The Way to the Tree of Life — sacred illustration
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Forgiveness & Grace

The Way to the Tree of Life

Genesis 3:22-24

Genesis 3:24 says: “So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.” It comes at the end of the story of the fall.

Lord God, the way to the tree of life was closed, but You never forgot it, and You never forgot me. Wherever I have wandered from You, bring me home. Wash me and make me Yours, and lead me on the way back to life with You. Amen.

The Scripture

“Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...” Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.”

— Genesis 3:22-24

Prayer points from Genesis 3:22-24

  1. Tell God honestly where you have wandered from Him.
  2. Ask Him to forgive you and wash you clean.
  3. Thank Him that He has not forgotten you.
  4. Ask Him to show you the way back to Him.
  5. Thank Him for the promise of the tree of life at the end of the story.
  6. Ask Him to lead you home, one step at a time.

About this verse

Genesis 3 tells how the man and the woman ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the one tree God had told them not to eat from. At the end of the chapter, the LORD God speaks about the other tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of life. He says that the man must not reach out and take from it, and eat, and live forever. So the LORD God sends him out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground he was taken from. On the east side of the garden He places cherubim, along with a whirling sword of flame, to guard the way to the tree of life. It is a sad and serious moment, but it is not the end of the story. The tree of life appears again at the very end of the Bible, in Revelation 22, where those who wash their robes have the right to the tree of life. It is a prayer for anyone who feels far from God and wants to find the way home.

When to pray this prayer

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