It Happens After Prayer

If I were to ask you to list your top 5 examples of powerful people praying in the Bible, who would you name? We all agree with Jesus! To try and further prove a point, eliminate New Testament people, just using the OT people who would be in your top 5? I would dare to say that not many of you, if any of you listed Job. Jesus, sure, Abraham, of course, Moses certainly, Elijah and Hezekiah, can't leave them out, David, Solomon Jehoshaphat, we could go on and on and never mention Job.

The 42nd chapter is our coming out chapter, our double for your trouble chapter, our triumph over trials chapter but God leveled me to the floor when He said to me, "It all happened after prayer". I am so used to that phrase being used in other areas, other chapters, other stories, not Job 42. I was a closet "prosperity theologian", (not really just saying).

I was Bildad and didn't know it. Bildad, the forerunner of the prosperity theology movement suggested in Job 18 that if you obey God, you will be blessed and enjoy great prosperity but if you suffer it means you are out of God's will because He wants everyone well. Repent, admit, and God will bless. Well Job does repent and without realizing it privately, I thought his restoration was tired to his repentance but it didn't happen after repentance, it happened after prayer.

After God unleashes his wisdom on Job by saying in effect who and where were you, do you understand:
The Source of The Universe
The System of the Universe
The Specialization of the Universe
Job admits the error of his ways and says opening up Job 42:
I am weak
I am unwise
I am wordy (I feel ya Job)
I am unworthy
But this is not when restoration. It didn't come after repentance, it came after prayer. Vs 10 says AND, that's the conjunction, WHEN, is the adverb. "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends". It happened after prayer.

I lost it Sunday, it all hit me. Some blessings God will never let me see until I let go of some things. I read vs 10 and see enemies, God still calls them friends but either way, I still have to pray for them. My outline for Sunday was:
I. Prayer for your Enemies, vs 10
a. Forgive
b. Favor
II. Prepare for your Environment, vs 11
a. Family
b. Friends
c. Fortune
III. Provides beyond our Expectations, vs 12
a. Redemption
b. Reconciliation
c. Restoration
d. Recompensation

Like I said, I lost it Sunday and God decided to take Macedonia down the same path I was on. It was time for ALL OF US to let go of some things. There is a blessing of restoration that God wants to give us but we have to let go of the things that keep us in bondage.

I went home and preached some more to myself and wrote out a new sermon entitled, It Happens After Prayer
I. We must Follow God's Instructions
II. We must Forgive those who have Intentionally Hurt us, vs 10
III. God will give Favor to those who have been Injured, vs 11
IV. Our Future will not look like our past Incidents, vs 12

I am going to start losing weight this week, not physical pounds but emotional baggage I need to let go. Time to pray for my friends (enemies) and walk into what God has for me.

Owens