Praying for Others Leads to Recovery
By Rick Warren
“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10 (NIV)
One of the most powerful stories of prayer and recovery is found in the book of Job. Nobody had to recover more than Job. He was a man who loved and served God but lost almost everything—his wealth, health, and children—in the span of one day.
Soon after Job had lost it all, he was on the ground in agony, grieving his losses and suffering physically from illness. Then three of Job’s friends showed up. The Bible says, “They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13 NIV).
That’s a good example to remember. When your friends are in pain, just show up. The deeper the pain, the fewer words you use. It’s called the ministry of presence. You don’t have to say anything; you just need to be there.
But, eventually, Job’s friends did more than sit with him—they started to give advice. A lot of it wasn’t very helpful, and it made God upset. So God told Eliphaz, one of Job’s three friends, to go make some sacrifices. Then God said, “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve” (Job 42:8 NLT).
Notice God said, “Job will pray for you.” Wait—who’s in the crisis here? Who’s lost everything? Yet God knew recovery wouldn’t come to Job until he prayed for the recovery of others.
Job 42:10 says, “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before” (NIV). God completely recovered everything Job had lost—and beyond!
You may have suffered some big losses in life. Maybe you’re in a season of loss right now. Don’t just pray for yourself; pray for the recovery of hurting people in your neighborhood, community, church, and world—and watch how God brings recovery to every area of your life.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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