Oh, that You would bless me indeed!

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. 1 Chronicles 4:10

The prayer that Jabez said in 1 Chronicles 4:10 has been a constant prayer I have prayed myself for over two years on my life. I am going to share some thoughts on the first part of that prayer.

                                                      Oh, That You would bless me indeed!


What a way to start a prayer! Some people might look at this beginning of this prayer as being "selfish". We spend a lot of our time praying for people's salvation, healing, blessings for other, and that God would bless our nation and other nations all around us. This isn't a bad thing at all! God wants us to pray for others and direct our focus on others and their needs. Do you think that God wants us to ask for blessings to come upon ourselves as well? I believe yes. A lot of people might look at this as being greedy or immature but I believe God wants to show us a prayer like this one in 1 Chronicles that is supremely spiritual and exactly the kind of request our Father God longs to hear us ask.

Jabez had quite the name. His name means "pain". His mother named him Jabez because of the very painful birth she went through in having him. Like I mentioned in my last blog that our names and meanings can be a part of our ministry and destiny God has laid out for us if we choose to live them out. Jabez obviously hated his name and knew nothing good could possibly come from his name and that his future was doomed because of his name. Jabez did grow up hearing about God and how He freed his forefathers from slavery, and rescued them. Jabez grew up believing that the same God of miracles and of new beginnings could do the very same in his own life and deliver him from the "pain" of his name. So what did Jabez do? He prayed the biggest, most improbable request imaginable: "Oh, that You would bless me indeed!" The vulnerability he had in saying that first phrase is amazing and encouraging! In Hebrew, adding "indeed" to this prayer is like adding ten exclamation points!!!!!!!!!! < see? I say that's a pretty big plea.

What does the word "bless or "blessing" truly mean? In the biblical sense, it means to ask for much favor that comes from the supernatural.

I think the word "blessing" doesn't get used to the very level it should and that we are called to use it when we ask for blessing upon others, situations, or even on ourselves. I am guilty of this myself. In the book by Bruce Wilkinson "The Prayer of Jabez" he states, "When we ask for God's blessing, we're not asking for more of what we could get ourselves. We're crying out for the wonderful, unlimited goodness that only God has the power to know about or give to us." Let our cries to the Lord be of this very statement. God knows the very best of what we need, deserve, and should want but it takes us asking and bringing down those "blessings" from heaven and bring them into our lives.

Proverbs 10:22 says, "The Lord's blessings is our greatest wealth; all our work adds nothing to it"
We should want that greatest wealth through His blessings! His blessings bring the most joy in life!

What I love about asking that God bless me indeed is that you are not asking for something in particular but you are leaving it up to God to send down that blessing that we need the most and that He has for us at that very moment or season in our lives. We should want what God wants for us. So ask! Ask our Abba Father for those things he wants for us. As I just wrote this last sentence the song "Deep Cries Out by Bethel Live" just started playing on my Itunes. This is what God wants. He wants us to jump into the River and trust Him in what He wants! If He goes to the right, we go to the right! If He goes to the left, we will go to the left! This is what the prayer is saying! We will do God's will and go where He wants us to go! Whoa! Thank You Holy Spirit for that just now!! Come on!!!

God wants to send an overflow of blessings in all His sons and daughters lives! It is His very nature to be be so giving unto us that are so unworthy! Talk about true Love people!

Excerpt: Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson


God's bounty is limited only by us, not by His resources, power, or willingness to give. Jabez was blessed simply because he refused to let any obstacle, person, or opinion loom larger than God's nature. And God's nature is to bless. His Kindness is recording Jabez's story in the Bible 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. You can change what happens one minute from now. 


I know I have seen God's blessings pour down into my life since I first read and started to say this prayer over 2 years ago. From my last blog of all that increase in my life in that list I made came from saying such a prayer as this upon my life daily. Do I think that this prayer is "selfish" No, because of me praying such a prayer, I have been able to bless and encourage so many people people along my life's journey since I started living for Christ again over 2 years ago. God used all those blessings I asked for not for my own gratification, but to share with others that needed me in such a time. Let this prayer be your daily prayer as you go along God's journey for you. I pray that God does bless you indeed!

I will blog later on the second part of that prayer. Thanks for following and taking the time to read what the Lord wanted me to share with you all! Love you all!

Accelerator has been punched!

The name "Joseph" means God will increase. 

It really seems like in the last few years that the meaning of my name has held true to its meaning. 

April of 2009- Major pruning happened in my life. I started waking up! Worked at Elk's Camp Grassick

January of 2010-I was asked to be on leadership for Chi Alpha Campus Ministry at DSU.

May-June 2010- Went on a mission trip to Ethiopia for a month to work and minister to kids in an orphanage.

September of 2010- Was asked to lead a men's small group bible study on the college campus for the year.

Janurary 2011- Asked by Pastor Josh Skjoldal to be on his youth leadership team. 

February-May 2011- I was asked to be the Youth For Christ Director for the Dickinson High School for the spring semester. 

May 2011-Starting Berean School of the Bible to become a certified minister. 

There has definitely been an increase happening in my life since I have taken the initiative and accepted Jesus back into my life in April of 2009. When I decided to commit my gifts, abilities, dreams, and whole life to God, he started a road for me, a road of increase. Before that moment in my life, I was going nowhere! I was running a race but a race on a treadmill. I wasn't getting anywhere. God wanted me to run a race, a race at a pace that would actually get me somewhere. A place of great Destiny! Looking back at this list I have just made and pondering it, I can't believe all that has happened in that time frame! Time has flown by. Looking at this list, God started out small. He knew my spirit was very sensitive back in the summer of 2009. He gave me a task, a new task to work at and that was working with kids with disabilities at Camp Grassick. God knows us better than we even know our own selves. God had a plan and he knew how to go about it to get me to where I am today. As my growth has happened through these past couple of years, my spirit and life has strengthened and I have noticed that when my spirit becomes stronger, God asks me to do bigger tasks.  Did I make some boo boos on the way? Oh yes I did! It was how I handled them this time in my life that made the real big difference. It was a way of a relationship with someone that knew how to work those situations out for my good. It was someone that knew how to love, give wisdom, knowledge, peace, restoration, and to give a great future. His name is Jesus Christ. He has never let me down no matter how many times I have let Him down on the highway of true life. By the grace of God, the awesome people that I have been in fellowship with and being mentored by some awesome men and women of God I am becoming the man God created me to be. I know I have a future in the name of Jesus! (Jeremiah 29:11)

I believe a persons given name from birth and its meaning can become part of the ministry God has in store for you and you only if you choose to walk for Him and to move in His calling for you. I know I didn't see much of an increase in my life before recommitting my life for Christ. I know I was falling deeper into a pit of darkness that I had no business being sucked into. (that is a whole other blog for another day...lol...) My prayer is that God continues to do increase in my life! I was reading 1 Chronicles 4:10 today and it says, Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. I know God wants to bring increase down into my life. I know in order for that to happen I must continue to meditate in His word, have a steady prayer and devotion life, draw closer to Him, and to say prayers just like this one that Jabez said because I know when I ask, I will receive.(Matthew 7:7-8) All I want to do is to increase in a life and calling that God wants from me. This is my mission. 

The question I have for you is; Are you allowing God to move through the meaning of your name?

God Bless, 

Joseph "God will Increase" Stefalo