprises into our lives. How many of us have stood confused, realizing that our today is not the tomorrow we envisioned yesterday? When it comes to our futures, we live by faith, in daily dependence on God to provide us with the resources to meet the obligations that life presents to us. This is how God likes it, and as such, this is how it is.

 

I also take issue with Wilkinson’s suggestion that the prayer of Jabez is the key to obtaining miracles on a regular basis. Here again, this cannot be biblically substantiated, nor is it a pattern that we can find in Scripture. Theologians often categorize miracles into first class and second-class miracles. First class miracles are those miracles that defy nature, resurrection for example, or the bringing of Lazarus back to life after his corpse had already begun to decompose (incidentally, Lazarus is not a case of resurrection, but rather resuscitation). Second class miracles are those things which happen according to God’s design, and yet seem amazing, like the birth of a child. The birth of a child is an incredible event, it almost seems to defy the odds, but the whole process of conception and birth are according to the way God designed us, and so, in this manner of speaking, birth, while a awesome blessing, isn’t a miracle in the most biblical sense, of course with the exception of the immaculate conception and birth of Christ, that was a true biblical miracle! Wilkinson seems to be referring to first class miracles when he writes, “A miracle is an intervention by God to make something happen that wouldn’t normally happen” (p. 43). This leads the reader to a unbiblical notion that miracles can be an everyday occurrence in our lives. Wilkinson writes, “Let me tell you a guaranteed by-product of sincerely seeking His blessing: Your life will be marked by miracles” (p. 19). This is simply promising the reader more than we should promise because it’s more than God promises. It may sound exciting, and it surely helps sell books, but it’s simply unbiblical. God doesn’t perform first class miracles on a regular basis in anyone’s life.

 

As Wilkinson continues to develop his thesis in Chapter 2, he asserts that the great men of the faith think differently than the rest of us. How so? Because according to Wilkinson, they pray differently. Apparently, according to Wilkinson, the great men of the faith pray selfishly, and that’s what Wilkinson wants his readers to do as well. He writes, “Is it possible that God wants you to be ‘selfish’ in your prayers? To ask for more—and more again—from your Lord?” (p. 19). The answer, according to Wilkinson is a resounding yes! In fact, if we fail to pray selfishly, we hinder God’s perfect will for our lives. If we can only learn to pray selfishly, the forces of heaven will no longer be hindered to accomplish God’s perfect will (p. 25).  According to Wilkinson, God has a storehouse of blessings waiting to be claimed, but unless we beg him for those blessings, He is unable to share with you that which He longs for you to have. Wilkinson writes, “That’s the catch—if you don’t ask for blessing, you forfeit those that come to you only when you ask. In the same way that a father is honored to have a child beg for his blessing (another poor analogy in my personal opinion), your Father is delighted to respond generously when His blessing is what you covet most” (p. 27). Generally speaking, the idea of coveting has nothing but negative connotations in the Bible, so do we really want to covet anything unless it is a deeper intimacy with God? Consider the apostle Paul’s words, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not murder,” Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:8-10). Biblically speaking, it would seem that coveting something is actually a good way not to get it. James writes, “You want something, but you don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want” (James 4:2).

 

Remember though, Wilkinson doesn’t want us to just covet, he wants us to covet with an attitude of selfishness. Let’s refresh our memory of what the term “selfish” means. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states the following under the entry for “selfish”: 1: concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself: seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others. 2: arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others. Is this really what God wants? Is selfishness the modus operandi of the great men of the faith? I hardly think so, in fact, it reminds me more of the philosophy of the thoroughly misguided libertarian, Ayn Rand.[1] Wilkinson’s desire for us to be more selfish and to covet and beg God for that which we covet the most is not only unbiblical, it’s anti-biblical. This is the theology of the health and wealth preachers, but it isn’t the theology of the Bible. I want to think that Wilkinson has just chosen his words poorly, but then again, this is a trained theologian and a trained writer. This isn’t new territory for him. How sad it is when evangelical wisdom cannot be differentiated from neo-paganism, when professing Christians become so earthly minded that we are of no heavenly good.

 

It should be noted that Jabez wasn’t coveting that which he didn’t have, in fact, the text doesn’t teach that Jabez coveted anything. Nor does the text say that Jabez asked to be blessed and blessed a lot! Wilkinson refers to the Hebrew text (a move that many make in an effort to sound more learned/authoritative and biblical, but it’s a questionable practice to refer to the original languages when your audience is not capable of verifying the use of the original languages) and suggests that by adding the term “indeed” (not found in all translations) to this prayer was like adding five exclamation points, or writing the request in capital letters and underlining it” (p. 22), but this is a bit misleading. The Hebrew term barak (which has a wide range of meaning, depending on context) is used twice, which does note emphasis, but it in no way notes the emphasis that Wilkinson attempts to suggest. This again is embellishing the text to make it say more than it says. We should also realize that Jabez was not being selfish in asking God to extend his territory and had he been so, I seriously doubt that God would have granted his prayer request. Jabez was praying for nothing more than what God had promised the Jewish nation in the Abrahamic covenant, namely, land blessings. In this sense, Jabez prayed for what God had already promised and thus Jabez wasn’t asking for something that wasn’t in perfect accord with God’s revealed promises. As such, God granted his request.

 

We should also realize that as Christians, we will receive much, if not most of our inheritance in heaven, not in this earthly life. By and large, the Christian reward is eschatological and heavenly, not present and earthly. Our ultimate hope is not in this present life, but rather in our life to come. In fact, Jesus warns us that we can expect much trial and tribulation in this life, and that just as He was persecuted, we too will experience persecution. With this in mind, the possession of material things in this life is not necessarily a sign of blessing from God, for even the pagans of this world live in super abundance!

 

On page 27, Wilkinson attempts to use Matthew 7:7-8 and James 4:2 to support part of his thesis, but the Matthean passage falls way short, and if the context of James 4:2 is respected, we find that this commonly misused passage concerns the problem of sin. We already looked at this passage briefly, but lets look at the broader context. James states, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives [selfish motives?], that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:1-4). From this passage, it seems obvious that one’s heart attitude in prayer is the issue in this passage, not a person’s failure to ask that which God is jumping at the bit to give us if only we will ask. One of the cardinal rules of biblical interpretation is context! And Wilkinson seems oblivious to the context of 1 Chronicles as well as the context of James 2. To be sure, context ruins a lot of what would otherwise be great sermons, or a book in this case, but to violate the context of any given passage invariably results in a distortion of God’s Word and as such, it invariably results in false doctrine.

 

Even more unfortunate is Wilkinson’s low view of the sovereignty of God. God wants us to pray for our daily needs, He wants us to be in prayer about everything, but a sound doctrine of providence assures us that we won’t ever go without that which God desires for our lives. J.I Packer appropriately writes, “There is no tension or inconsistency between the teaching of Scripture on God’s sovereign foreordination of all things and on the efficacy of prayer. God foreordains the means as well as the end, and our prayer is foreordained as the means whereby he brings his sovereign will to pass.”^[2] When God wills an end, He also wills the means by which those ends are met, and the means by which God brings to fruition various ends often includes prayer. The point I’m trying to emphasize is that God is sovereign over the entire process. That we pray at all is ultimately linked to God’s providence. As such, He uses prayers, of which He is the ultimate cause,[3] to accomplish the ends in which He seeks to achieve. With this in mind, Wilkinson’s Arminian slant in suggesting that finite man can hinder the perfect will of God by failing to pray is patently unbiblical.

 

In Chapter 3, Wilkinson takes considerable interpretive liberty by making some rather gratuitous conclusions concerning the thoughts that must have run through Jabez’s mind. Ironically, Wilkinson knows the context provides virtually no details. Wilkinson himself writes, “What was the secret to the enduring question of Jabez? You can search from front to back in your Bible, as I have, and you won’t find any more information than we have in these two brief verses” (p. 14). Despite this correct conclusion, and despite the fact that the biblical text simply states that Jabez asked for God to expand his territory, Wilkinson embellishes the biblical text and asserts that Jabez wanted far more than real estate. He wanted more influence, more responsibility, and more opportunity to make a mark for the God of Israel” (p. 30). This sounds great, but this simply is not in the text and no one has the authority to add or subtract from the Word of God. It’s this type of voodoo exegesis that allows people to make the biblical text say anything they want it to say, but it’s an irresponsible method of interpretation for which Wilkinson should be strongly reprimanded.

 

Assuming the role of mind reader, Wilkinson goes on to suggest that Jabez was dissatisfied with his present circumstances (most selfish people are rarely satisfied, they always want more!), and concluded that he was “born for more than this” (p. 31). Where does Wilkinson get this stuff? He totally fabricates it! Furthermore, can you imagine griping at God, saying, God, I was born for more than this, this just isn’t cutting it. Is the idea of contentment foreign to Wilkinson’s theology? Christians should not idly sit back and fail to strive to be all that we can be in Christ, but we need to be content regardless of our situation in life. Consider the apostle Paul’s righteous disposition, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Php. 4:11-13).  It is this attitude of contentment that all Christians should long and pray for.

 

There are few things less attractive than professing Christians who lack contentment, who never seem satisfied with what God has chosen to give them. Even in abundance, so many professing Christians are utterly miserable because they seek pleasure and fulfillment in the things of this world rather than in God. Ironically, unlike the things of this world which never quench our desires for more, God quenches our deepest needs and when we truly experience this, the things of this world become rather unimportant. I’d go so far to say that those who are driven by the material things of this world, very likely know nothing of the joy they could have in God. They may profess God, but by their actions and their selfish lusts they demonstrate that they are not of God. The bitter pill that these people must eventually swallow is that the things of this world, those material things that both pagan and many professing Christians alike pursue with reckless abandon, do not yield an enduring happiness. Sadly, more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for. According to Erich Fromm, one of the leading specialists in human behavior, the majority of those who seek psychiatric help suffer from “an inner deadness. They live in the midst of plenty and are joyless.”[4] What we need to be praying for is contentment. This doesn’t mean complacency, it just means that we should be content with wherever God presently has us in this present life. Remember, God owes us nothing, and we should be grateful and appreciative with whatever He so graciously has chosen to give us. Begging for more and coveting for that which we don’t have is the opposite of a grateful attitude.

 

Wilkinson goes on to write, “As a farmer or headsman, he [Jabez] looked over the spread his family had passed down to him, ran his eye down the fence lines, visited the boundary markers—and made a decision: Everything you’ve put under my care, O Lord—take it, and enlarge it. If Jabez had worked on Wall Street, he might have prayed, ‘Lord, increase the value of my investment portfolios’” (p. 31). All of this is a classic example of isogesis, the reading into the text of things that simply are not there. It is adding to the Word of God, a privilege that no man has the authority to do, and it is an act that has serious consequences. It cannot be overemphasized that we must let the text stand on it’s own, in context, and Wilkinson is in gross error in his attempt to embellish the text so that it will better fit his forgone conclusions. It should be noted that if one follows Wilkinson’s model of exegesis, it would be just as appropriate to conclude that while Jabez was an honorable man, he lost his Godly focus and turned his eyes to his personal possessions and power. Jabez turned from his heavenly mindedness and became earthly minded, wanting more and more land, responsibility, influence, etc. God’s granted Jabez’s request, but it was more of a curse than a blessing, for Jabez’s added responsibilities in life were extremely taxing, and as a result, Jabez died shortly after God granted his prayer request. Jabez prayed for more, and it cost him his life. This is precisely why Jabez is never mentioned again in Scripture. Now, my point. My explanation here of 1 Chron. 4:9-10 is every bit as valid and biblical as Wilkinson’s explanation, in fact, my explanation probably has more biblical warrant, but the fact of the matter is, all of this is completely fabricated, it’s all unbiblical, and it’s utterly unacceptable. We just don’t have the right to make stuff up, even when we spin it in a manner that sounds redeeming. 

 

The final 4 chapters are largely a further formalizing of what has already been stated. From the first three chapters, we have the heart of this little book that has Christian bookstores slavishly occupied just to keep the book in stock. I’d be quick to note that chapters 4-7 are just as troublesome as chapters 1-3. I would also note that Wilkinson’s book was so saturated with doctrinal error and biblical distortion that I was forced, due to time constraints, to omit discussion on other erroneous concepts and themes. While I’m compelled to delineate the many errors and errant theology that exists in the remaining chapters, I suspect and I pray that my reader has gotten the point. Rest assured in this though, the remaining chapters ultimately need no refutation, for to merely describe them is to refute them! This book will ultimately cause more damage than good.

 

I don’t know Bruce Wilkinson, so I won’t pretend to be able to judge his motives in writing this book. I will assume his intentions were nothing but honorable, but somewhere along the way, Wilkinson has gone far astray from sound theology and respectable and acceptable biblical interpretation. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should not be praising Bruce Wilkinson, nor should we be buying his book, we should be trying to reach him and to correct him. He is a brother in Christ who has stumbled and is causing others to stumble. As such, we should make every effort to correct him in love and to steer others away from this unbiblical book on prayer. May God deal with him as we would have Him deal with us, graciously.