James 5:16 tells us that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” 

What does it mean to be fervent? 

Def - “having or displaying a passionate intensity.” 

True passion is displayed by one word - ACTION! 

If you pray about something and you’re willing to do something about it, that’s fervency. 

Boaz shows us the power of fervent prayer. 

Backstory - Ruth, a Moabite, chose to be associated w/Israel and Israel’s God. 

She was willing to go to Israel w/Noami and suffer. 

This meant she might not ever get a husband. 

News about her devotion spread fast. 

Her and Naomi were poor, so Ruth had to glean in fields for food. 

Boaz, a single rich relative, heard about their plight. 

Vs 8-12 - “Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

Boaz doesn’t just tell Ruth that God will find a way to repay her. 

He tells Ruth that God is interested in her complete well-being. 

And because God is interested in her well-being, Boaz takes it upon himself to do all that he can to make God’s concern a reality 

Vs 13 - Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

She recognizes Boaz’s role in her life (the comforter). 

Vs 14a - “And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine…” 

Valentines date - 2:14! 

Vs 14b-16 - “…So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

Anthony Bloom writes: “It is absolutely pointless to ask God for something which we ourselves are not prepared to do.”

When Boaz invokes God’s protection, he is willing to do precisely what he asks God to do. 

He doesn’t wait with hopeful anticipation for a miracle to fall from the sky. 

He gives her grain. 

He does all that is within his power to make a “miracle” happen.

This is what a fervent prayer looks like - we ask God to do His part, but we are fully willing to do our part. 

Boaz’s reward: 

Vs 7-9 - “And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

The very thing Boaz attributed to God (vs 2:12) she is now attributing to him as a man of God. 

The gift of a wife is a true gift from God. 

Proverbs 19:14 - “Houses and wealth are inherited from parents. But a prudent wife is from the Lord.” 

Make your prayers fervent by putting in the action necessary to see those prayers answered! 

NOTE - The story of Ruth and Orpah is the precursor to David and Goliath.  

Midrash - ancient commentaries by rabbi’s to go along with Scripture. 

Ruth & Orpah were the grandchildren of the King of Eglon (who was the son of Balak). 

Ehud in Judges kills the fat King Eglon. 

Orpah turned to prostitution after she left Naomi. 

There were giants called “Nephilim” in Moab (descended from Philistines).

She got pregnant from one of them and gave birth Goliath and later his three brothers.