Chapter One
Catch God's Dream!
Not long ago and not far away, a Nobody named
Ordinary lived in the Land of Familiar.
For the most part, not much happened in Familiar that
hadn't happened before. Ordinary thought he was content.
He found the routines reliable. He blended in with the crowd.
And mostly, he wanted only what he had.
Until the day Ordinary noticed a small, nagging
feeling that something big was missing from his life.
The Dream Giver
I need twenty-five volunteers," Pastor Denny Bellesi
announced to his unsuspecting congregation. He scanned the
packed auditorium for responses.
The members of Coast Hills Community Church sat in
puzzled silence.
What in the world was their pastor up to now? Worshipers
slouched in their seats, trying to look inconspicuous.
Eventually, twenty-five curious people stood before the
congregation-some willingly, some reluctantly. The pastor
then handed each a crisp $100 bill.
"I invite you to take part in this Kingdom Assignment,"
he told the astounded volunteers. "The rules are simple. One,
this is not your money; it is God's. Two, you are to use this
money to further God's kingdom beyond the four walls of the
church. And three, you must report back in ninety days and
share with everyone how you invested the money."
He further surprised his congregation by announcing
that the church didn't want a penny of this money back. He
repeated the exercise in the following three worship services,
eventually distributing $10,000 to one hundred members of
his church. Men, women, and even children were recipients
of this "investment cash."
Pastor Bellesi had recently finished preaching a series
about how to use money for God's purposes. He felt that his
church was ready-financially and spiritually-to take on the
exciting challenge of investing in God's kingdom.
Denny knew the risk he was taking.
He was well aware of the unusual
responsibility that he had placed on his
congregation. But the people rose to the
challenge, and the Kingdom Assignment
impacted more lives than anyone
anticipated. What began as a simple
lesson in stewardship for one church is
still touching lives around the world.
One man raised $10,000 by sending
e-mails to friends and old classmates, challenging them to
match the original $100 amount. He donated the funds to a
couple whose two young daughters had just died from a rare
blood disorder.
A woman told several friends about the Kingdom
Assignment during a birthday celebration. She and her
enthused companions raised $1,800 and donated the cash to
a struggling single mother of three, who worked during the
day and attended college at night.
A nine-year-old girl sent her money to a four-year-old
girl in Oregon to help pay for the ailing child's heart surgery.
A local chiropractor elected to take his portable massage
table and a hundred Burger King hamburgers down to skid
row once a month and adjust the aching backs of those who
live and sleep on the streets.
Another man was inspired to invest $50,000 in a Bible
seminary in China after hearing about the Kingdom
Assignment.
One young man who had grown up in an abusive home
invested his money in a mentoring program for abused kids.
He also participates in the program, which has helped him
discover a part of God's purpose for his life.
Just a few weeks after giving his congregation their
Kingdom Assignment, Pastor Bellesi read The Prayer of Jabez
and it impacted him deeply. He then gave copies to all his
staff. Denny Bellesi and his wife, Leesa, began to pray
together, asking the Lord to "expand their territory." They
had no idea that their territory was about to explode.
First, a regional newspaper caught wind of the good deeds
coming out of the church and ran a feature story on their front
page. Soon after, the Associated Press picked up the story, and
papers around the world printed the heartwarming tale.Woman's Day and People magazines wrote articles about the
wonderful happenings as a result of the Kingdom Assignment.
Denny and Leesa began receiving calls from all over the world
with requests for magazine and radio interviews.
And their territory just kept expanding.
One day, the Bellesis got a phone call from an associate
producer with NBC's Dateline. She asked if they could follow
the story for a year. Denny and Leesa agreed, so a film crew
showed up at the church to interview Denny and several of
the Kingdom Assignment participants. The church members
made the most of the opportunity to expand God's territory
by sharing what God had done for them.
In the midst of this flurry of activity, Leesa wrote a
proposal for a book chronicling the results of the Kingdom
Assignment. Leesa and Denny soon landed a book contract
with a major Christian publisher.
The Bellesis were so overwhelmed by the enormity of
God's blessings that they were being forced to depend on
God. And that was good! The Kingdom Assignment had
become so big that only God could take the credit.
Like the proverbial pebble making ripples in the pond,
the impact of the Kingdom Assignment continues to spread.
These ripples have touched the lives of people in many
countries, including Sudan, China, Vietnam, and Mexico.
And it shows no sign of losing momentum.
Never Too Late
Since the publication of The Prayer of Jabez in 2000, I have
received numerous letters with stories of how God has used
people who prayed with the faith of Jabez. Like the Kingdom
Assignment, some of these are big, splashy stories of
spectacular miracles from the hand of God. But many of
God's miracles happen in quieter, but no less eternally
significant, fashion.
Let me tell you about a special seventy-year-old lady
named Mamie. Her faith in God had always been strong. But
when declining health required that her family place her in an
assisted-living home, Mamie began to manifest negative traits
they had never seen before-resentment, suspicion,
emotional withdrawal. Her children wondered what had
happened to the woman who had raised them.
About this time, Mamie's daughter JoAn read The Prayer
of Jabez. She was encouraged by its teaching and became
convinced that her mother needed the perspective it
provided. The irony was that, all her life, JoAn could
remember her mother frequently exhorting the family, "Trust
the Lord to enlarge your territory." But JoAn had never
known the source of the quote. Until now.
The next time she visited her mother, JoAn was shocked
to see the bitterness and despair etched into Mamie's face.
The ailing woman felt she had lost everything of
importance-her home, her possessions, her independence-and
was certain she had nothing left to live for.
Mamie's expression began to change, however, as JoAn
reminded her mother of the perspective Mamie had spent
her life teaching her children: God is faithful and He loves to
give; He will be with us as we step out boldly in faithful
obedience.
JoAn read 1 Chronicles 4:10 to her mother: "And Jabez
called on the God of Israel saying, '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!' So God granted him what he requested."
"Yes," said Mamie softly, as though talking to herself.
"That's what He does."
"Mom, God has set you right in the midst of people who
need you," JoAn said. "Here you are with thirteen other
women, all under the same roof. You've spent your whole life
influencing others for good. I'm not going to just stand by and
watch the devil rob you of your joy and ministry during the
last years of your life!"
At that, Mamie smiled for what may have been the first
time in months.
JoAn challenged her mother to share with her fellow
residents what she had learned about
God's love throughout her seven decades
of life. They prayed together for God's
direction and strength, and by the time
JoAn left, Mamie was a new woman
with new purpose.
A few days later, Mamie called JoAn
and asked her to bring cookies and tea
for a meeting she had organized. She had
invited a Christian friend named Esther
to come speak to her fellow residents in the nursing home's
living area.
On the day of the event, anticipation shone on each
woman's face as a parade of thirteen walkers and wheelchairs
made its way down the corridor. Not one of them could
remember the last time they had been invited for tea!
The atmosphere in the home was transformed. Esther's
sharing and then a series of subsequent events-including a
mini-concert by Mamie's grandchildren-brought hope and
new faith into the lives of several of the elderly ladies.
Some time later, when Mamie became gravely ill with
congestive heart failure, she was certain she was on her way
to heaven. But when her condition improved, she told
JoAn, "I guess God isn't finished with me yet. There must
be something more He wants me to do."
Whether you have six days or sixty years remaining, God
still has you here on earth for a purpose. I pray that this book
will help you catch the vision for what God wants to do in
your life, that you will experience incredible fulfillment and
produce results of eternal value.
Jabez the Man
You'll notice in both of these stories that people were already
learning to trust God to see His hand of power in their lives
even before The Prayer of Jabez came to their attention. In fact,
Jabez's prayer has been in our Bibles, influencing people's lives
for thousands of years, and it will still be there long after the
little book I've written has crumbled to dust and been
forgotten. People have been praying Jabez's prayer and living
by these principles for centuries, but God has seen fit in the
last few years to let Jabez's example change millions of lives
around the world-perhaps including yours.
So let's take a moment to look again at the man whose
heart of faith has made such an impact in our day. In the book
of 1 Chronicles, we find only two verses about Jabez, nestled
in the middle of a long list of names-within the genealogy of
no less a personage than King David himself. The second of
these verses contains Jabez's prayer. But if we step back one
verse, we learn more about the man and his circumstances:
"Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his
mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bore him in
pain'" (1 Chronicles 4:9).
First, note the meaning of his name. The word jabez
literally means "pain." Maybe his mother had difficulty giving
birth. Or maybe other painful circumstances overwhelmed
her at that time. In any case, imagine growing up and hearing
over and over, "Hey, Pain! What's up?" Or introducing
yourself, "Hi, everyone. I'm Pain." No doubt the boy had
some significant obstacles to overcome before he developed
into a man of strong faith! Jabez's legacy has encouraged
millions whose lives started in pain, teaching them that they
can overcome their circumstances and become a person
whom God calls "honorable."
Indeed, Jabez was known to be
"more honorable than his brothers." The
word honorable as used here means
"respected." Jabez lived in such a way-with
maturity, wisdom, and a sense of
honor-that he stood out from the
crowd. He was admired for all the right
reasons. And so he serves as a worthy example for us to follow
even today.
We also learn from this passage that Jabez "called on the
God of Israel." The word call here means "to cry out for help."
The prayer of Jabez was not an off-the-cuff inquiry ("Oh,
Lord, by the way ."); his was a heartfelt, passionate plea.
Given what we're told about Jabez in the Bible, I think we can
infer that this prayer represented an overriding theme in his
life-a constant, deep desire.
A Passion So Great .
Have you ever wanted anything that badly? For a moment, try
to imagine a desire so intense that it drives everything else
from your consciousness. Then imagine asking God, day after
day with fervent intensity, to fulfill in your life four very
specific yet seemingly audacious requests.
Imagine that you long for God's blessing-spiritual or
material, or both-abundantly poured out, according to His
eternal riches and generous wisdom.
And then, as He pours out His blessing on your life,
imagine aspiring to take new territory-not primarily for
yourself, but for Him and His purposes.
And as your borders expand and the responsibility God
entrusts to you grows to the point that it becomes
overwhelming, picture yourself crying out desperately for Hishand of power to enable you to steward the responsibility well.
Now consider that under these conditions you might
become so sensitive to sin's destructive effect that you plead
with God, Keep me from evil! so that you might pursue His best
for your life without hindrance.
If you can begin to grasp this passion, this mind-set, this
wondrous habit of faith-filled prayer, then you've already
started to expand your borders into the next stage of God's
adventure for you.
(Continues.)
