TODAY’S MEDITATION – Is your prayer accepted by God? (Job 42:7-10)

This passage tells us that God said He was angry with Eliphaz because of what He said. My brother, my sister, what do you say about God that could make Him angry, so much that He won’t accept your prayer? Let’s look at what Eliphaz said for God to tell him this: “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has… So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly” (verses 7-8).

Eliphaz is one of Job’s three friends and in his attempt to comfort Job, he got lost in accusations, unclear explanations, and disputes over Job’s character (Job 2:12–13). Besides, Eliphaz thought that Job must have done something wrong and so God was punishing him and that is why we was losing his children and possessions; he also said that if Job did fear God, he would not face such suffering. Job replied that his friends were “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2). Finally, God stepped in to defend Job and to rebuke Eliphaz and his friends, saying, “I am angry with you and your two friends because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7). Then He asked them to offer burnt offerings, then to go and see Job to pray on their behalf. My friend, beware what you say, because you may be accusing God directly or indirectly and make Him angry enough for Him not to want to hear your prayer. Yes, God did not ask Eliphaz and his friends to pray, He sent them to someone who did not make Him angry instead.

My friend, Eliphaz is an example of someone responding with the world’s wisdom to suffering: if someone is suffering, it is a punishment of God. However, Eliphaz was wrong… And when reading this story, it may not seem important. Yet it made God angry! Job’s life is a clear example of how sometimes the innocent suffer. But because we live in His victory in Christ, God can use suffering as part of His divine plan to strengthen a believer’s life and to change the lives of others for His glory. But the fact is that God did not allow Eliphaz and his friends to turn to him in prayer: “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly” (verse 8). And look at the beauty of the power of God at work: “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before” (verse 10).

This teaches us two things: we should always be careful not to make God angry, especially when we do not understand what is happening to us or around us. Secondly, there is power in praying on behalf of others who are as much or more in need than ! Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.