How to use Themes in Your Prayers (Ruth 2.19, 20)
Blessed be the man who took notice of you
Blessed be he by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead.
Background
Up to this point in the book of Ruth, we have encountered a prayer of intercession, a prayer-vow, and a prayer of blessing. In the last reading (2.19–20), Boaz offered two blessings upon Ruth. The present passage has Naomi offering two blessings upon Boaz. What is the function of these four blessings? Are they connected (apart from being part of the same story)?
Picking up where we left off in the last passage, Boaz continued to treat Ruth in an exceptional manner—more like a guest than a poor widow with no family. At lunch, he invites her to eat along with his workers. After the meal, he instructs her to pick grain right alongside his workers again. He even tells the workers to give Ruth some of the grain they have harvested.
When the day is over, Ruth takes her grain stalks and beats them to separate the grain from the chaff. When finished, she had an ‘ephah’ of barley (about 40 pounds of grain). This is a month’s worth of grain for an average male worker! Boaz has blessed Ruth, and this is why Naomi then offers a prayer of blessing on Boaz. When Ruth arrives, Naomi sees the grain she has gained and asks her where she picked the grain. Before Ruth can answer, Naomi prays:
Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” (1.19)
Ruth tells Naomi that she worked in the fields of Boaz, and Naomi prays again:
Blessed be he by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead.
Naomi informs Ruth that Boaz is one of her relatives—a ‘kinsman-redeemer.’ Many translations render the last word as ‘nearest kin,’ but the Hebrew word refers to a person in a clan or tribe who would recover losses and right wrongs for the clan. He might go after a murderer, help with economic problems, or buy a clan member back from slavery. Naomi is not just describing his role in the clan—she sees him as their redeemer. She believes he will save them.
The two blessings offered by Naomi in Ruth 1.19–20 are connected with the two blessings offered by Boaz in Ruth 2.4 and 12. In the prior section, Boaz encountered his workers and, rather than just saying, shalom, he offered a prayer-blessing upon them: “the Lord be with you.” We noted above that Boaz did not just view his workers as laborers for his own gain, he saw them as spiritual people who were in a relationship with him and God. So he asked God to bless them.
In this reading, Naomi’s first prayer-blessing is a request that God bless the man who “took notice” of Ruth. Just as Boaz “took notice” of his workers as valued people, Naomi asks God to bless Boaz because he also “took notice” of Ruth.
The second prayer of Boaz in the prior passage asks God to repay and reward Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law. Naomi’s second prayer asks that God bless Boaz because he has been God’s instrument to extend kindness to Ruth (and therefore Naomi). In other words, Naomi is asking God to bless Boaz because Boaz has been the means of blessing the women, which is what Boaz had asked God to do for Ruth.
Meaning
One of the things we can do to enrich our prayers is to give them connections and continuity. We often just pray as the mood strikes us. We pray about whatever is on our minds at the moment. There is nothing wrong with that, but it can also be enriching to make connections and follow themes in our prayers. If prayer is about relationships (between God and us and others), then it should not always be ‘off-the-cuff.’ God is not a clerk at the grocery store or a waiter at a restaurant that you happen to see and ask for things. The Bible describes him in many, many ways: father, mother, nurturer, friend, defender—these are all family terms. While conversations with close family can be spontaneous, at times they should be intentional about their subject, time, and purpose.
We can develop themes or patterns that tie our prayers together. If we are praying for others, our prayers can grow as we see what God does (or does not) do for the objects of our prayer. Prayers can develop as we see how the object of our prayers responds. When offering petitions for ourselves, we can adopt a theme to continue through all our prayers on that subject. For example, imagine you are praying to find a new job. Perhaps you begin by praying for help to find places to apply. Later, after you have found some places, your prayers might include not only to find a job but now about which jobs to apply for. You could then pray about applications, interviews, and the interviewers. Ask God to teach you through both offers and rejections. A series of prayers, tied together by a single subject, can grow to include guidance, prayers for others, prayers about how to learn from rejection or acceptance. Our prayers become more mature if we think through what we pray for and how the relationship develops.
Application
Write down some topics or issues that you are praying for now. Choose topics that are of an ongoing nature. Choose some about yourself, others, or perhaps general situations, or maybe a vow.
Examine each topic of prayer. Do any of them offer a way to apply this idea of continuity and connectedness? Do any of them offer the type of theme that could show growth, evolution, or maturity?
Write them down and use them to enrich your prayers in the coming days or weeks.
