Fw: May 21 2011 - Prayer: The Hedge of

Team Ponder,

Great Message on "The Hedge of Protection" by Rick Warren's Church

God loves us so much He will protect us with a Hedge of Protection so the Enemy can't get to us. Hosea 2:6-7 Job 1-3

We may feel the Pressure and know he is attacking but God will protect us from the Enemy and in Gomer's case ourselves.

We may be in a Storm of Life but remember Jesus is in the Boat with us to Calm the Storm.

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4

Rely on God. Lean on God. Trust in God.

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" Isaiah 26:3

Have a great weekend,

Dad
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Saturday, May 21, 2011 Prayer:
The Hedge of Protection by Jon Walker

But I will fence her in with thornbushes. 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)

We can ask God to hedge our children in so they will find the right kind of friends but be protected from the wrong kind of influences.

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)