Prayer points from the Book of Job is a theological and apologetic study on the book of Job. It is written in a style that an average layperson can read and comprehend the complex issues surrounding Job. The writer examines some of the most important aspects of this book and offers his own conclusions. If you are reading this blog post, then you probably struggled to understand the wisdom behind Job’s suffering. This book will not only help you find these answers; it will also show you how God had reasons that you can understand through human logic and reasoning.
Since the book of Job is a story about one of God’s greatest servants, it does not just have one spiritual lesson for us to learn. Rather, there are many things we can take from this book. Prayer Points is an online Bible study course that has been made available in order for you to understand the various truths about prayer. You will be able to gain an understanding on the power of prayer because of what Job did during his time of need, and through that knowledge, you will be able to use your own prayers more effectively.
As most jobs are, the book of Job has been a source of confusion and frustration for many, especially on the subject of unanswered prayers. Some have wondered whether there is any meaning for unanswered prayers, or if it is all simply dead ends.
Prayer Points From The Book Of Job
The Prayer Points from the Book of Job
- Job 5:19 – Trusting God in the Midst of Poverty
- Job 6:10 – The Need for Repentance
- Job 11:13-17 – The Need for Understanding
- Job 13:14 – The Need for Patience and Endurance
- Job 14:1-12 – The Need to Forgive Others and Forgive Yourself
- Job 15:1-21 – The Need to Trust God’s Justice and Mercy
Prayer Points from the Book of Job
Job 1:1-2 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”
Job 2:1-3 “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.”
Job 3:1-2 “After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 2 That day I should have perished from the earth.”
Job 4:17-18 “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.”
The Book of Job is a book that has a unique structure, in that it is divided into three sections: a prologue (chapters 1-2), a prose narrative (chapters 3-42) and a poetic epilogue (42:7-17).
The prologue introduces Job as an upright man who fears God and avoids evil. The prose narrative tells the story of Satan’s challenge to God’s justice. The epilogue gives Job’s final words, in which he blesses and curses the day of his birth.
Job’s prayer in chapter 9 is one of the most beautiful prayers in Scripture. In this prayer he reflects on his relationship with God, thanking Him for His goodness and trusting Him despite his suffering: “I am unworthy — how can I reply? I put my hand over my mouth.” Job also expresses his confidence in God’s justice: “Though I am innocent, I cannot answer You; I must defend myself without cause — my lips will be silent” (9:4).
- Job’s Prayer for His Friends (Job 23:1-17)
- Job’s Lament over His Condition (Job 23:18-27)
- Job’s Defense of His Integrity (Job 24)
- Job’s Appeal to God (Job 25)
- The Discourse of Elihu (Job 26-31)
- Job’s Reply to the Answer of his Three Friends and the Reply of Elihu (Job 32-37)
Job 1:9-11
9Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
10″Have You not made a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
11″But stretch out Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face!”
Prayer can be a powerful way of bringing comfort and healing to your life. In this article we look at 7 prayer points taken from the book of job. This is an excellent book if you’ve lost something or feel down, or need help because of your family, or friends.
Prayer Points are very powerful in the Christian life. Job 23 is a prayer point found in the Old Testament. Job made powerful petitions to God that the Almighty hear his prayers.. {God} retains knowledge of what passes by me, and my frame was not hidden from him, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed}.
Till know we have read from the bible and we are now going to learn on how to pray from the book of job. As usual let me start and pray to our lord first.god, we need your answers, your help lord. here i am in need of a good prayer and it will be answered, i believe in you lord.
Prayers Of Job In The Bible
Job’s prayers are a very important part of the book of Job.
Job prayed for his friends in Job 2:11-13.
Job prayed for God’s mercy in Job 7:17-20 and Job 13:15-16.
In the end, Job’s prayers were answered. God restored all that he had lost and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10).
Job is a book of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and the name of the main character in the book. Job is a prophet from the land of Uz, and is generally considered by religious Jews to be an example of repentance in Judaism. This can be seen when he says: “If only my grief could be weighed and all my misery put on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been so rash.” (Job 6:2–3)
The Book of Job consists of a prologue (chapters 1-2), a dialogue between Job and his friends that takes up chapters 3-31, and an epilogue (chapters 32-37).
The prologue describes Job as “blameless” (1:1). He is portrayed as being favored by God in both material possessions and family life, but this situation turns sour when Satan points out that he needs God’s protection no matter how blessed he may be. In response to this challenge from Satan, God allows Satan to afflict Job’s family members with various physical ailments. After these calamities take place, some of Job’s friends come to him for comfort; however, instead of providing solace
Job prayed for the restoration of his health, wealth and family. He also prayed for the death of his enemies. Job seemed to have a very simple faith in God, and he trusted that God would do what was right in his life.
Job prayed for restoration of all that he had lost. His faith was tested as he lost everything that meant anything to him, including his health and family members. He felt like God had abandoned him and did not care about his plight at all. However, it appears that Job’s friends were more concerned about their own reputations than they were about Job’s well-being. They believed that if they could convince Job that he was being punished by God then they would be able to convince him that he should repent of whatever sins he might have committed against God (Satan).
Although Job had lost everything, he still believed in God’s goodness and mercy even though his friends were telling him otherwise. It seems as though there are many times when we lose things in our lives or suffer through difficult times, but we shouldn’t let those things shake our faith or weaken our resolve; rather we should look toward God as our source of strength and comfort during times of trouble.
Job is a book of the Hebrew Bible that deals with the theme of the suffering of the righteous and the plight of the innocent. It is written in poetic form and includes a dialogue between God and Satan.
Job is a book of the Hebrew Bible that deals with the theme of the suffering of the righteous and the plight of the innocent. It is written in poetic form and includes a dialogue between God and Satan.
The book tells Job’s story from his youth to his death, but it does not reveal any information about him except for what he says about himself in his final speech (42:7-9). The setting for Job’s story is said to be Uzu (modern Uzumu), a city on an unknown site near Edom (Job 1:1).
The book opens with an account of Satan approaching God by request to test Job’s faithfulness to God’s commandments (1:6-12). God grants permission, and Satan takes away Job’s wealth, family, health, happiness, and livestock (1:13-15). Job loses everything he has except his own life; all his possessions are destroyed. This happens when Job becomes an old man with many years left to live. He
The book of Job is not just one of the Bible’s greatest stories. It’s also a treasure trove of wisdom and insight into everything from suffering to mortality to divine providence.
Job is one of the most famous books in the Bible, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. The popular view today is that Job was a good man who suffered unjustly at God’s hands, who questioned God’s actions and was rewarded with more suffering as a result. The truth is much more complicated than that.
It’s important to note that Job was not an ordinary man; he was a prophet whose very name means “persecuted” or “afflicted.” In fact, Job has been called “the first sufferer” because he lived in an era before Jesus Christ came to earth (see Job 42:7). We know from Scripture that Job suffered from boils all over his body, had his possessions destroyed during an invasion by foreign armies, lost his children and finally received news that his wife had died (Job 2:8-10).
These things happened to him because he lived during an era when sin was rampant on earth — before God sent His Son into the world to save sinners like us (1 John 4:16). As Christians living in
1. Lord show yourself as a mighty God in my life this month,9:4.
2. Holy Spirit do a great thing that will make even my enemies congratulate me this year,9:10.
3. Father,let the plan you had for me since when I was in my mother’s womb not be hindered by anyone in Jesus name,10:8-12.
4. Great God,don’t let any of our pregnant women have miscarriage in Jesus name,10:18-19.
5. Almighty God,don’t let me have problem that will make me pray for death in Jesus name,10:18-22.
What Is The Message From The Book Of Job
What if Job had more to say about right relating to God than it did about right theology?
I first read the Biblical book of Job in my final year of High School, sitting in my living room, covered head-to-toe with chicken pox. My take-away was simple. I didn’t have it as hard as him; and no, I wasn’t going to scrape away my open sores with broken pottery.
Fast forward twenty five years to just a few days ago. One of my teenage boys told me that he’d been reading Job for the first time in his ‘Time Alone With God’ on a recent youth camp. It was profound. He loved it. He’d been through more than I could protect him from. He had to carry his big-brother’s coffin through an arch of school friends who had all hoped and prayed that their friend would not die.
Kids with mild cases of chicken pox, brothers and friends who have suffered excruciating loss, couples who find themselves despondent and childless, men who have lost jobs and can’t afford to repair their cars, women who are despairing of decades of mistreatment by family members, and pastors dealing with the avalanches of pain pouring down all at once on their people, often turn to the book of Job.
But the academic loves Job too. There’s so much to discover and explore. The book is an exquisite literary masterpiece.
This essay will just explore one thread, perhaps a loose thread (although you might judge it to be an unattached thread), that of prayer, which may be of some intellectual concern, but perhaps even more solace, as practical help to those suffering.
1. APPROACHING JOB, ESPECIALLY 42:7-8
Job opens and closes with a heavenly perspective that affects the earth (Job 1-2; 38-42). Satan thinks Job trusts the Lord just because he has it so easy. Spoiler alert! With God’s full permission, Satan casts down the richly-blessed godly man, turning him into a wreck of human being, covered in sores, loosing all of his property, livestock, and most of his workers. Not only this, he buries every one of his children (Job 1-2). At the end of the book, the Lord speaks, gives instructions, restores Job’s riches, standing, and blesses him with new children.
In the middle chapters, Job and his friends speak. One after another, back and forth, the friends start out conciliatory, but soon end up as the kind of ‘comforters’ found in many Christian churches who like to tell you exactly why you are suffering at the moment. What moral lessons can they draw from this untypical riches-to-rags story?
One of the challenges for the reader is who gets theology right. Who speaks correctly of God? Does Job? Does Eliphaz, Bildad or Zophar? What about the younger Elihu who only speaks at the end?
One way of reading the core of the book, works through the dialogue and weighs what they say against the rest of the Old Testament, the New Testament, Calvin’s Institutes, the Heidelberg Catechism, or the perhaps even the AFES doctrinal statement. Who gets God right?
Part of my problem with this approach is that the friends seem to say some right things. They often speak with “right theology”, but in ignorance and applied without wisdom. The biggest problem with this approach is that Job also gets things wrong. One example is clear. He thinks God is against him. But the opening heavenly scenes makes clear that God is completely for Job.
God’s final verdict informs this way of reading Job. Having spoken to Job, the LORD addresses the friends …
“My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7-8; ESV)
But what if these two verses could be translated:
… for you have not spoken to me what is right, as my servant Job has. (Job 42:7-8; my modified translation of the ESV)
What if this was the most literal translation and the one that makes the most sense of the context? What if God was commending Job’s words to God, or at least his final words?
We’ll look first at Job 42:7-8 and then more broadly on Job’s prayers. One thing is certain. Job initially speaks to God in his suffering, longs to speak to God more directly, and when he gets the chance, even repents of his speech.
On the other hand, Job’s friends just speak about God; and not once speak to him. Isn’t this the case far too often for Christians, preachers and academics?
2. REASONS TO TRANSLATE JOB 42:7-8: “FOR YOU HAVE NOT SPOKEN *TO ME* WHAT IS RIGHT, AS MY SERVANT JOB HAS”
This translation suggestion is not my attempt to twist the meaning of the text. This is not my intention. It’s the most common general translation of these words, and as far as I can see the only way this particular Hebrew construction is ever translated elsewhere in the ESV.
There is always a danger in proposing a translation not followed in any English Bible. For those who don’t know Hebrew, bear with me. Hopefully what I write will still make sense. For those who do know Hebrew, please show me where I am wrong.
1. The key word in 42:7 and 8, אֵלַי (‘elay), is nowhere else in the ESV translated “of me”, and is usually translated “to me”.
Those learning Hebrew learn that the normal gloss of (‘el) is “to”, usually involving movement or direction towards someone, unlike (‘al) which is translated very broadly, including “on”, “concerning” and “on account of”. If you add a personal ending (-ay) to (‘el), the gloss becomes “to me”. Of course, context always shapes meaning and the more samples we can examine the better. What about the verbs of speaking followed by (‘el) with any personal ending.
2. Only in a tiny percentage of occasions ( ‘el) without a personal suffix following the word for speaking דבר (dbr) is translated by “of” or “concerning”: only in 13 out of 270 verses.
The verb form (dbr) followed by ( ‘el) without any suffix occurs in about 270 verses. In every verse the ESV translates the phrase with a word of speech (say, tell, command ) followed by a “to” or an implied “to”, except for 13 verses: “concerning” (7x) – (1 Sam. 3:12; Is. 16:13; 32:6; Jer. 30:4; 50:1; 51:12, 62); “of” (2x) – (2 Sam 7:19; 2 Chr. 32:19);”against” (4x) – (1 Ki. 16:12; Jer. 28:16; 36:7, 31). Some of these are also arguable. For instance, it is entirely possible that God’s prophetic word against or concerning a person or nation is actually also his word to them. This would account for 10 of the 13 verses.
But in the key phrases we are looking at, Job 42:7-8, ( ‘el) has a personal suffix.
3. Out of 147 other verses, on every occasion, ( ‘el) with a personal suffix following the word for speaking דבר (dbr) is translated by a word of speech (told, command, said) and a “to” or an implied “to”.
There is one verse where the preposition was untranslated for smoother flow, but this does not change the argument (Ruth 1:18).
But perhaps 147 verses is not a broad enough sample, what about embarking on the same search with an even more common word for speaking?
4. אמר (‘amr) followed by (‘el) with a personal ending occurs in 550 verses. In all verses the ESV translates with a word of speaking (spoke, cried, command, tell ) followed by a “to” or an implied “to” (told him, spoke to her, spoke with us).
There are a handful of cases where the pronoun is left out or substituted with the noun for clarity, but the result still stands.
But what about the verse itself?
5. It seems odd that the ESV and other English translations would translate the three occurrences of the same (dbr) + (‘el) two different ways in the same verse. Why is it fine to say that God had spoken to Job, is speaking to Eliphaz, but that Job was speaking about God?
After the LORD had spoken (verb form of dbr) these words (noun form of dbr) to (‘el) Job, the LORD said to (‘el) Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken (verb form of dbr) of me (‘el + personal suffix) what is right, as my servant Job has. (Job 42:7; ESV; brackets added)
With all this weight of evidence, we would need some pretty strong contextual evidence to translate the verse, “you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has”.
6. However, surely the context implies that speaking *to* God is on view.
Remember that before God’s word to the friends in 42:7-8, God had just twice spoken to Job, and Job twice to God (G-J: 38:1-40:2; J-G: 40:3-5; G-J 40:6-41:34; J-G 42:1-6). In his first reply to God, Job is very self conscious about speaking to God. “I have spoken (dbr) once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” (Job 40:5)
7. Most importantly, Job’s final words to God are words of confession and repentance about his speech. Why would God say that Job has spoken rightly about him, when Job had just said he himself didn’t.
At the end of the book, Job admits that he spoke too much about things he didn’t know. “Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” (Job 42:3)
It would be weird to think that God was giving Job a top mark for his theology, when Job had just acknowledged his own ignorance.
Wouldn’t it make more sense that, in the following verses, God was commending Job to his friends for his humility and repentance in what he had just said to God? The friends were not ready or prepared to speak the truth to God , unlike Job.
What if part of God’s condemnation of the friends is that they were like the Pharisee in Luke 18, looking down on Job sitting in misery with them. They were standing and speaking about God to themselves, whereas at the end Job when confronted by almighty God, was like the tax-collector, calling out, have mercy on me the sinner.
Who went home justified before God? That’s right, the one who humbled himself.
Who is the one the Lord will listen to? He who humble and contrite in spirit.
The book finishes with God instructing the friends to turn to Job for intercessory prayers.
“My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken to me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Joband offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken to me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer. (Job 42:7-9; ESV with my translation change of these two words: “of” –> “to”; emphasis added)
Earlier, Job desperately sought a mediator in heaven to argue his case against God and his “comforters”. And now in the denouement, Job himself becomes a mediator on earth to plead with God on behalf of his friends.
At first his friends tell Job to speak to God, but they themselves never do so (Job 5:8). If prayer is faith breathing, Job breathes, even with a panting, gasping expiration. His friends just talk.
In every conversation there is the conversation we thought we had, the one we wished we had, and the one we actually had. Job’s final face-to-face words with God is not the one he had planned to say, it was what he actually had and God was pleased.
At first, Job is cast down in pain by earthly events, but his words to God at the end show internal remorse and a contrite heart. They were in a sense the deepest re-echoes of his first prayer when he suffered so much, albeit amplified. At the beginning, Job was humbled externally and praised God.
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:20-21)
But at the end, Job was humbled internally and feared God more than ever before. Losing absolutely everything made him sit in the ashes, but seeing almighty God made him repent in those same ashes.
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:6)
Remember, the disciples were terrified of the storm, but even more petrified of standing before the one who could calm that storm (Mk 4:38-41). There is something scarier than losing everything in life, and that is to be confronted by our creator.
We will never grasp it completely this side of heaven, but may we speak to God as Job did at the end. Humble indebtedness and repentance is a good beginning.
But we have a mediator, and Jesus is an even better advocate than Job could have dreamed of. For a young man with chicken pox, a brother suffering loss, a man unable to pay for a car repair, or a woman re-living age-old family pain, Christ and his shed blood makes all the difference. The external cannot harm us, and even the terrifying thought of facing our creator turns to expectation because we have one greater than Job who prays for us.
Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:33-34)
If that’s the conversation on our behalf in heaven, how much more should we engage with God on earth in humble repentance, prayer and thanksgiving! We know more, so more is to be expected of us.
I placed a false choice before you at the beginning of this essay, when I asked, “what if Job had more to say about right relating to God than it did about right theology?” For Job, right knowledge of God led to right relating to him. Knowing God properly meant desperate humility.
The most dangerous profession for “Christians” and comforters alike is one where we talk about God, but never to him.