1 Chronicles 4:9-10 CSB
Jabez was more honored than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez and said, “I gave birth to him in pain.” [10] Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only you would bless me, extend my border, let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm, so that I will not experience pain.” And God granted his request.

Enlarging or expanding our territory will only come about when we’ve learnt to conquer impatience and to wait on the Lord’s timing to get to that place the Lord created for us. The time for change is to ask the Lord to expand your territory.
The prayer of Jabez is one of the most profound prayer requests in the scriptures, and we were told the Lord granted his request. You can hear the clear sincerity and piety of his prayer in the fervency of the words. I believe that at this time in human history, there is a need and a call for such a simple, humble yet powerful prayer request. Every believer is called to prayer and I am convinced that we are all especially privileged to stand in the gap for what ails our homes, schools, children, families, churches, government and the nations. You have been called and chosen to step up and step out to proactively contribute to the changes needed in our dynamically dysfunctional world. Proverbs 24:11-12.
An enlarged coast is only meaningful if you are already walking in the path of righteousness and willing and ready to let go and forget who you are to become who the Lord called, planned and wants you to be. You can only take your rightful position in the Lord if you make the Lord your portion and not man.
There’s much work to be done, so many souls to win and lives to impact. There are more places to reach and a lot more changes to make. Ask the Lord to expand your sphere of operation and influence to reach more people and do more for the Lord’s kingdom.
Remember that for your territory to expand, your foundation must be Christ- centred. For your territory to expand, your character must be Christ-like. And your expectations must be Spirit-led and inspired.
You must understand, acknowledge and respect the standard, principles and boundaries of the scriptures for you to live by and fully engage the presence of the Holy Spirit in all you do.
Expanding your territory is not to surround yourself with wishy-washy sycophantic people interested only in advancing their own causes.
Do not try to enlarge your coast yourself by fawning over people you think are positioned and can help advance your cause. Currying human favour to do God’s work is only going to create an illusion of success and growth that is temporal, Proverbs 3:5-6.
You will need to constantly remind yourself that a back-seat driver does not do well with the direction of the intended destination of the driver, that is why you always need to ask and allow the Lord to be in the driver seat. He knows where He is taking you and how and when to get you there.
Jabez’s prayer request sounds almost like the prayer of Jacob in Genesis 28:20.
Just like Jabez, Jacob believed that the Lord would do what he had asked, and he responded by setting up a memorial stone for posterity and gratitude.
Requesting for an enlarged coast signifies that you have either conquered the former or are ready for growth or the next level but before you ask for an enlarged coast, make sure your motive is kingdom based. May the Lord grant you your request as He did Jabez.
Shalom