“But I will fence her in with thorn bushes. I will block the road to make her lose her way. When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch up with them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think “I might as well return to my husband because I was better off with him than I am now.” Hosea 2:6–7 (NLT)
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:
“Haven’t You placed a hedge around [Job], his household, and everything he owns? . . . But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face” Job 1:10–11 (HCSB).
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” Luke 22:31 (NIV).
We can pray this hedge for our children 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 children 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 Bible says,
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16b (NLT)
by Jon Walker
used by permission
FURTHER READING
Sample Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the whole armor of God. Please surround me with your hedge of protection as I move forward on the spiritual battlefield today. I praise and worship you now and forever, Amen.”
A Prayer for our Children and Grandchildren
Lord, I am so glad that you know each of our children and grandchildren by name. Thank you for sending a whole hedge of angels around each child. Thank you for protecting them all today. Father, would you please turn their minds and hearts toward You and pleasing you. Thank you!