When Job Prayed for His Friends

You've probably heard the story of Job. Most people have, even those who aren't in church circles. It's the story of a very wealthy Middle-Eastern businessman. We don't know exactly how much land or other holdings he had, but in livestock alone he would be worth well over $5m today.

He lost it all to terrorists and natural disasters in one "perfect storm" of a day, then he got sick, really sick. And to top it all off, his wife told him to just give up and die. What a woman, right?!

Then he had these three "friends" who came around to "comfort" him. Chapter after chapter of the historical book named after him are devoted to their words of "wisdom." The discourse goes back and forth, and finally God Himself speaks.

And all of a sudden, we see that Job is again healthy and wealthy, but even more than before. What a great ending to a tragic story! What happened? How did it all turn around?

We find the secret in Chapter 42: "The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold." ( Job 42:10 NASB).

So Job prayed for his friends, then God  took care of Job. Sounds like we're responsible for more than just ourselves, doesn't it? It sounds like we're supposed to be very intentional about one another's needs. It sounds very closely related to the Golden Rule.

We find this principle echoed in the letter of Paul to the Philippians: "If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand" (Php 2:1-4 MSG).

If I could encourage you towards one thing, it would be this:

Let's turn our attention to the needs of others. It not only lifts our spirits, but I'm convinced that our Heavenly Father is blessed when we do this.

Peace,


Davina