Praying for your friends
"After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before." Job 42.10
Right, but what did his friends have to do first?! This is NOT a simplistic view of 'blessing & prospering.' Becoming "...children of God" (John 1:12) is NOT a one verse proposition.
Many years ago I was blindsided by a man from whom I was depending on a recommendation for a certain position. He had encouraged me to believe I stood a good chance of getting the position and I knew he had a great deal of influence with the decision makers in that situation.
I discovered later that he had recommended specifically against me, without giving me any warning or explanation. Some fellow Christians 'encouraged' me with the admonishment that I just needed to pray for the man. When I approached the subject with the man about his betrayal, he merely said, "To quote the Apostle Paul, 'Why not rather suffer yourself to be defrauded?'" He offered no apology for his deceitful stance to me, nor did he ever indicate an interest in reconciliation nor relationship. As far as he indicated, it was my problem, deal with it. With 'fine Christian brothers' like him one needs few enemies.
I do understand the emphasis Jesus placed in Matthew 5:
44. "But I tell you:
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45. "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46. "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?"
Jesus also said, Matthew 10:
16. "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
And then the very next words are: vs 17. "Be on your guard against men;"
Jesus was cautious, John 2:
23.
"Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.
24. "But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.
25. "He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man."
How do we reconcile all this and come up with a Biblical approach to 'Blessing and Prosperity' in the aftermath of being used and abused?
First, I would recognize that if Jesus, who knows what is in our hearts, "would not entrust himself to (men)," then we, who do not know what is in someone's heart, should be equally as cautious in placing our hopes, dreams, and aspirations -- our trust, in someone.
Second, watch out. Be shrewd, understanding and aware of a person's potential deficits of character.
Third, don't take someone's character flaws and failures personally. Stay as emotionally detached as possible from other's faulty reasoning and decisions. Assume that the character deficits of that individual would have produced similar performance by that individual regardless of whether it had been you or someone else in your place.
Then, pray for that person -- not in terms of expecting God to exact retribution and justice, but in hopes of that individual gaining understanding and righteousness. At the same time ask God to replace your feelings of resentment, etc., with an understanding and love. This is a process, not an event. It may even be years later before you realize that you actually have a love for that individual and no longer feel anger.
Whether that individual receives blessing from your prayer is dependent upon his/her responses to God (Job 42.7-9). If they respond appropriately to God then they will be blessed and prosper because God will accept your prayer.
Regardless of their response to God, He will see your heart and you will be blessed and will prosper.
Part of that blessing will be a result of you not being emotionally tied to someone else's performance.
Part of that prosperity will be a result of you being a bit more shrewd (wise as a serpent) in all your dealings, relational and financial.
There truly is 'cause and effect' in the direct application of His teachings.