A New Kind of Praying

"One Year Bible" Old Testament Passage
Job 40:1-42:17

And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends.  Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10 (NKJV)

There are two dimensions in our lives: the upward and the outward; the vertical and the horizontal.  One of the foundational realities of Scripture is that these two are connected.  The vertical (upward) speaks to our relationship to God.  It is aimed at heaven.  The horizontal (outward) deals with our relationship with people and engages us with earth.

For Job, restoration from God was tied to reconciliation with men.  Only when he was willing to pray FOR his "friends" was blessing released to heal his own personal brokenness. 

We are all by nature inwardly focused -- turned in on ourselves.  It is part of what Scripture calls the flesh.  God's plan is to bring us to immense freedom and joy.  This involves giving us a new center -- a new focus -- a new core.  As we turn from self-centeredness, God uses people with their faults and frailties to draw us out of our introversion. 

Rather than praying so hard for yourself, try praying for those who give you problems.  Rather than asking for relief from their inconsistencies, pray for blessing on them!  Such is the key to new joy is us.  That is breakthrough!