Job 22:29-30

29 When men are cast down [shaphel], then thou shalt say ['amar], There is lifting up [gevah]; and he shall save [yasha`] the humble [shach] person [`ayin].

30 He shall deliver [malat] the island ['iy] of the innocent [naqiy]: and it is delivered [malat] by the pureness [bor] of thine hands [kaph]. KJV-Interlinear

29 'When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence And the humble person He will save. 30 'He will deliver one who is not innocent, And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.' NASB

Sooner or later you will be faced with your total and absolute helplessness in life. Like a gnat in the universe, we have very little power or control over our lives or the environment around us. The world is too complex, the circumstances of life too bewildering at times, and God will hang us out to discover our true self.

The believer who is advancing toward maturity will eventually come face to face with the harsh truths of reality, and in those circumstances the correct response in life, is to raise your eyes toward heaven and know with confidence that God will hold you in His hands protecting you always and forever.

Eliphaz speaks here of the innocent and the not so innocent, which covers everyone who has ever lived.

The innocent refers to those who are advancing and otherwise functioning in their spiritual lives. To those, God always delivers. The source of their strength resides in the doctrine within them.

As for the not-innocent, or those who do not have a functioning spiritual life, then deliverance generally comes due to some outside source or event. And as Eliphaz suggests here, that outside source is the innocent, or spiritually mature believers petitioning to God in behalf of the not-innocent.

Throughout the ages the spiritually deficient or wicked people of the world have received blessing not because of their own efforts or energy or even luck, but because someone either friend, family, acquaintance or other, has prayed for them.

Eliphaz suggests that it is himself who will pray for Job, in order to gain favor from God, however at the end of this book we will discover that it will be Job, who is the innocent, and Eliphaz and friends who are the not-innocent, and it will be Job praying for them, otherwise God would have come down like a ton of bricks on them for their misinterpretations of truth throughout this entire conversation.

Their concepts for truth have been correct, but their applications of it against Job have not.

One day you will have a relationship of some type with someone who is lacking in their spiritual life. You have an obligation to pray for them.

One day you will face insurmountable odds. Nothing in life will work for you, when everything should be working for you. There will be no explanations as to why the whole of life has seemingly turned against you. You will be helpless and up against the proverbial wall with nowhere to turn.

You always have one last ray of hope, one confidence, and it is the very best source of help that exists anywhere. That is God the Father through Christ.

With doctrine in your soul, and it does not take very much, as long as you are alive and breathing, you can raise up a prayer thought, and begin the process of recovery, even if it is nothing more than peace of mind.

And so with that, and with the close of this chapter, here are a few verses which you should commit to memory, and review them in your mind so that you will be ready when your day of testing arrives.

Deut. 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Psa. 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.

Matt. 18:19 Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

Psa 55:22

22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

And this final paragraph set is probably one of the best memory exercises there is.

Delight thyself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of thy heart. Commit your way unto the Lord trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

For He will keep you in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Him because you trust in Him. Trust in the Lord for in the Lord is everlasting strength. Cast your burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain you, He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Stop worrying about anything, but in everything through prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will garrison your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

For of Him and to Him and through Him are all things, to whom be glory for ever and ever, amen.

Now is the time to post a prayer.