NYTimes.com Article: A Book Spreads the Word: Prayer for Prosperity Works

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A Book Spreads the Word: Prayer for Prosperity Works

 

 

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

 

 

 

uried in what many religion scholars agree is the least read and

most boring section of the Bible, among the interminable

genealogies where one ancient " begat " another, are 73 words about a

mysterious character named Jabez.

 

Little is said about Jabez except that he was " more honorable than

his brothers. " He prayed to God to " bless me indeed, and enlarge my

territory, " and, the Bible says, God granted his request.

 

Now, thanks to a small book — and spinoff coffee mugs, bookmarks

and plaques — Jabez's prayer is being murmured in many parts of

America: businesspeople say it has increased their profits; single

women say it has found them boyfriends; and pastors say it has

enlarged their congregations.

 

" The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life, " by an

Atlanta evangelist, Bruce H. Wilkinson, has sold 4.1 million

copies, most in the last three months. It is No. 1 on USA Today's

best-seller list, No. 1 on The New York Times's list of advice,

how-to and miscellaneous best sellers and No. 1 on Publishers

Weekly's list of hardcover nonfiction best sellers.

 

At the Good News Bookstore in Topsham, Me., the manager, Terri

Demaria, said: " We just got 30 more in. We couldn't keep them on

the shelf. "

 

The slim volume, little more than a sermon, is one in a large

field of religious self-help books. At first glance, the book

appears to be spreading the " prosperity gospel " popular in the

1950's and 1960's, which taught that there is no shame in praying

to God for a red Cadillac. With its blatant materialism, the

prosperity gospel eventually became an embarrassment for

evangelicals.

 

But " The Prayer of Jabez " offers a new view of the prosperity

gospel. It preaches that it is perfectly fine to ask God for

personal success, as long as that success has a godly purpose.

 

" Jabez prayed for more property, " the author, Dr. Wilkinson, said.

" He was a farmer or herdsman, and he was asking for more business.

When I talk to business owners or managers, I tell them that if

their business is honoring the public and they're treating their

employees well, it's right to ask God to bless their business. "

 

Jeffrey H. Mahan, professor of ministry, media and culture at the

Iliff School of Theology in Denver, said: " It fits with the

narcissism of the age. Religious life is focused on me and my

needs. "

 

Dr. Wilkinson said he had recited Jabez's prayer daily for 30

years, since he learned it from a teacher in seminary. It has been

his signature prayer in his hundreds of preaching appearances all

over the world. His ministry, Walk Thru the Bible, has expanded to

more than 40 countries — proof, he says, that the prayer of Jabez

(pronounced JAY-bez) works.

 

The prayer itself, from First Chronicles 4:9-10, goes, " Oh, that

You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand

would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may

not cause pain. " (The book uses the translation from the New King

James Version of the Bible, though some merchandise uses other

versions.)

 

The whole book is built around the prayer. Each chapter offers a

motivational lesson — from overcoming personal challenges to how to

share the Gospel. Jabez's story, the book says, is " proof that it's

not who you are, or what your parents decided for you, or what you

were 'fated' to be that counts. What counts is knowing who you want

to be and asking for it. Through a simple, believing prayer, you

can change your future. "

 

Alan Cooper, a professor at both Jewish Theological Seminary and

Union Theological Seminary in New York, said Chronicles, was

written for the Jews returning from Babylonian exile, when all that

was left of Israel was one Persian province, later called Judah.

 

" In that period it would make sense to have a prayer which would

talk about expanding the borders under Judean control, or to

increase the number of settlements which might have been available

for Jews in the territory, " Dr. Cooper said. But Jewish liturgy has

never taken particular note of Jabez's prayer, he said.

 

The book's phenomenal sales are attributable in large part to

purchases of multiple copies. One woman in Atlanta bought 500 to

give to guests at her daughter's wedding. The Rev. Pete Briscoe in

Carrollton, Tex., said he bought 4,000 to give to members of his

Bent Tree Bible Fellowship at the church's 25th anniversary

celebration in February.

 

The book, slightly larger than a hand-held computer, sells for

$9.99 or less, and can easily be read in one sitting. Dr. Wilkinson

had written a 270-page version years earlier, but it was never

published.

 

" I think people are responding very well to the smaller book

format, " said Don Jacobson, president of Multnomah Publishers in

Sisters, Ore., the book's publisher. " We've gotten so used to fast

food, we need things in smaller bites. "

 

Mr. Jacobson said he had expected the book to sell about 30,000

copies. The sales of more than four million copies have astounded

him.

 

" People are reading this book, praying this prayer, and they're

seeing God work in their lives, " he said. " When that happens, it

kind of shocks them, so much so that they go out and buy books for

other people. "

 

Britt Jones, a film and video producer in Colorado Springs, said

that when he first heard the prayer at a staff meeting last June,

" I just couldn't bring myself to pray it. It seemed selfish. "

 

Mr. Jones said the book helped him realize it was all right to ask

God to enable him to buy a house, because owning a house instead of

renting would bless his wife.

 

" The book changed my thinking, " Mr. Jones said. " I prayed, `God,

I'm going to ask you to bless me, and you do it how you want, but

at the same time, I'm going to tell you I really want to bless my

wife.' "

 

Two months later, four people at his company were laid off, and

Mr. Jones successfully asked for a raise, allowing him to afford a

mortgage.

 

" I think this prayer is the real deal, " he said.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/08/national/08JABE.html?ex=990353593 & ei=1 & en=72e9\

41492a9b835c

 

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