Prayer Response to Hosea 2

Hosea 2:19-20
"'I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, then you will know the Lord.'"

A little background I just learned from cross-referencing...The reason God mentions righteousness and justice and faithfulness is because these are qualities that Israel had forsaken in their lives at this time, but they are qualities God still possessed. The reason He mentions lovingkindness and compassion is because He was reversing what He had said in chapter 1 about not having compassion on Israel. So, here's my prayer response, which comes out of a heart that is processing a Voice of the Martyrs conference from yesterday, the book The Heavenly Man, and God's continual challenging of me to be bold in this culture so this nation might know Him (including the church!)...

God, you were showing Israel that you are all the things they are not, that even though they have forskaken all of these qualities, you still possess them. By betrothing them to you in righteousness, you beckoned them to return to their first love and live righteously again. By betrothing them to you in justice, you revelaed their sin, led them through discipline, and showed them your demand for justice in every aspect of society. You revealed how far they had come from seeking righteousness and justice in their land. Sounds familiar. God, let us seek righteousness and justice in this country and around the world, no matter the cost. Betroth us to you aain, or maybe we just need to be reminded that you already have betrothed us to you.

By betrothing them in lovingkindness and compassion, you reversed the harshness of your wrath and reminded them who you are. You revealed yourself as their Husband who desired intimacy with them, while the Baals they worshipped were mere statues. Lord, why do we turn away from you and run after something else as stupid as a stone statue? I'm sorry. We as the Western church have forsaken our first love, pursuing stone statues such as ourselves, money, success, comfort. Shame on us. We have been extremely unfaithful. We are harlots just as Israel was here. We have only taken the parts of you and the parts of your Word that we like, that promise us blessing. But we've forgotten your purpose that goes along with that blessing. We've forgotten the parts that talk about your wrath, justice, commands, the sacrifice and cost of following you, etc. I'm sorry for letting my American culture dictate your Word to me. I'm sorry for letting my culture water down the gospel, sugar coat your commands, and lessen your character (or our view of your character). We have certainly been unfaithful. Knock us out of our stupor. Reveal yourself to us as the Almighty God who demands all or nothing. Revive us to be about your kingdom and NOTHING else. Strip us of our money, possessions, comfort, and anything else that is an obstacle to living for your glory and your kingdom. Show us the cost of following you. Make us bold ambassadors fr you. Thank you for your faithfulness despite our unfaithfulness. Thank you for still loving us and betrothing us to yourself. Thank you for still desiring intimacy with us. Stir within us a burning passion for your name that is so strong, nothing else matters and everything is worth giving up.

In the mighty, powerul name of Jesus who can do the impossible,
AMEN!