sorrow, forgiveness, sad prayer

May 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 of you in the house of her husband!

Background

The book of Ruth is the story of a mother and her daughter-in-law who show great love and devotion to each other. It is a story of losing and finding, humiliation and exaltation, despair and joy. The book has been the subject of many plays, literary works, and films—a testament to its message and its timelessness.

Teachers and pastors often cite Ruth as an example of devotion and perseverance. Yet, those themes are not the primary reason why the story is part of the Bible. Some of the more troubling moral aspects of the characters’ behavior are typically swept under the rug in sermons and books.

Another aspect frequently overlooked relates to prayer. There are many prayers in this short book (nine or ten, depending on how you define “prayer”). Why did the writer include so many more prayers per text than any other book? What does it teach us about prayer?