“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”
So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job. And the LORD restored Job’s losses[a] when he prayed for his friends.
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Look at that last verse. When did the Lord restore Job's losses...when he prayed for his friends. Now you and I both know how Job's "friends" added to his misery in their attempts to comfort him. Their words were empty...without love...without heart.
Job's friends were self-righteous and condescending. They talked "at" Job not with him. Their hearts toward him seemed pretty cold and detached from his suffering. In fact, the guy they were calling a sinner was the guy the Lord asked to intercede for them! Oh, the irony. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Be careful how you speak to others...be careful how you speak about others. Eventually God will deal with you!
Let's get back to that last verse..Job's losses were restored when he prayed for his friends. This is when Job was set free! I love how this last verse reads in the King James.
And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
and in the NIV:
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.
Job was released from captivity when he prayed for his "friends" who were critical and condescending toward him in a time of great suffering and grief. We are to pray for our enemies and we are commanded to love them. This is such a hard thing to do and it cannot be done without the love that the Holy Spirit has shed abroad in our hearts. We are to pray God's riches blessings upon those who hate us, who slander us, who backbite and do all kinds of evil against us. Now it is easy for me to pray for my enemies as David prayed...Lord break their teeth...but methinks God has something else in mind than that kind of prayer.
Really thought on this one last night. I thought about how the bible teaches that we are to do unto others as we want them to do to us. Therefore, I should pray for others as I would want them to pray for me! I reminded myself that God commands things that only bring about good for us and glory for Him. If I believe this, then it is only my pride that keeps me from praying rightly for those that do not do me good.
By the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in me then, I will obey my Father in Heaven and pray for those who persecute me and speak evil against me. I will pray that God's richest blessings be upon them and their household. God's richest blessing is salvation. If this blessing occurs in the life of one of my enemies, they will no longer be my enemy. I will have gained a brother or sister through the putting aside of my bitterness and pride and yielding to the Lord. James tells us that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man yields much. Obey God. Do those things He asks of us even though they seem hard...even though the very thought of it might make you feel ill. As you obey His grace will be there and He will align your will with His. Satan is silenced by submission to God's authority.
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