Claiming the Promises of God
Are all the promises in the Bible for Christians today?
No. This is one of the biggest abuses of the Bible I can imagine. The believer, desiring to hear from God, will use the Bible as a gift bag and begin to apply promises to their lives without respect to the context of the promise.
We must make sure the promise was made to New Testament believers. The promises in the Old Testament have timeless truths. Those promises show us the incredible faithfulness of our God who never changes His character. Some of the promises in the Bible are for all people for all time. It is our responsibility to discern the context and claim only that which applies to us.
In the study of promises we should ask several questions. 1) To whom was this promise made?; 2) Why was this promise made? 3) Was this promise conditional? 4) Was this promise made to all believers for all time? 5) Was this a national promise for Israel? 6) Was the promise exclusively for the disciples of the first generation of the church? Many more questions may be asked about these promises, but the above tools will help you learn how to analyze promises.
Is the prayer of Jabez a promise for believers today?
No. The prayer of Jabez was just that, a prayer. He was not given a promise. We should never obligate God to an action where He has not obligated Himself. Just because God has acted on behalf of someone in the past, this does not obligate Him to all others who would pray the same prayer. It is poor interpretive principle to take a historical narrative like 2 Chr. 4:9,10 and turn it into a promise.
The total context of this prayer is two verses. 2 Chr. 4:9 And Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, "Because I bore [him] with pain." 10 Now, Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep [me] from harm, that [it] may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested.
From this we learn that God deeply cares about the hurts of His faithful ones. Go to God in prayer with confidence that He loves and cares for you and will work His will in your life.
Are the promises made to Israel fulfilled in the Church?
No. The promises made to Israel were specific and were fulfilled in the nation of Israel. There are some promises not yet fulfilled that God will bring to pass. Those who take Scripture literally will conclude that Israel will one day be in the Promised Land with David as king and Christ ruling over them. The nation will be blessed, multiply and posses all of the land promised.