"The Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends"
We are saved by the atonement of Jesus Christ. There is nothing for us to do but humbly accept His sacrifice. It is a done deal. It is a complete deal. It is a gift. It is something that causes us to feel indebted to Him. We feel like we need to do something to deserve it. We feel like we need to do something to pay for it. We feel like we need to just do something... anything... We just feel like there has got to be something that we can do — but there isn't. And when we keep going down this path... well, it is just the wrong path to go down, that's all there is to it. Stop. Turn around. Let us go back to the beginning. We accepted Christ as our Savior. He paid our bill. We could never have paid it... not ever. But it got paid, and we accepted that we had been atoned of our sins by His death for us. Period. That is it. It is done. We must accept it, graciously, and stop trying to do something.
No, we are not worthy. No, we do not deserve it. I know... wow... yeah... He loves us that much. Yeah, it makes me cry, too.
And do you know why we have to stop? Because Jesus has already done it all, and we insult Him by all of these attempts to do something. He already completely saved us. It was not half done... it was completely done.
Now, it is time to go forward. We need to pick ourselves up and thank Him. Praise Him. And bask in the glory of the Lord. We are saints now. We are also children of the Most High. And we have an inheritance with the family of God. We also have eternal life. And the Holy Spirit is within us.
The thing to do now is go forward... God is going to make things right inside of us. We cannot make ourselves right with God; we cannot make ourselves holy; we cannot do anything without God's empowerment. We cannot even continue to breathe if God does not will it to happen.
But rest assured, God takes care of His own, and we are His own. He saved us, and the Holy Spirit within us makes us holy. Now, we just trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, and in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct our steps.
Chambers teaches that the next thing to do after we are saved is to pray for others to be saved. The verse reads: "God restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends." Chambers says if we are not receiving our "hundredfold," we should begin right now to pray for the saving of others — to pray that the atonement of Christ will be recognized and fully understood in the lives of others as it has been in us. So let us pray for our friends now; pray for those that we come in contact with; let's just pray for everyone.
This is intercessory prayer. It softens our hearts, and it is where God wants us to be. God wants us involved in the work of intercessory prayer. It keeps us from thinking about ourselves and keeps our hearts in the right place spiritually.
So we are going forward; we are going to get to work on praying for others. We are saved... the Lord is going to do His work on us internally. But there are many others that are not saved... and we need to help God by praying for them. Actually, God does not need our help, but the way we think about it in human terms, we think we are helping Him. But what we are actually doing is something God wants and desires for us to do... and that is to pray for others because it is His will for us to do so. It is His desire that we participate in this spiritual activity. This is God's heart — the saving of all people. And we join God in His work by praying for the unsaved, the lost, the wandering, the hurting, the strays, the prodigals... Let's just pray for everyone that comes to mind or enters into our heart. If we stay aligned with God's heart, we cannot go wrong.
Prayer
Draw our hearts to Your presence and let us know the peace You've given.
Let us experience the forgiveness You already purchased for us.
Because Your blood has already opened the way for us, let us see and understand.
It is finished and we humbly bow before You grateful for all You have given for us.
We wonder at the love You have for us.
We acknowledge Your holiness and praise You as our Savior.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Lord, we come to You in earnest, asking that You will help us pray for the lost.
Give us love in our hearts for those that are wandering.
Lord, soften our hearts to be willing to pray for others.
Lord, draw our family members' hearts.
We ask that You open the hearts of our loved ones that have let the world harden their hearts.
Scripture References
Support for everything I wrote about Jesus completing the work, salvation being a gift, and not being able to fix ourselves.
• Romans 5:11 — “We have now received the atonement.”
• Hebrews 10:14 — “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
• Ephesians 2:8–9 — Saved by grace, not works.
• Titus 3:5 — “Not by works of righteousness which we have done…”
• John 19:30 — “It is finished.”
2. You cannot make yourself holy / God does the internal work
This supports “God will make things right inside of you” paragraph.
• Philippians 1:6 — “He who began a good work in you will complete it.”
• Philippians 2:13 — “It is God who works in you…”
• Ezekiel 36:26–27 — God gives a new heart and puts His Spirit within us.
• John 15:5 — “Without Me you can do nothing.”
• Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trust in the Lord; He directs your paths.
3. Intercession / praying for others
This is the heart of Chambers’ message and my devotional.
• Job 42:10 — Your anchor verse.
• 1 Timothy 2:1–4 — Pray for all people; God desires all to be saved.
• Galatians 6:2 — “Bear one another’s burdens.”
• James 5:16 — “Pray for one another…”
• Ezekiel 22:30 — God seeks someone to stand in the gap.
• Romans 10:1 — Paul praying for Israel to be saved.
4. God drawing hearts / softening hearts
These support the intercessory prayer at the end.
• John 6:44 — “No one can come unless the Father draws him.”
• Ezekiel 36:26 — God softens hearts of stone.
• Jeremiah 24:7 — “I will give them a heart to know Me.”
• Acts 16:14 — “The Lord opened her heart…”
5. God’s desire for all to be saved
This supports the line about God’s heart being the saving of all people.
• 2 Peter 3:9 — God is “not willing that any should perish.”
• 1 Timothy 2:4 — God “desires all people to be saved.”
• John 3:16–17 — God sent His Son to save the world.
Support for “God takes care of His own” paragraph.
• Psalm 55:22 — “He will sustain you.”
• Psalm 37:23–24 — The Lord upholds the righteous.
• Isaiah 46:4 — “I will carry you… I will sustain you… I will rescue you.”
• John 10:28–29 — No one can snatch His sheep from His hand.
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