The Prayer of Jabez
| Author | Bruce Wilkinson | 
|---|---|
| Series | BreathThrough | 
| Genre | Religion | 
| Publisher | Multnomah Books | 
Publication date  | 2000 | 
The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life is a book by Bruce Wilkinson published in 2000 by Multnomah Books as the first book in the "BreakThrough" book series. It is based on the Old Testament passage 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, saying: "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from the evil one." And God granted his request.
— NIV
In the book, Wilkinson encourages Christians to invoke this prayer for themselves on a daily basis:
I challenge you to make the Jabez prayer for blessing part of the daily fabric of your life. To do that, I encourage you to follow unwaveringly the plan outlined here for the next thirty days. By the end of that time, you'll be noticing significant changes in your life, and the prayer will be on its way to becoming a treasured, lifelong habit.
The book became an international bestseller, topping the New York Times bestseller list and selling over nine million copies by 2002.
The book has also been criticized and compared to the prosperity gospel.