Di Prayer of Jabez

Name after name after name. Papa and pikin, grandpapa and great-grandchildren. One list wey continue for many chapters. And then, suddenly, di list stop. And di writer tell us about one man.

Dem write di books of Chronicles long time after di time of di kings. Dem don carry di people of Judah go Babylon, and many of dem later come back to one small land wey dey struggle. Dem need to remember who dem be. So di writer start from di very beginning, from Adam, and trace di families of God people down through di generations. Nine whole chapters of names. For people wey don lose so much, dese lists dey talk say: you belong. Your family na part of God story. For chapter four, we dey inside di long list of di families of Judah. Hur, Shobal, Reaiah, Jahath, Ashhur, Koz. And then one man wey dem call Jabez.

Di writer tell us two things about Jabez before im prayer. First, e get honour pass im brothers. People respect am. Second, e get one hard name. Im mama name am Jabez, as she talk, because I born am with pain. For Hebrew, im name sound well well like di word for pain or sorrow. Dem no tell us wetin make im birth hard like dat. Maybe na dangerous labour. Maybe na time of sorrow for di family. But every time wey person call im name, e be like say dem dey talk: di one wey bring pain. Imagine to carry name like dat for your whole life.

And then Jabez do something. E call on di God of Israel. E no pretend say im life dey fine. E no try to fix everything by imself. E pray. And di writer write down im words. Oh, make you bless me for true, and make my land wide. Make your hand dey with me. Keep me from harm, so dat e no go bring me pain. Na short prayer. Four requests. Bless me. Give me space to grow, more land for my family to live. Stay close to me. And keep me from di evil and di hurt wey my own name be like say e dey promise. E honest, and e simple. E ask God for help, because e trust say na God fit give am.

And then di last line come, di one wey di writer clearly want make we hear. And God give am wetin e ask for. Na all be dat. No long explanation. No list of how e take happen. Just dis: Jabez ask, and God answer. Then di list of names start again, like say nothing happen. Chelub, Shuhah, Mehir, Eshton. But for one moment, for inside book wey full with kings and battles and temples, di writer pause to remember one man wey pray. Out of all di people for dat long list, na Jabez dem remember because e talk to God.

Small play on words dey here wey no dey show for Pidgin. For Hebrew, di name Jabez and di word for pain get almost di same letters, but for Jabez name, two of di letters exchange place. And for im prayer, e ask God make e keep am from harm so dat e no go pain am, and e use dat same word. Di man wey im name mean pain ask God make e keep pain far. And God do am.

Di prayer of Jabez. You go find am for First Chronicles, chapter four, verse nine and ten. One man wey get painful name, one honest prayer, and one God wey answer. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Wetin you fit ask God for today, simple and honest, as you trust say e dey hear?