“Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.”
Hosea 2:6–7
When Gomer, the Old Testament prophet Hosea’s wife, continued to chase after other lovers, God placed a hedge of thorns around her, keeping her from finding adulterous relationships and eventually driving her back to her husband.
Job, on the other hand, had a hedge of protection lifted from his life after Satan asked to sift him: “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread thought the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” Job 1:10–11
A similar sifting, by removing the hedge of protection, is implied in Peter’s life: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail.” Luke 22:31
Which of these prayers should you pray? Maybe we pray the prayer found in Hosea and ask for this hedge for our family and other loved ones. We can ask God to hedge them in so they will find the right kind of friends but be protected from the wrong kind of influences.
In the case of family or friends, who are prodigals, we can pray a hedge of thorns around them to protect them from friends who influence them in the wrong way.
The hedge that we are praying for can be used to direct them in the right direction or meant to protect them from evil circumstances or people.
The Bible says,
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
(James 5:16b NLT)
Let’s prayer together for those that are close to us, for God to place a hedge around them.
Pastor Bill