“And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10, ESV)
Have you ever read a scripture and said to yourself, “I have never seen that before!”? It may even have been a familiar passage, but you looked at it differently. Suddenly, the familiar words, seen through fresh eyes, saw something different, something special! That’s what happened to me when I read the scripture for today.
While perusing my meditational books, Job 42:10 came across the page. I read it, then read it again. Did I see it right? Looking more closely, I saw that when Job remained patient and faithful through his suffering, “the Lord restored the fortunes of Job” (Job 42:10a). BUT, I missed the second half of this first sentence in the verse. The Lord blessed Job “when he had prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10b). Job’s friends had done so many things wrong. One of Job’s friends suggested that Job deserved his suffering. Another even hinted that Job let go of his faith. The words of another seemed to hint that Job should just “give up”. In response to the friends’ poor judgments, God’s wrath was kindled (Job 42:7). God was upset that Job’s faithful friends had gotten God’s plans all wrong. But, instead of being indignant at the friends, Job simply made an offering to the Lord God on their behalf. Job prayed for their forgiveness. The Lord’s heart was softened. And not only did the Lord forgive the friends, “the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10c). The Lord blessed Job greatly.
What really fired up God’s blessings was Job’s faithfulness not only to God but on behalf of his friends. Job was willing to pray and sacrifice FOR THEM! In essence, Job didn’t get his huge blessing UNTIL he had shown grace and forgiveness and love toward his friends. Only when Job prayed to God for his friends did the blessings flow.
I believe there is a huge piece of wisdom in this verse. Sometimes, people do not receive blessings from God because they are too caught up in their own issues to pray for others. They are so caught up in their own drama that they don’t even have the time to offer grace and forgiveness and prayers and intercession for others! It’s a selfish form of religiosity.
And God notices such prideful selfishness.
In 1998, I had a very difficult few months of ministry. During Lent that year, I led three worship services a week, was working on my Doctorate, and suffered through a terrible cold virus. On top of that, six members of our church died, one a week for six straight weeks. I had six funerals to plan, not to mention all the hospital and hospice visits that were needed. I was working seventy hours a week to keep up. My wife was overwhelmed as well with emergency calls and all the interruptions to our family life. One Tuesday night at two o’clock in the morning, I got the call that another member had died. The boys and my wife were shaken by the late-night call. As I dressed and got into my cold and dark car to drive to the hospital, I let the car warm up for a few minutes. As it warmed up, I said a prayer asking God to help me to deal with everything. Being so tired, words were not forming very well in my mind. I met the family at the hospital, prayed with them, helped them to work through the death of their beloved mother, and then left back toward home at 5AM.
When I got home, I crawled into bed. I would have to be up in three hours for office work. I had three appointments that morning. I could barely keep my eyes open. As I fell into bed, I thought I would fall right asleep. I was exhausted! Instead, my mind started racing. I began to worry about what I would do for the funeral; would I be able to function that morning at my office, what about the counseling session I would lead later that day? I felt piled on. I felt overworked. All the work and worry overwhelmed me. I thought about taking some chamomile to help calm my nerves. I thought about drinking a bit of wine, but at 5AM? Then, I realized my error. I needed to pray.
I began to pour out my heart, telling God how tired I was, asking for more strength. Then, I let my own pain go.. and just prayed for the families working through grief. I prayed for a friend who was going through divorce. I prayed for my wife and sons. I prayed for a woman dealing with a sexual assault who had come to me for help. I prayed for several others. Then, as I finished my prayer, I realized that my nerves were calm. After getting my own hurts out in the open with God and then praying for others, I saw all the many things God was doing through me. It became apparent that my life was a great blessing to others. It began to sink in how much God loved me and that Jesus died for me. I fell into a deep sleep praying that morning and woke up later with a renewed spirit. Letting go of my own pain and praying for others had clarified my blessings. I also felt God’s Spirit bringing healing to my body and soul in response to my prayers.
Sometimes, the blessing doesn’t come just from praying. It comes from letting go of your own pain and then praying for others!
It is so easy to get mired in your own head, in your own issues, in your own causes, and in your own responsibilities. Then, your prayers are all about you… your pain, your wishes, your desires, your needs, your future. Even the most faithful can fall into this trap where their prayers become all about their own “stuff”. Should praying for others be an afterthought?
God’s character is one of sharing and caring. God could have been self-absorbed. Instead, God created humankind in His image. God brought forth light and life and creation. God is all about love for others. Jesus was sent to “seek and save the lost”. Shouldn’t faithful people be less self-absorbed and more loving toward others? Based on today’s scripture, it may be that many people don’t receive double the blessings from God because they are too self-absorbed and not loving enough!
I read an article recently by a person who was fed up with worldly ideals. The person regretted all the focus people were making on their own happiness. A boy is unhappy being a boy and wants to get a sex-change operation to be a girl. A man is going through a midlife crisis and longs for an adulterous affair to spice up his life. A young woman is jealous of her best friend for being rich and entitled…. when, in all reality, she wants to be the rich entitled one!!! On and on, the author made remarks on how people today are so solely focused on their own happiness, their own wealth, developing their own little fiefdoms, their own pet peeves, their own causes. When people get too self-absorbed, society breaks down. When a church becomes too inward-looking, people stop being saved through their ministry. When you become selfish and prideful, God’s blessings slow to a halt.
Job was doubly blessed when he prayed for his friends. Maybe, you need to pray for others a little more. Maybe, just maybe, you need to stop focusing on your own wants and desires so to reach out in Jesus’ name. Do you want God’s blessings to flow? Pray to God on behalf of those who need HIM the most!
While perusing my meditational books, Job 42:10 came across the page. I read it, then read it again. Did I see it right? Looking more closely, I saw that when Job remained patient and faithful through his suffering, “the Lord restored the fortunes of Job” (Job 42:10a). BUT, I missed the second half of this first sentence in the verse. The Lord blessed Job “when he had prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10b). Job’s friends had done so many things wrong. One of Job’s friends suggested that Job deserved his suffering. Another even hinted that Job let go of his faith. The words of another seemed to hint that Job should just “give up”. In response to the friends’ poor judgments, God’s wrath was kindled (Job 42:7). God was upset that Job’s faithful friends had gotten God’s plans all wrong. But, instead of being indignant at the friends, Job simply made an offering to the Lord God on their behalf. Job prayed for their forgiveness. The Lord’s heart was softened. And not only did the Lord forgive the friends, “the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10c). The Lord blessed Job greatly.
What really fired up God’s blessings was Job’s faithfulness not only to God but on behalf of his friends. Job was willing to pray and sacrifice FOR THEM! In essence, Job didn’t get his huge blessing UNTIL he had shown grace and forgiveness and love toward his friends. Only when Job prayed to God for his friends did the blessings flow.
I believe there is a huge piece of wisdom in this verse. Sometimes, people do not receive blessings from God because they are too caught up in their own issues to pray for others. They are so caught up in their own drama that they don’t even have the time to offer grace and forgiveness and prayers and intercession for others! It’s a selfish form of religiosity.
And God notices such prideful selfishness.
In 1998, I had a very difficult few months of ministry. During Lent that year, I led three worship services a week, was working on my Doctorate, and suffered through a terrible cold virus. On top of that, six members of our church died, one a week for six straight weeks. I had six funerals to plan, not to mention all the hospital and hospice visits that were needed. I was working seventy hours a week to keep up. My wife was overwhelmed as well with emergency calls and all the interruptions to our family life. One Tuesday night at two o’clock in the morning, I got the call that another member had died. The boys and my wife were shaken by the late-night call. As I dressed and got into my cold and dark car to drive to the hospital, I let the car warm up for a few minutes. As it warmed up, I said a prayer asking God to help me to deal with everything. Being so tired, words were not forming very well in my mind. I met the family at the hospital, prayed with them, helped them to work through the death of their beloved mother, and then left back toward home at 5AM.
When I got home, I crawled into bed. I would have to be up in three hours for office work. I had three appointments that morning. I could barely keep my eyes open. As I fell into bed, I thought I would fall right asleep. I was exhausted! Instead, my mind started racing. I began to worry about what I would do for the funeral; would I be able to function that morning at my office, what about the counseling session I would lead later that day? I felt piled on. I felt overworked. All the work and worry overwhelmed me. I thought about taking some chamomile to help calm my nerves. I thought about drinking a bit of wine, but at 5AM? Then, I realized my error. I needed to pray.
I began to pour out my heart, telling God how tired I was, asking for more strength. Then, I let my own pain go.. and just prayed for the families working through grief. I prayed for a friend who was going through divorce. I prayed for my wife and sons. I prayed for a woman dealing with a sexual assault who had come to me for help. I prayed for several others. Then, as I finished my prayer, I realized that my nerves were calm. After getting my own hurts out in the open with God and then praying for others, I saw all the many things God was doing through me. It became apparent that my life was a great blessing to others. It began to sink in how much God loved me and that Jesus died for me. I fell into a deep sleep praying that morning and woke up later with a renewed spirit. Letting go of my own pain and praying for others had clarified my blessings. I also felt God’s Spirit bringing healing to my body and soul in response to my prayers.
Sometimes, the blessing doesn’t come just from praying. It comes from letting go of your own pain and then praying for others!
It is so easy to get mired in your own head, in your own issues, in your own causes, and in your own responsibilities. Then, your prayers are all about you… your pain, your wishes, your desires, your needs, your future. Even the most faithful can fall into this trap where their prayers become all about their own “stuff”. Should praying for others be an afterthought?
God’s character is one of sharing and caring. God could have been self-absorbed. Instead, God created humankind in His image. God brought forth light and life and creation. God is all about love for others. Jesus was sent to “seek and save the lost”. Shouldn’t faithful people be less self-absorbed and more loving toward others? Based on today’s scripture, it may be that many people don’t receive double the blessings from God because they are too self-absorbed and not loving enough!
I read an article recently by a person who was fed up with worldly ideals. The person regretted all the focus people were making on their own happiness. A boy is unhappy being a boy and wants to get a sex-change operation to be a girl. A man is going through a midlife crisis and longs for an adulterous affair to spice up his life. A young woman is jealous of her best friend for being rich and entitled…. when, in all reality, she wants to be the rich entitled one!!! On and on, the author made remarks on how people today are so solely focused on their own happiness, their own wealth, developing their own little fiefdoms, their own pet peeves, their own causes. When people get too self-absorbed, society breaks down. When a church becomes too inward-looking, people stop being saved through their ministry. When you become selfish and prideful, God’s blessings slow to a halt.
Job was doubly blessed when he prayed for his friends. Maybe, you need to pray for others a little more. Maybe, just maybe, you need to stop focusing on your own wants and desires so to reach out in Jesus’ name. Do you want God’s blessings to flow? Pray to God on behalf of those who need HIM the most!