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. 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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