Last week, I heard someone pray that others would have an affinity for that person. She was serving in an emcee role and so nervous. The person simply asked God that others would feel an affinity for her.
I couldn’t stop thinking of that word and that wonderful prayer. An affinity means a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something. We can pray that our coworkers have an affinity for us, that our family has an affinity for us, or that God supernaturally draws new friends to us because they have that affinity for us.
Affinity! In the Bible, affinity is the idea of finding favor. We see that word when Noah “found favor” with God, when Joseph “finds favor” with the prison guard, when God gives the people of Israel “favor” with the Egyptians to plunder then, when Ruth “finds favor” with the Boaz, when Queen Esther “finds favor” with the king, when Daniel “finds favor” with the leaders, when in Acts, the disciples “find favor” with the people. And of course, the gospel is the story of God allowing us to “find favor” through Jesus once and for all. We have favor with God and others today.
I move out into the day praying that others have an affinity for us. May our children find favor with their teachers and employers and friends. May we find favor in our families and in our work and in our interactions with all people.