May you have a full reward from the LORD, under whose wings you have come for refuge!

 

Thursday, June 1, 2023


Psalm 74

Ruth 2

Acts 2:37-47


Observances: Justin, martyr at Rome (d. c. 167); Week of Prayer for Reconciliation; Ember Day


May you have a full reward from the LORD, under whose wings you have come for refuge!


As members of the Church, we are members of a local church. In those local churches something we do is pray for each other. Usually this will involve, in part, being on a prayer chain-style setup. A member of our Christian family will ask for specific prayers, and the word goes out to the entire body to pray into that situation. Quite often we will see the result of our prayers through a mysterious third party: prayers for healing are fulfilled by a medical professional; prayers for financial support are fulfilled by an employer or charity, for example.


Prayers are powerful, and they work. Something that prayers do is bless. These blessings, made in the name of the one true and living God, are powerful, and they work. Something we may not be so familiar with is being chosen by God to be the one through whom those blessings are made manifest.


Boaz did something like this. He blessed Ruth, loudly and in public. I wonder if he knew at that moment that he would be the one through whom God would fulfil that blessing? He certainly seemed to have a kind and generous heart. Maybe he just threw out that blessing by habit? Or maybe he was so stirred in his soul by finding a kindred lover of God that he was moved to look after her in such a generous way.


What a wonderful thing to think about this morning as we pray for the world. All those things that aren’t going the way they should, and so we take them to God to look after. I wonder which problems God will pass back to us, equip us with the grace to fix, and so make us the agents of blessing?

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