The Power of Praying for Others

Job 42:10 - "The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold."

We can be set right with God, and yet we can fail to enter into all He has for us due to a narrow focus. God wants to take care of us and our needs. There should be no doubt of this certainty. However, He also desires to rocket us into another dimension of blessing by caring for others. Job's restoration was only complete when he prayed for his friends. He needed to look beyond himself and concern himself with his friends in the same manner God cared for them.

In the first book of Chronicles, we see a perfect example of the somewhat cynical prayer, "God bless us four, and no more!" In I Chronicles 4:10 we read: "Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!' And God granted him what he requested." Out of His great love for us, God will often answer our somewhat selfish prayers. However, God desires to not only sustain us but also to obtain for us His double-blessing. We must simply look beyond ourselves, seeking the welfare of others in our time of prayer with Him.