Introduction.

1. Prayer is a wonderful privilege given to believers by the grace of God. It is a great comfort to know that we can turn to the Lord in prayer anytime day or night and that he will hear our prayers. What we do not often recognise or understand is that when we pray we enter a battlefield where spiritual warfare is raging. When we pray we are at war and pitched in a great struggle for the glory of God. Samuel Chadwick said, ‘The one concern of the Devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil; he mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.' One of William Cowper's hymns has the verse that says,
   
   
   Restraining prayer we cease to fight, Prayer makes the Christian's armour bright: & And Satan trembles when he sees, The weakest saint upon his knees.'
   
   
   It is important for us to put prayer and service in the right perspective, S. D. Gordon is right when he says, ‘Prayer is striking the winning blow... service is gathering up the results.' We need to learn to make prayer a greater priority than service.
   
   
2. In Ruth 1:8-9 Naomi's prays for her daughter-in-laws asking, "The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Naomi may have forgotten this prayer, but the Lord had not and by his providence he would answer in ways that would leave Naomi astonished. Naomi came back to Bethlehem empty, now the Lord began to fill her life.  The Lord is the God of the Old and New Testaments; he is the hearer and answerer of prayers according to his great wisdom and grace.
   
   Believers ought to be greatly encouraged by the doxology Paul gives in Ephesians 3:20-21 ‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.'  Our God is gracious he hears our prayers and in his perfect timing answer our prayers to glorify his holy Name.

1. The complications and mysteries of our earthly lives.

1. The second chapter of Ruth opens by introducing us to Boaz. Who was Boaz? The name Boaz does not provide much information as the meaning of the name is unclear; some think it means quick or strength, if it is a combination of both it would describe a person who is dexterous. The author of Ruth is very eager to inform us that Boaz' was of the family of Elimelech, so he gives this information in the first verse and then repeats it in the third verse. By referring to the family connection twice the author puts the spot-light on Boaz and wants us to take note of him as he is a very important person in Ruth and Naomi's future lives. The Old Testament concept of family is much wider than our concept. Jacob's family included three generation and a great number of servants. All those who lived under the protection of the head of the house were counted as family. The importance of Boaz being considered a member of Elimelech's family lies in the role he will play as kinsman redeemer later on. To the Jews who first read this book the family connection would fill their minds with a number of questions and speculations about the obligation of Boaz towards Naomi and Ruth. We are also told that Boaz was a man of wealth. The Hebrew word translated as wealth means much more than our idea of being rich. The word has a strong connection with moral diligence and refers to a person's integrity. Boaz uses the same word in Ruth 3:11 to describe Ruth's character, he says all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. The same word is translated as virtuous. As the story unfolds we know that Boaz is a man of integrity, but also of substance and influence. The author wants to instil into his readers a favourable sense towards Boaz, he is telling them, ‘Boaz is a man you should like.'
   
   
2. Having introduced Boaz the author now takes us back to Ruth and Naomi. It is important to remind ourselves of the situation Naomi and Ruth were in and also the relationship that existed between them. Ruth had accompanied Naomi to Bethlehem in spite of Naomi's strong attempt to persuade Ruth to return to her mother's house. Ian Duguid makes this comment concerning Naomi's attitude, ‘The last thing she (Naomi) wanted was one more mouth to feed and one more body to clothe. This was especially the case when that particular body would be a constant reminder of Naomi's sin in abandoning the Promised Land with her husband years before in search of greener fields in Moab. Ruth was also a constant reminder of Naomi's sin in marrying her sons to foreign women outside the covenant.' Ruth had proved herself a strong woman in setting aside her mother-in-law's arguments and committing herself to Naomi and the Lord's people. Ruth believed that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was her God and she would serve him among his people. Ruth loved Naomi even though she was bitter and blamed the Lord for her painful past.
   
   
3. The conversation between Ruth and Naomi in verse 2 is very interesting as it tells us a great deal about these two women. Listen again to the words of that verse, ‘So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the  field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favour."' The first question that comes to my mind is, ‘Why did Naomi not go with Ruth to glean in the fields?'  Naomi would have been a woman in her fifties, but a very fit woman considering she had walked from Moab to Bethlehem. The Scripture mentions no crippling disability that made her unfit for work. Two women would be able to glean more than one and provide a bit more food. Naomi had local knowledge which would have helped in selecting a field that belonged to a landowner who was not hostile to gleaners. From a security point of view two women would be safer than one. Naomi knew the people of Bethlehem; she would have been accepted more quickly than Ruth as a gleaner. Listen to Naomi's response to Ruth's request to go and glean in the fields, ‘Go, my daughter.' This is a very terse response to a daughter-in-law who is loving and caring and who is taking responsibility to go and find food for both of them. It's very tempting to read into this response the idea that her deep bitterness concerning the past had caused her to sink into depression and despair. We know that depression is often linked to a deep and profound sense of loss that robs a person of their reason and purpose for living. Was Naomi so consumed by worry concerning the present situation and so resentful about the past that she had burned up all her energy and has no energy to actually do something to resolve her problems?  When a person sinks into this condition, depression feeds on itself: you do nothing because you do not feel like doing anything, and then you are deeply saddened by the fact that you do nothing. It's like being stuck in a deep slimy pit from which you cannot get out. Listen to Ruth's request, "Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favour." Is Ruth being extremely polite or is she tip-toeing around a hypersensitive mother-in-law? Was Naomi too depressed to go and glean with Ruth?
   
   
4. If Naomi was depressed it reveals in Ruth a remarkable strength of character. Ruth does not let Naomi's depression drag her down and cause her to do nothing about their bleak situation. Ruth could have come up with a number of excuses as to why she should not go out into the fields and glean after the harvesters. She could have used the fact that she was a Moabite as an excuse. The fact that Ruth is a Moabite is referred to seven times in this short book of four chapters. The author repeats the term Moabitess in order to convey to the readers the general attitude towards Ruth. It is a derogative term and it is used of Ruth in the same way that Jews seek to insult Jesus by calling him a Samaritan.  Calling her a Moabitess emphasised that she was not regarded as one of us, she was a non- kosher woman. Ruth got this message and in verse 6 she calls herself a foreigner. Gossip was very much a part of Bethlehem's daily round, everyone knew that her name was Ruth, but called her the Moabitess. Ruth was the foreigner who had not been welcomed and accepted by the townsfolk. Ruth could easily have been afraid and opted not to go and glean in the fields. If Ruth spoke Hebrew it was her second language and she could have offered this as an excuse not to go gleaning in the fields. Ruth mindful of all the dangers nevertheless commits herself to go and glean in order to find some food. Ruth was a doer, not a contemplator, she did not procrastinate, she saw what was needed and gave herself to the task.
   
   
5. Ruth set off to glean with a hope that she would find favour in the eyes of the landowner in whose field she gleaned. We can be sure that this was also the prayer that Ruth offered as she walked out of Bethlehem to find a field where the harvesters were working. It is interesting to note that the word translated as favour is the same word Naomi used in her prayer in Ruth 1:8 and is translated kindly. The Hebrew word Hesed would be better translated as grace. Naomi prayed for God's grace which we know is the working of God's mighty power directed by his amazing love to bless his people. Ruth was praying and hoping that the landowner is whose field she gleaned would be a man full of grace. Ruth stepped out in faith and trusted the Lord to lead her as she looked for a suitable field in which to glean.
   
   
6. Ruth 2:3 is a very interesting verse and we need to translate it as true to the original as possible in order to grasp the situation. The NKJV reads, ‘Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.' The word translated as happened would be more correctly translated as ‘as chanced chanced' (Duguid) or ‘the happenstance that happened to' (Ferguson) in more modern idiom we would say ‘as luck would have it'.  The Literal Translation version phrases this verse as follows, ‘And she went. And she came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And her chance happened to be on the potion of the field belonging to Boaz who was of Elimelech's family.'  We know that there is no such thing as luck and that things do not happen by chance everything that comes to pass follows God's plan. In Psalm 139:16 David says ‘Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.' (New Living Translation.) Why does the Author use language that is very non-theological?  I think there are three reasons:
   
   
1. The author is seeking to make us sit up and take careful note of what he is about to say. He uses this as a technique to get your attention much like you would use Bold and Italics and underlining to really emphasise a point in a letter. This is confirmed by verse 4 which starts with the words, ‘Now behold' which is a call to sit-up and take note of what follows.
   
   
2. The author does not want us to think that Ruth and Naomi conspired together and selected the field of Boaz for Ruth to glean in. When Ruth left Naomi to go and glean neither Naomi nor Ruth had any idea of where she would go or in whose field she would glean. Ruth had no reason to choose one field over the next, but by God's guiding hand ended up in Boaz' field.
   
   
3. The narrative of Ruth deals with a story of human life and to a large extent the author tells the story from a human perspective, but does not want the readers to miss the working of God's providence. The writer wants us to see everything from a human perspective and a divine perspective. Listen to Sinclair Ferguson explaining this technique, ‘In order to give us a sense of how God's providence effects his purposes, Bible narratives sometimes use the literary equivalent to the movie maker's or television director's ‘split-screen' technique. They do with works what modern technology can do visually-splitting the screen so that we can have two different perspectives simultaneously or can compare two different actions or events, and relate them to each other.' We must watch the human drama unfold, but must also be aware that God is the conductor who is orchestrating all events according to the score he has written.
   
   
7. The opening three verses of Ruth chapter two wants us to be filled with expectation on three levels:  (1) What is going to happen when Ruth meets Boaz and what significance will the fact that Boaz is a member of Elimelech's family have on this meeting? (2) What is going to happen to Naomi? (3) What has the Lord in stall for his servants? These three things are like the strands of a rope woven together, we need to keep our eyes on all three. Looking at the lives of Ruth and Naomi it's obvious that their lives were filled with complications and uncertainties. Looking at Boaz's life we see a mystery unfolding, he does not have a clue about the Lord's secret plan for his life. Our lives are no different we all have complications and God's secret plan is a mystery. We do not know what tomorrow holds nor do we understand how brothers and sister in Christ who are total strangers to us can come into our lives and change our lives dramatically. There is no doubt that we find living with our complications and the mysteries of God's secret plan difficult and stressful. The question that often comes to us as we live our lives with our complications and uncertainties is what am I going to do? As believers there are two things we must do and can do that the world cannot do;(i) we can pray to the Lord and ask for grace and mercy (ii) we must trust God for his providence. These are the two things we must do, but we find them extremely difficult to do.

2. Facing the complications and mysteries of our earthly lives with prayer and trust.

1. We need to apply the truths of using the privilege of prayer and trusting God's providence to our lives. We need to start with trusting God before we look at prayer for James 1:5-8 tells us, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.'  How do I strengthen my trust in the Lord? Think for a moment about the question, ‘can you trust God?' This question actually asks two questions rather than one. The first question is ‘is God reliable, dependable and faithful and therefore trustworthy?‘Yes you can trust God.' The second question is ‘is my relationship with God one that gives me enough confidence to trust God? Your ability to trust God depends on the condition of your relationship with him. We need to take stock of our relationship with the Lord often, in order to make sure that it is sound and solid. Scripture tells us over and over again that God is totally trustworthy therefore we can answer:
   
   
2. Think of Naomi as a woman who regards her life as empty. By empty she means that she has nothing to live for, her husband and sons have died and she has been reduced to poverty. She had become a bitter person blaming God for her pain and saying ‘the Lord has afflicted me'. Knowing this what do you think the state of Naomi's relationship with the Lord was like? One word should have come to your mind, ‘poor.' Her walk would have been mechanical, her obedience external and attitude very critical. Naomi believed she was a victim and God had done her wrong. In this state her prayer-life would have meant very little to her. Do you think you would help Naomi by telling her to pray or to think about the hymn ‘what a friend we have in Jesus'? Is praying what Naomi needed to do? Yes, but in her state she would not have been able to do it. Above everything else Naomi needed to restore her relationship with the Lord.
   
   
3. She needed to come to the Lord to confess and repent of her sin. The last thing that Naomi would have been thinking about would be her sin. Her sin of turning her back on the only true and living God and seeking a more abundant life in Moab, her sin of marrying her sons to Moabite women, the sin of lying to her daughters-in-law. This last one may surprise you, but when she sought to persuade Orpah and Ruth to return to their mother's home and to Moab's gods. Naomi in a real sense had laid out the options for her daughters-in-law as follows, Yahweh plus nothing in Bethlehem or everything minus Jehovah in Moab. Is it any wonder that Orpah sought to return to that which was familiar and in which she saw security? Perhaps more than these sins Naomi needed to look at her sin of refusing to submit to the will of God. Above all things Naomi needed a submissive heart that would dissolve her pride, anger and disappointment in the Lord. Only a submissive heart would allow her to see the loving hand of God not allowing her to find comfort and joy in her sin. The loving hand of God brought her back to Bethlehem. Naomi needed to see that the loving hand of God's providence had followed her to Moab and brought her back.

Conclusion.

If your life is weighed down by the complexities and uncertainties of life the first thing you need to do is too take stock of your relationship with the Lord. Examine your life and look for sins that you have not confessed and repented of especially the sin of refusing to submit to the Lord. Our God is a God of love and therefore all his providence must be expressions of his great love. Is your life right with the Lord?