Lindsey, I spent months preparing to do these final 26 days of prayers for women of the Bible, and when I was reading about Ruth, something I read reminded me of your initial rejection from “America’s Got Talent”. This is what the Women of Faith Bible says about Ruth: “Ruth was not naive. She likely had faced the indignation of her own people when she married Mahlon, an Israelite. She was aware of the initial resentment against her in Bethlehem. But she refused to accept rejection. Instead she placed herself in the Lord’s hands as she went out to glean in the fields…” Another book, Women of the Bible summed up Ruth’s character like this: “Generous, loyal, and loving, she is strong and serene, able to take unusual risks, dealing actively with life circumstances”. I believe much of this can be said of you, making this a special prayer indeed.

Heavenly Father, I welcome this day with you. All of your creation sings joyfully your praise. The birds sing, the chipmunks chatter. The mountains and hills sing joyfully and the trees clap their hands! Thank you for this wonderful creation Lord. And thank you for the third woman from the book of Ruth that I can use in my A to Z prayers… Ruth herself!

And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. (Ruth 1:16-17)

and here is the scripture I referenced as I started my thanksgiving:

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

Lord, what a joy to know that I can come to sit with you. I look forward to starting a new prayer for your daughter again, especially today since I am on the letter R and am using scriptures regarding the story of Ruth. Lindsey, this is a special prayer for you. Today I am not praying for you right now or for your future. Instead I am thanking God for giving you the gumption to refuse to accept rejection! You were rejected in front of millions of people, yet you refused to accept that. Instead, you chose to take it as a challenge to do even better. And thus I thank the Lord for the wonderful example you are to the millions of young women watching you. I thank God that you can be a role model for them today. I thank God for that terribly hard and bitter day of complete rejection because God used it to show how he can turn all things into good! And we will give the glory to God. All the glory is his. I pray this in the name of Christ Jesus, King of kings. Amen

Ruth:

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