Many people have asked me, “Abraham’s Servant, how should I pray?” It may seem weird to ask such things of me, as I am just a servant of my master Abraham, the patriarch of all the people of God, and to that I would agree. His family stretches throughout time, and one of His ancestors, our Lord Jesus Christ, is far better suited to answer this question than I am. His disciples even asked Him at one point to teach them (Luke 11:1), and for the final authority on how to talk to God, I would refer you to Him. But since my prayer is recorded in Genesis 24, and it takes up a whole chapter, obviously there was something I did there that was worth learning from. And so, in answer to your question, oh great student of the Word, I will answer you.
The task was simple: go and find a wife for the son of my master, Isaac. Since he doesn’t get out much (he’s usually busy being sacrificed), my master told me to go back to his relatives and find him a bride. “Whatever you do,” he said, “don’t go back to Canaan to find Isaac a wife!” So off I went, on the long journey to the city of Nahor in Mesopotamia. That’s where I met Rebekah, one of the most gorgeous women I had ever laid eyes upon. Was this the one? Only one way to find out! I asked God for His guidance, and sure enough, all the signs added up. I brought her home to my master, and…well…you know the rest of the story.
So what are some tips I can share for you from my experience? Only two, and I’ll keep them brief. I know you’ve got your own things to do for our Lord.
#1: Have Faith
Before my master sent me away, he told me, “The Lord, The God of Heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there.” With this, I knew that God would bless me on my journey. After all, if Isaac’s descendants would be the one that would fulfill the promise of inhabiting the land, Isaac would probably need a wife to be able to accomplish that. Either way, if it were here, or if it were through some other means, I knew that my mission was in keeping with God’s plan. If then, your pursuits are in keeping with God’s plan, have faith that God will bless you in it. If you’re trying to teach others about our Savior, or if you’re trying to do the right thing in helping others, be confident that God is on your side, as He was on mine.
#2: Ask God to help you see the way
Okay, okay, I asked God to show me a sign to help me know that this was the right person. I asked God to let the person who responds in the appropriate way to my request for water be the one that I was to bring back, but Gideon did the same thing (Judges 6:36-40)! And I know that God doesn’t miraculously intervene, or that you don’t have signs in the same way that we did (1 Corinthians 13:8-12), but come on, you still have to ask God to help you to find what you’re looking for! What use is it in asking for something if you can’t even find it when it appears right in front of you? Asking God for some kind of help in figuring out which way to go, or to help in finding what you’re looking for isn’t wrong, it’s just good common sense. Maybe He won’t dry a fleece miraculously overnight or put the exact words that you’re looking for in someone else’s mouth, but you have to believe that God will help you to discern what it is you’re looking at. Didn’t Jesus promise that He would “be with you always”? If He is, then trust that He will help you to understand what you’re seeing.
Those are my tips. It’s not much, but they definitely helped me in my quest. Be strong in whatever it is that you do for our Lord (Eccl. 9:10), and may our Lord bless you in your work for Him. I have to run, time to fix some dinner for a few strangers that just walked up to the tent (Genesis 18).
Last modified: January 22, 2019