THE PRAYER OF FAITH

“And the prayer of faith”…James 5:15

It is of great interest to us, that the first request God made of Job was to pray for his three friends. In the account of Job’s trial we find no direct prayers to God made of Job, but only indirect references made about prayer and what he would say to God if given the opportunity. However, now, in the end of the story, Job is requested to intercede for his friends—lest God’s anger be manifested toward them for their errant council to Job. In dissecting this account we will find many jewels of knowledge about prayer and God’s purpose for prayer that will greatly benefit all of us.

Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.
10 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.

We can surmise that Job prayed before, during, and after his trial, as all men do, in their own way, and to their own gods. Prayer is as natural to man as breathing. We do not think about each breath we take, and we do not think about all the times in our lives when we are faced with a need or a crisis and we say such things as—‘Heaven help me,’ ‘Oh God,’ or ‘God help me.’ Our prayers may be as simple as a look to heaven, or we may fall on our knees calling out loud upon God; but all of us, even the most ungodly of men, will pray when our life is on the line. We are born as infants crying out for help; as little children we learn to ask for our needs; as we grow older we call upon God; and not until a man becomes a hardened reprobate do we stop praying.

Gen 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

Gen 19:13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

Exo 2:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

Gen 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

Judg 10:14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

2 Sam 22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

Psa 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Regrettably however, many of us, in time, do grow cold to God and to prayer. We can all remember times when we prayed—asking, even begging God for needs which to us may or may not have been granted. We came to believe that God doesn’t hear, or He doesn’t care about us, much less answer our cries; and we become bitter about life and about God. Also, many people become self-sustaining, and find no longer a need to pray. Young children look to their parents, adore them, and follow close to them because they cannot meet their own needs. However, as they grow older, especially as they become teenagers, they begin to think that they can survive on their own. They begin to rebel against their parents, to distain them, disrespect them, dishonor them, and disobey them—thinking they don’t need them anymore. So men are with God, in times of great trouble or need, we cry out. When things are going well—we are healthy, our family is well, we have money in the bank, and food on the table—we forget about God because we don’t think we need Him anymore.

Jer 2:32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

Jer 18:15 Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;

Hos 8:14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

In looking at Job, he undoubtedly prayed many times—as a child, as a young man who was struggling to find his way, even as an older adult who still had some sense of belief in God. In spite of this, we know that Job had only heard about God; and though he offered sacrifices to God and lived his life in the dread and fear of God—he had never, with the eye of faith, seen God or knew God in a personal intimate way. His prayers, because he was a man after the flesh, would have been carnally motivated, selfish, and worldly—with no regard for God’s purpose and will. Job, no doubt, many times in his life prayed because of a lack of necessities, or for God to heal a sick child, or for God to deliver him from some unpleasant situation. We can, however, surmise that later in his life, and prior to this trial, because Job had become a wealthy man, he may no longer have felt any real need for God. His prayers, like many of ours, were empty, repetitious, and insincere; and they were offered without any real praise or thanksgiving made to God for His blessings. His prayers also, like so many of ours, were faithless—non-expectant of any real answer from God. Like many of us, he may have felt that it was his religious duty to pray; or he prayed to look pious to others; or he prayed in order to appease God. Like many of us, Job may have feared not to pray—thinking some horrible event would come upon him or his family if he neglected prayer.

Jam 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Psa 28:5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

Matt 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Matt 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Matt 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Psa 100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

We know from Job’s own words that he lacked any real faith in prayer:

Job 9:16 If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

Job 19:7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

Job 30:20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

He also came to God with an attitude of his own self-righteousness, and in a fleshly kind of boldness:

Job 13:18 Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.
19 Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
20 Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.
21 Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.
23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.

Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

We know that during this trial, in the bitterness of his soul, he was irreverent in what he said, dishonoring in how he said it, and even accused God of being unjust. With these attitudes and feelings in his heart, Job could hardly have prayed effectively.

Job 16:11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
13 His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.
15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
16 My face is foul with weeping, and my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.

Job 27:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

Mic 6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

The attitude of Job’s heart was revealed in his debate with his friends. Fueled by his own self-righteousness, his responses were flavored by his indignation and self-justification. Out of respect for their concern, he should have at least tempered his response and considered what they said. Because of Job’s own self-righteous attitude, he was unkind to his friends, and judgmental toward others he considered to be hypocrites and sinners. He had passed judgment upon them with the belief that he himself stood innocent. He could hardly have interceded for his friends in this condition, or prayed for other men to come to know God. 

Job 6:14 To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
25 How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
26 Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?
27 Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
28 Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.
29 Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.
30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?

Job 27: 5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

Matt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Whatever the sincerity, attitude, or purpose in his prayers before his encounter with the Almighty, we know Job spoke to God reverently, honestly, sincerely, and in a great sense of need when he finally saw Him. When God brought Job to see His majesty and holiness, and in the light of that revelation, Job saw his own foolishness, sinfulness, and vileness, he then uttered his first real prayer in response to God’s probing examination of him.

Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Job 42:1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Job had been brought into a real relationship with God based upon him seeing himself as a sinner before God, and God being wholly righteous and just. The pride in his integrity, his self-esteem, his works of righteousness, had all been burned up in the presence of the One who “is a consuming fire.” He now stands “naked and open” before the One “with whom we have to do”; and all of his hope is now only in the mercy and grace of God. Job now has a firm foundation for his relationship with God. He has, for the first time, seen Him, and is beginning to understand something of the mercy and goodness of this awesome God. It was in having this personal intimate relationship with God that Job began to perceive the heart and purpose of God toward His creatures. With “a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart,” he is now prepared, and able, to intercede for others in need like himself. God had prepared Job so that he may now pray effectually, and that God may now hear and answer the prayers of Job.

Matt 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

1 Pet 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (A man who is made righteous in Christ through the grace and mercy of God.)

Several important things are seen concerning the prayer of Job that are the basis for all answered prayer. When coming to God in prayer, Job’s friends, and each of us, must bring the required sacrifice. The animal sacrifices they offered were as God demanded, and pictured the perfect sacrifice that God Himself would offer for us when He crucified His Son. We do not come to God bringing what we think He might be pleased with, but what He has said He would be pleased with—the blood sacrifice of an innocent substitute. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we are presenting to God the righteousness and blood of the innocent Lamb of God, in order to come into His presence.

Job 42:8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

We also see pictured, in Job praying for his friends, the priestly offering of our prayers to God; and we also see the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus in praying for His friends and brothers in Christ. The three friends did not come to God on their own behalf, but only through their friend Job—God’s servant; and it was only through Job’s intercession on the behalf of his friends that they were not condemned for their sin. Thus we come to God through the Lord Jesus—our friend, God’s true Servant, our High Priest and Intercessor; and He makes our prayers acceptable to the Father. Not only does Jesus bring our prayers before God, but He intercedes for us by praying directly to the Father for us.

John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Matt 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

1 Pet 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Another important thing about the prayer of Job is that God had also revealed to Job something of the will of God; and in doing so, Job could pray according to God’s will, and God in turn would be pleased to answer his prayer. The Lord had spoken His Word to Job’s three friends, and made known His will for them concerning what they were to do. We have no reason to believe that Job was not present when the Lord spoke those words, because it was immediately after the Lord had finished speaking to Job. Therefore, Job prayed because he was asked to pray; and he only prayed what was directly revealed to him, by the Lord, as the will of God for him to pray. This for us is a concept that must be a part of everyone’s prayer life—we can pray with assurance because God has told us to pray; but we must pray according to His revealed will for us. God had specifically designated Job to pray; He had revealed what He wanted Job to pray for; He had made Job’s prayer acceptable to Him by the sacrificial offering of the animals; and thus, God was willing to grant Job’s request.

Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.

1 Tim 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

1 The 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

The last thing we see from Job’s prayer was that Job himself was blessed when he interceded for others. The Scripture even suggests that Job’s future blessings were tied to his prayer for his friends. Job had come to know grace; he had been freed from the rat race of his own works; and he could now pray unhindered by the doubts and fears of never being good enough. God in turn could now bless Job without it being a temptation to Job—to think that he had somehow earned God’s blessings. Job had died to the "the pride of life”—his personal integrity, wealth, and social standing; and with God’s continued oversight, God could allow these blessings to return to him twofold. Also, the law of God’s mercy and grace, under which Job now lived, demanded that he now show mercy and grace to others. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven; if we do not show mercy, we will not be shown mercy; if we judge others, we will be judged ourselves; and if we do not freely give to others, God is certainly not obligated to give unto us.

Job 42:10 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.

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Matt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again

Through God’s grace, Job had also shown true humility in forgiving his friends with whom he had such bitter arguments—having now been reconciled to them. God is a lover of peace and harmony, and wants to see His children at peace with one another—at peace in their marriages, and even with their enemies if possible. Strife, bitterness, anger, and resentment toward others, will not only dampen our desire to pray, but God is not pleased with our having such feelings in our hearts when we pray. This is especially true for those who have come to know the mercy, grace, and peace of God toward them. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, taught us the importance of this precept when He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

1 Pet 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Matt 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Matt 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.