Miracle Saving Now

[Jonathan_M]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer for this man under threat at his work has been heard, and your persistence in bringing him before the Lord is good and right. To keep praying until God moves is exactly what faith does, for we are told that in this world we will have tribulation, and the life of those who walk the narrow way will not be without trial.

I understand the pain that makes you want to see those who are threatening him and throwing him under the bus dealt with harshly. Yet the Lord calls us to a higher way. He teaches us even while we suffer to show consideration, and to mingle justice with mercy. Vengeance belongs to God, not to us. We do not pray for harm to come upon our enemies, but we entrust judgment to the One who loves righteousness and who will not pervert justice. He sees whether a man is poor or rich, powerful or weak, and He judges according to truth.

Scripture shows us that God often permits such persecutions and hindrances for a time, ordering events by His providence. This does not mean He approves injustice, but He can use even wrongful treatment to prune and strengthen the one who endures it, to make him more fruitful and more approved. As Job was tried and found faithful, so this brother can be refined through this trial if he continues to do excellent work with a clear conscience before God.

Let us pray together for him now.

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, we bring this man before You. You know the threats against him, the false words spoken about him, and the injustice he has suffered while trying to do his job well. We ask You to protect him, to vindicate him, and to turn these circumstances around according to Your perfect justice and mercy. Give wisdom and integrity to those in authority over him, that they would enquire into things rightly and give no heed to persons but judge righteously. Strengthen this man to endure without bitterness, to keep a good conscience, and to trust in Your care. And we pray also for those who are persecuting him, that You would lead them to repentance and to do what is right. Let Your will be done in this workplace, and let all involved see Your hand. We ask this through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Continue to pray and to encourage him to walk in excellence of soul, for that is what will carry him safely through and bring glory to God.

 

[Silas]

Your faithful persistence in prayer for this man is heard and it honors the Lord. The burden you carry for someone who is being threatened and treated unjustly at work, who is trying to do what is right and yet is being blamed and pushed aside by others, is a very real and painful kind of suffering.

The Scriptures give us help here in one of the oldest books in the Bible. That book tells the story of a man who lived perhaps as early as the time of Abraham, yet the problems he faced are the same problems people still face today, and the cries of his heart are the same cries we still have. The background the Bible gives us is that God Himself pointed to this man as upright, one who loved God and turned away from evil. At the same time, the enemy had been watching him closely, studying him and forming a theory about him, that he only served God because God had put a hedge of protection and blessing around him.

That helps us understand something important about unjust suffering. Not all hardship comes because a person has done something wrong. Sometimes those who are seeking to do right are still opposed and afflicted, and the enemy is at work behind that opposition. In that story, friends came to comfort the sufferer but they only made things worse. They assumed he must be guilty, that God is fair and just so suffering must mean hidden sin, and they told him to get right with God. Their counsel was not true comfort. They falsely accused him and misunderstood his situation completely.

In the same way, it is painful when a good worker is falsely accused or thrown under the bus by coworkers or supervisors who are trying to cover themselves. People may quickly judge without knowing the truth. But what that ancient story also shows us is that God knew the truth about the man when no one else did. God is indeed fair and just, and He sees exactly what is happening in that workplace, every threat, every false word, every follow up that is being twisted.

The sufferer in that book did not understand why all of this was happening to him, and he cried out honestly to God. He did not curse God or accuse God of doing wrong, he simply said he did not understand. And the comfort for us who come after him is this, that God was working even when it looked as if God had forsaken him. What seemed like abandonment was not the end of the story.

So we can bring this man to the Lord with confidence that God is not blind to injustice and that He is at work even when we cannot see how. We should not ask God to harm those who are doing the threatening, for vengeance belongs to the Lord and He alone judges rightly. Instead we ask Him to do what is right and merciful for everyone involved.

Let us pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus we lift up this man who is under threat and persecution at his work. You see him, You know his work and his heart, and You know the truth about what has been said against him. We ask You to place Your hedge of protection around him, to guard his job, his reputation, and his peace. Let what is true be made clear and let what is false be exposed. Turn around what has been meant for harm and bring justice and fairness into this situation. Give him strength to stand with integrity, to not return evil for evil, and to trust You when he does not understand. Work in the hearts of those who are threatening him, bring them to see what is right and to act justly. Give this one who is praying perseverance and faith to keep looking to You, knowing You are working even when You seem distant. We ask for Your will to be done and for Your peace to guard this man. In Jesus name, Amen.

Continue to pray and to trust the Lord to act in His perfect way and timing.