The Prayer of Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson, Multnomah Publishers, Multnomah, Oregon, 93 pages. Reviewed by Nathan Brown, who writes from Queensland, Australia.

Want to write a best-seller? Then keep it short, simple and tell people what they want to hear. The Prayer of Jabez neatly follows this formula; more than four million copies have been sold in the year since its release in the United States. The book is attracting similar attention in Australia and New Zealand.

Unfortunately, the Bible contains no such magic prayer formulae. And, again unfortunately, The Prayer of Jabez takes the easy and simplistic option of suggesting it does.

Basing a theology of anything on two Bible verses-and obscure Bible verses at that-will always be tenuous. Yet this is what The Prayer of Jabez does, taking just two verses (1 Chronicles 4:9, 10) out of the nine-chapter recitation of the genealogy of the Israelites in First Chronicles.

If the book took this brief story and used it to establish a different perspective on prayer throughout the Bible, author Bruce Wilkinson's initial selectivity may be justified. However, he makes little reference to any other prayers or praying from the Bible.

In contrast with a number of Bible commentaries' admissions that "nothing is known of the circumstances by which God granted the earnest petition of Jabez" (Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary), Wilkinson reads much into these two short verses. To suggest, as he does, that Jabez did not suffer from grief and pain for the rest of his life after praying this prayer is feel good, pop Christianity. What about the anguished prayers in Psalms, Job or of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Yes, the Bible is filled with great and miraculous answers to prayer. If The Prayer of Jabez triggers a renewed interest in prayer and its important role in the life of a Christian, the book will bring many benefits-and some such stories are related in the book itself. Similarly, a revived interest in some of the lesser-known characters of the Bible is commendable.

Many of the sentiments and the urging to seek a closer relationship with God as expressed in The Prayer of Jabez are worthwhile. However, the book itself is based on a fragile biblical premise, which is dangerous when dealing with a topic that has been a source of disappointment and frustration to many Christians over the centuries.

The Prayer of Jabez is far too brief and simplistic in dealing with prayer-one of the most mysterious and significant aspects of Christian experience.

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Nathan Brown, a frequent contributor to the Adventist Review, is a freelance writer and is pursuing a Ph.D. Reprinted with permission from The Edge, an Australia-based journal that presents Seventh-day Adventist beliefs and lifestyle in a contemporary way to young adults.