Chapter 7
| Theme: Quiet Waiting in Prayer |
| Focus on: Abraham’s servant |
| Reading Portion(s): Genesis 24 |
| – Important Background Information | |
| – Helps you find strength in God |
| What this article teaches you |
| God sometimes answers us immediately as we conclude our prayers. It can surprise us at times. Some people when answered in this fashion run around shouting that God has answered their prayers. That is fine; but the time to celebrate is not yet come. This is what we have got to realize.
Even when we find that God has answered our prayers, WAIT for some more time. There is more that God would like to reveal. Those things that He would reveal would further confirm and add beauty to the answered prayer. It shall boost our faith and reward our confidence in God. But God only reveals the rest to those who wait in prayer before Him. He reveals such things to those who do not rush out of His presence once they get the answer to prayer. Therefore linger in His presence a little while longer. God, your Lover, has much more to tell you. So wait in prayer before Him. |
We here read that Abraham was now old and well advanced in years. Sarah had passed away. In these circumstances Abraham desired to see his son Isaac married.
So he called the chief servant of his house and made him take an oath. The oath specified that the servant will not get a wife for Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom they were now living. Instead he had to go Abraham’s country and relatives to find a wife for Isaac.
Abraham did not want Isaac to go back to his country because God had called him to come out of it. Abraham knew that by God’s promise the land he was now living was promised to his descendants. He was also sure that God will send an angel to guide the servant in getting a wife for Isaac from among his father’s relatives.
So we find that the servant with a lot of good things loaded on camels sets out for Abraham’s native land. And he reaches the town of Nahor. He made his camels kneel down by the well. By the time he reached there it was evening; the time the women came out to draw water.
Now we find the servant praying.
This is amazing because we find no reference to this man’s relationship with God. We do not know how he came to have faith. The only possibility is that this man came to know God through the faith of Abraham. He might have learned to pray seeing Abraham pray. But amazingly this man shows a great maturity in prayer that we do not expect from a man of such circumstances.
The servant addresses God as the God of his master Abraham. He requests God to show kindness to his master Abraham. Then he places a condition before God. He tells God that if the girl to whom he asks for water gives him a drink and tells him that she will water the camels too; let that be the sign that this is the girl chosen for Isaac.
Before he had finished praying there came Rebekah, a beautiful virgin, with her jar on her shoulder. The servant hurried to her and asked her for a drink. And she not only gave him a drink but also volunteered to water his camels. And she did so until the camels had enough.
While all this was happening the servant was waiting and watching all these proceedings quietly. He was seeing all his conditions he had placed before God being fulfilled. All this began to happen even before he had finished praying. Yet this man did not jump to conclusions. This was not distrust in God, but quiet waiting in prayer.
Here we can learn an important lesson in prayer. Sometimes God answers our prayers very fast. It could happen even before we finish praying. Yet that is not the time to go around shouting that God has answered our prayer. It is the time to wait quietly before God. It is the time that we are not to speak. It is the time we are to watch closely the happenings to see whether God has indeed given success in our task.
This man waited till the camels had finished drinking. Then he proceeded to give the girl some ornaments and ask the girl about her family. As soon as he heard that she was indeed Abraham’s relative he bowed down and worshipped the Lord.
This is the result of quiet waiting in prayer: The conditions may have been already met; yet there are more things to be revealed. While you wait in prayer, those things too will be disclosed. And then you can praise the Lord and worship Him.
We find the servant proceeding to Rebekah’s house. Here he tells them his business of coming there. He tells them how God had guided him. When they heard his narrative they simply said that this matter was from the Lord. And they allowed Rebekah to go with him. When he heard this he bowed down again and worshipped the Lord. Finally, without any delay, he leads Rebekah to Isaac, who marries her and is comforted after his mother’s death.
Next
Previous
Read more posts on prayer:
Pathways of Prayer
The Secret of Prayer Posts Lists