The Prayer of Abraham’s Servant
The servant was well-aware that if he was going to be successful, he needed God's help to do so.
The other day, I was reading the Bible story of Abraham sending his most trusted servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. It's an interesting story with plenty of insights and lessons. What caught my attention this time around was the prayerful posture of this unnamed servant who was on a quest to find a wife for his master's son. You can read the servant's prayer in Genesis 24:12-14. Here are some interesting insights that I gathered from pondering upon this servant's prayer.
The servant obviously wanted to succeed in this task given by his master Abraham. It was such an important assignment and if it was within his power, he didn't want to come back home empty handed. But the servant knew that the success or failure of this mission was not ultimately in his hands. He believed that success was dependent on the will of God. Therefore, it was pertinent for the servant to pray to God and ask for His guidance. In fact, he prayed specifically to be successful in this assignment that he was on. The servant said, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today" (Gen. 24:12 ESV). The servant was well-aware that if he was going to be successful, he needed God's help to do so.
I'm intrigued by how mundane and down-to-earth the servant's prayer was. He concretely and practically described his situation to God. He said stuff like "I am standing by the spring of water" and "the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water" (Gen. 24:13 ESV). The servant described in detail what was happening to him. This is a bit hilarious because God knows these things already. Of course, God knows that the servant is standing by a well and that the daughters are out to draw water. God knows everything. But it's nice to know that we can give God specific details of our situation even though He's very much aware of them already.
The servant finds a way to receive confirmation from God about which woman was the one for Isaac. Once again, the servant was very detailed with his prayer: "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" (Gen. 24:14 ESV). The prayer contained an unusual event that if it happened, it would signal to him that God had intervened to bring success: if the woman drew water for the camels too, even though the servant only asked water for himself. The story, of course, ends with success as Rebekah not only gives water to the servant but also draws water for the camels too.
The last thing that intrigued me about this passage was how the servant was patiently observing how God was going to answer the prayer. He didn't just pray about it and then forget about it. He prayed and immediately waited in anticipation for how God would answer. The Bible records that the servant "gazed at [Rebekah] in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not" (Gen. 24:21 ESV). The servant prayed and then diligently paid attention to God's answer. And he was able to appropriately discern God's answer in the end.
We don't know much more about this servant. The passage doesn't even record his name. But his prayerful posture in this story serves as an inspiration to us in our own prayers to God. We can pray for success in our endeavors. We can be specific with our details (we won't bore God!). And we can learn to patiently observe how God will work to answer our prayers to Him.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
