Praying for Others Leads to Recovery

One of the most powerful stories of prayer and recovery is found in the book of Job. Nobody had more to recover than Job. He was a man who loved and served God but lost almost everything—his wealth, health, and children—in the span of one day.

Job fell to the ground in agony, grieving his losses and suffering physically from illness. Then three of Job’s friends showed up. The Bible says, “They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13 NIV).

This is a powerful example to remember: When friends are in pain, sometimes the best thing you can do is simply show up. The deeper their pain, the fewer words are needed. This is known as the ‘ministry of presence’—you don’t have to say anything; just be there. 

But eventually, Job’s friends did more than sit with him—they started to give advice. A lot of it wasn’t very helpful, and it made God upset. So God told Eliphaz, one of Job’s three friends, to go make some sacrifices. Then God said, “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve” (Job 42:8 NLT).

Notice God said, “Job will pray for you.” Wait—who’s in the crisis here? Who’s lost everything? Job had. Yet God knew recovery wouldn’t come to Job until he prayed for the recovery of others.

Job 42:10 says, “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before” (NIV). God completely recovered everything Job had lost—and beyond!

You may have suffered some big losses in life. Maybe you’re in a season of loss right now. Don’t just pray for yourself; pray for the recovery of hurting people in your neighborhood, community, church, and world—and watch how God brings recovery to your own life.