Day 3 - Does God Answer All Your Prayers?

https://www.bibleinoneyear.org/bioy/commentary/2433

3. God says ‘wait’

Job 15:1-18:21

Do you realise that, whatever difficulties you are facing, right now Jesus is praying for you?

Poor Job had to put up with increasingly irritating speeches from his friends in which they condemned him more and more, wrongly accusing him. Job described them as ‘miserable comforters’ (16:2), with their ‘long-winded speeches’ (v.3a). They were absolutely no help to him at all (v.4).

Some people wrongly believe that our suffering in this life is always caused by our own sin, or even by sin in a former life. So, if people are born in poverty or with some genetic disorder, it must be their fault. This blame must be a terrible additional unnecessary suffering (the idea of reincarnation is totally repudiated in the Bible, see Hebrews 9:27). This is how Job’s so-called ‘friends’ spoke about him.

When your friends are suffering avoid being a ‘miserable’ comforter (Job 16:2). Rather, as Job suggests, ‘encourage’, ‘comfort’ and ‘strengthen’ them and ‘soothe their suffering’ (v.5, NIV and AMP).

One thing you can always do is to intercede (pray on their behalf) for them. Job said:

‘My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
on behalf of a human being he pleads with God
as one pleads for a friend’ (vv.20–21).

We are not told who the intercessor was, but whoever it was, he was a real friend to Job because he was pleading to God for him.

The prayers of the intercessor may not seem to have been answered immediately, but they were eventually when God restored Job’s fortunes. His answer to Job’s intercessor and to Job was ‘Wait’. Later it was Job’s intercession for others that was the immediate cause of his restoration (42:8–10).

Who is Job’s intercessor? Job says, ‘Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high’ (16:19). In the New Testament we see that the one ‘who represents mortals before God’ (16:21, MSG) is Jesus. He is your ‘advocate with the Father’ (1 John 2:1, RSV). He is interceding for you (Hebrews 7:24–25).

Jesus was Job’s advocate. He was interceding for him. Jesus was pleading with God ‘as one pleads for a friend’ (Job 16:21). There is a similarity between Job’s experience and that of Peter. Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail’ (Luke 22:31–32).

As John Wimber used to say, ‘The good news is that Jesus is praying for you. The bad news is that you are going to need it!’

Lord, thank you so much that you promise to be my advocate. Thank you that in the times when, like Job or Peter, it seems that Satan is sifting me like wheat, you are praying for me. Thank you that I know that, even if it seems like I am having to wait, the answer to my advocate-in-heaven’s prayer will always ultimately be ‘Yes’.

Pippa Adds

Matthew 20:20–28

The mother of Zebedee’s sons seems to be rather pushy. We can all be over-ambitious for our children. There’s a right sort of ambition for our children and a wrong sort. Jesus says, ‘You don’t know what you are asking’ (Matthew 20:22). It’s so important to pray for our children along the lines of the will of God, not our own agenda.

Verse of the Day

‘My intercessor is my friend…’ (Job 16:20)