Prayer of Jabez for the Year

Last year, our pastor began 2020 encouraging us to pray the Prayer of Jabez every day. It felt like a great challenge! Scary, actually! Enlarge my territory? I'm not sure I want to pray for that.

Then 2020 took over with all it's glamour and might.

I decided to keep up with the Prayer. It wasn't anything daily or routine. But in the wake of a world wide pandemic, when events and stress often left me speechless - oddly enough, this became my prayer to Jesus. In the dark, middle of the night hours staring at the ceiling or a long afternoon trying to put one foot in front of the other - I recited the Prayer of Jabez.

Let me tell you, Sister. When you pray to Jesus, just expect that He will answer. These are not empty words you are reciting and rattling off to open air. When you speak to the God of the Heavens - He Moves.

I've been praying for a year that God would enlarge my territory. That was the scariest line of the prayer for me. I didn't know how God was respond and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out! Ha! In the past year, we have added hundreds of new members to our Facebook group and several new local chapters, even in the midst of a pandemic. I was given several opportunities to share my heart and story at virtual speaking events. And this is just how God worked on the ministry side of my life! There was growth in my personal life as well.

Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm. It's been an upsetting year and this line of asking for protection brought so much comfort to me. There are ways I saw God at work in our lives protecting us and I'm sure ways that I cannot fathom.

The line "that I may not cause pain" has become very dear. The Joyful Stepmom means the world to me. It is so much more than a space on the internet or little Facebook group. It holds a lot of weight on my heart. I am very aware that on the other side of the screen are real lives and families. This year especially, emotions are running high. I have been praying this line "that I may not cause pain" specifically for my interactions with the women in our group.

It was so fascinating to watch God move and respond to this prayer that I'm going to keep it rolling in 2021! And yes, I'm still nervous about what that means for my territory. Ha! So I guess stay tuned and let's see what's in store!