Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. [Job 2:13 (NLT)]
When his life turned from riches to rags and all he loved and possessed (along with his health) was taken from him, Job’s friends came and silently sat with him on the ground for seven days. While this seems odd to us, it was perfectly normal in Job’s day. Seven days was the traditional mourning period and tradition held that those visiting a mourner weren’t to speak until the mourner spoke first. As it turned out, his friends’ compassionate silence was the kindest thing they did for Job. Things rapidly went downhill as soon as the three men opened their mouths!
Reflecting a sort of retribution theology—that good things happen to good people and bad things to bad people—Job’s friends were sure that his troubles were divine retribution for his sins. Ignoring their knowledge of Job, a man Scripture described as “the finest man on earth…blameless…a man of integrity” who “fears God and stays away from evil,” they wanted him to repent of his unnamed sins so that God would stop punishing him. While Job’s friends were quick to accuse him of being an unrepentant sinner, there is no mention of them praying for or with him. In fact, in the end, it is Job who prays for them.
If Job were a friend of mine, his name would be on my prayer list; he’d fit right in with the rest of the names on it. There are people with depression, addictions, cancer, MS, Parkinson’s, heart disease, and dementia. There are caregivers, sick babies, parents of troubled children and children with troubled parents. Some are mourning the loss of loved ones while others are in recovery, hospice, or dire financial straits. There are people who have no faith and others who are struggling to keep their faith. Unlike Job’s friends, however, I don’t blame them for their troubles but, like Job’s friends, I do want their lives to improve. I want every one of them to be happy, healed, and whole. I want their issues resolved, their problems solved, their health restored, and their goals achieved.
Unfortunately, it is not my will that will be done—if it were, there would be “happily ever after” endings to all their stories. In the end, it is God’s plan that will prevail, not mine. Just as I don’t know the cause of my friends’ problems, I don’t know the solutions to their difficulties. Nevertheless, I do know the One who has the solutions to their trials and the answers to their questions. As believers, rather than trying to figure out what God should do, we must trust Him in the suffering, tragedies, and uncertainties of this life. God alone is the source of all wisdom. As we offer our intercessions, let us take comfort in Paul’s words that the Holy Spirit knows for what we should pray. While we may be at a loss for the right words, the Holy Spirit never is.
Heavenly Father, give us compassionate and understanding hearts for our hurting friends. Let us know when supportive silence is better than anything we could ever say to them. Help us focus our prayers on your will rather than our desires. Reassure those for whom we pray of your loving-kindness and strengthen their weary spirits. May they have peace in their circumstances, discover joy in their troubles, hear your voice clearly, follow your directions willingly, and be filled with hope for the future.
Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what he can do. [Andrew Murray]
Devotions of the Heart 