Answer to Prayer

Recently I studied the story of Ruth in a Bible study.

Here's the situation Ruth is in: she is a foreigner and a widow, in a new country, struggling with the responsibility of providing for herself and her bitter mother-in-law.

With her mother-in-law's blessing, she went to a field and followed the harvesters to collect the grain they missed.

The owner of the field, Boaz, stopped by and inquired about Ruth. He learned from his overseer that Ruth had worked hard. He was impressed with her character, her loyalty and her work ethic.

Boaz said to Ruth, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Here's the idea that I love, as Ruth's story unfolds, we see that Boaz was the answer to his prayer for Ruth.

God used Boaz to answer his own prayer.

1. Boaz offered her protection in his fields.
2. Boaz provided an abundance of grain for her and her mother-in-law.
3. Boaz married her.
4. Boaz became her kinsman-redeemer.
5. Together they had a son.
6. Through that son, Ruth became a part of the lineage of Jesus.

Ruth was richly rewarded. Boaz's prayer was answered. God's plan was accomplished. I love the way God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.