How did Ruth prepare for her marriage to Boaz?
Ruth 3:3 'Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.'
We see then that which is needed in preparing ourselves at this time. Three things are given for Ruth to do - wash herself, anoint herself, and put on her best clothes! Each of these acts are quite common in the Old Testament and each is interpreted for us in the New Testament.
1) Wash yourself - is being washed with the water of the word as Eph 5:26 tells us. It means examining ourselves by the word and allowing it to govern our attitudes, motives and desires. In times of testing the word of God is a light unto our path, giving us hope to persevere.
2) Anoint yourself - always speaks of the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled (or controlled) by the Holy Spirit and this is crucial in times of refining when our natural reaction is to be anything but controlled!
3) Put on your best clothes - speaks of a righteous life. Revelation 19:8 says 'It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen... for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.' This is only possible to the extent that we've got the first two tasks in place.