GENESIS 24:12-19 – And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.” 15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
What a fine example of prayer by such a “nobody” . . . a mere servant of Abraham. We don’t even know his name. Imagine getting a business card from him. All it reads is “Servant of Abraham”, yet we may learn some valuable points on prayer from him. We will also gain some insights into our God who answers prayer.
First, the prayer life of Abraham’s servant. He prayed with reverence – O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. No demands. No commands. He knew who he was addressing.
Next, notice how specific he was in his petitioning – Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master. This is important for us. God is our God of details. We should approach Him not in a vague manner, but with specific needs and desires.
A final lesson on prayer from the servant of Abraham is to accept God’s answer. Granted, the Lord did so exactly in the manner he prayed, but we have no indication he would have rebelled if God didn’t. Now lessons on the Lord and prayer.
We may learn two things about our Lord concerning prayer. The first is the truth He answers our prayers – always but remember the how and the timing are His. He will say “yes”, “no” or “not yet.” There is no such thing as unanswered prayer from God.
The second truth of God in answering our prayers is that it will be according to His will and desire. Hopefully, we are praying His Word which builds our confidence that we are praying according to His will and desire. Such praying draws us near the heart of God and we willingly submit to His answers.
So, prayer lessons about ourselves and our God from an unassuming servant. May we learn to be as childlike in praying and our understanding of our God who answers prayer.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to pray with confidence and to be satisfied with Your answer and its timing.”
QUOTE: “God always answers our prayers, but He will do so according to His will and His timing.”