Derek Webb and the prayer of Jabez

Derek Webb is quickly becoming one of my favorite singers. It is amazing how he is able to write some deeply spiritual songs without a praise chorus in them. Not that there's anything wrong with a praise chorus, but those songs are all very similar in nature and serve a specific purpose. However, they never really drive me take a look at myself and my relationship with God. That's what Derek's songs do for me, they make me think, make me question.

I recently listened to Derek's podcast that was posted on iTunes. He ended up spending a lot of time talking about a book that has sold millions of copies among Christians and I would assume some non-Christians as well. I myself read the book a few years ago, it is called "The Prayer of Jabez" by Bruce Wilkinson. I thought the book was ok and the one sentence prayer itself (which is in the Old Testament in 1 Chronicles) is a good one but I wasn't necessarily overwhelmed by the book as others may have been.

Anyhow, Derek's point about the book is that he feels Wilkinson has set the expectation with people who pray this prayer daily that God will "reward" them even more than he already has. Whether its increased wealth, advancement at work and other general good feeling blessings. Here's a good example from the book that Webb is likely referring to:
If Jabez had worked on Wall Street, he might have prayed, "Lord, increase the value of my investment portfolios."

Wilkinson's point is that we shouldn't be ashamed to ask God for the things we WANT as well as the things that we NEED. Pray the Jabez prayer each day and ultimately you'll get what you want according to Wilkinson. I can see why Webb might take issue with this. I may have to read the book again (it's a very quick read) now that Webb has called out some of these points. Like I said, the guy does make you think and question, regardless of whether you agree with him.

Here's the link to Webb's podcast. If this doesn't work, go to iTunes and get it. It's free.