Suffering and Intecessory Prayer

"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 (Job 42:10 KJV)."

Job suffered horribly. God trusted Job to remain true. Satan was convinced Job would curse God and die. The end of Job's story excites us. He endured and God gave him double what he lost.

Are we missing something in the excitement of Job's blessings? We love knowing God reversed the fortunes of Job. We lay claim to this as a promise God will do the same for us.

There's a nugget of truth in this verse we may be overlooking. Focus on the phrase "when he prayed for his friends." There's tremendous power in this statement.

God had instructed Job's friends to bring a sacrifice and Job was to pray for them. God required this because Job was accepted by God (Job 42:8). The word pray, as used in these verses, means to intercede. They brought their offering to Job. It was Job who was to intercede for their errant ways.

The word captivity in verse 10 means prisoner. Job was a prisoner to his suffering. God set Job free from the prison holding him captive when he interceded for his friends.

We pour our hearts out to God when we suffer, looking for God to intervene. Job's restoration came when he prayed for his friends. Is it possible that God would release us from the bondage of suffering if we were to start making intercessory prayers for our friends? Just my thoughts for today. God bless...