Knowing God Through Prayer by Jim George

Author:Jim George
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736970587
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Job prayed a prayer of resignation —The loss of all your possessions would pale next to the loss of all your children. That would be a tragedy beyond belief! How would you respond to a tragedy of this magnitude? How could you?

Job continues to be an excellent model to follow. He expressed all the Old Testament elements of grief as he “arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head.” But he also took the all-important next step: “He fell to the ground and worshiped.” Instead of cursing God as some do when struck with tragedy, Job offered up a prayer of trust, blessing the name of God (Job 1:20-21).

Job’s prayer of resignation to the providential hand of God was, “The L ORD gave, and the L ORD has taken away” (verse 21). His godly response certainly disproved Satan’s accusations that, if God allowed Satan to afflict Job, Job would curse God (1:11; 2:5). Instead, Job trusted in God and blessed His name.

Job understood something of the nature and attributes of God. His prayer of resignation was simply an act of honoring God for His providence and direction. In spite of how circumstances looked on the surface, the sovereign God of the universe was working out His will. Therefore, everything would be all right for Job.

A Lesson to Learn about Prayer

When Job’s wife suggested that he curse God and die, Job answered her in a way that communicated his resignation to God’s will: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (2:10). Sometimes when we’re suffering, if we’re not careful, we can act like Job’s wife and say foolish things about God and our situation. Prayer helps us submit to what God is doing in our lives in a God-honoring way.

Remember two things as you pray: First, everything that happens to you passes through God—even what seems like tragedy (1:6–2:10). And second, all God takes you through is for your ultimate good and His glory. God seeks to give only “good things” to His children (Matthew 7:11).

The next time tragedy strikes and you are at a loss for reasons why, let Jesus’ prayer of resignation to God the Father right before Jesus’ crucifixion be your prayer: “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).

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