"Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. Then he prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." Genesis 24:10-14
Abraham’s servant has taken an oath to go to Abraham’s country and find a wife for Isaac with the only real requirement being that she not be a Canaanite. He sets out with ten camels and other goods, arriving in the town of Nahor and kneeling the camels near a water well where women would soon come and draw water. The servant did not know if this was the place where he would find the wife for Isaac but he did know this: he served an awesome God who would help him make sure he selected the right woman.
The evidence of this being true comes in the servant’s actions as he is near the well of Nahor for he prays saying, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
This prayer is simply incredible and reveals elements that we should always remember in our own prayer lives:
1. Acknowledgement of God’s supremacy. The opening of the servant’s prayer places God in His proper place of authority. Abraham may be the servant’s master but Abraham himself has a Supreme Master and that Master is God. He and He alone is Master over all of us and we are to acknowledge and testify as such about Him in every time we communicate to Him or about Him….prayer or otherwise.
2. Petition God for what is needed. In this case, the servant hoped to be able to complete the task given to him by Abraham. If God would only enter in and help him, the servant could find both success and happiness for Abraham…and the Lord would have showed kindness to the servant and to Abraham through His willingness to enter in. What do you need help with today? Why not try to pray for those things you need assistance with an ask God to grant you success and show you kindness? It worked for the servant.
3. Always look to see the way God’s work is revealed. The servant knew that if he asked the Lord to show certain signs through the woman He wanted the servant to select than the servant would be able to immediately recognize the right candidate. So the servant asks God to reveal the woman to him by having her not only offer him a drink but offer to provide water to his camels as well. This would be the sign and the servant would be assured that the Lord had shown kindness to Abraham, a fulfillment of His promise.
So we continue to learn more from this servant…still nameless but showing us that the name of the person doing God’s work isn’t as important as the work he accomplishes. Let’s keep that in mind as we prayerfully consider all that the Lord would have us do this day and forever more.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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