He said, "Adonai, God of my master Avraham, please let me succeed
today; and show your grace to my master Avraham." (Bereshit / Genesis
24:12; CJB)
I wonder how many people would start praying if it was
guaranteed God would grant their requests. And if you already pray, would you
adjust your prayer methods if you possessed the secret to answered prayer? This
week's Torah portion may just contain the hidden key to unlock heaven's
infinite resources.
Abraham sent his servant to the land of his relatives to
acquire, if possible, a wife for his son Isaac. Upon arriving outside the city
wall of Nahor in Mesopotamia, he prayed. He prayed a prayer of occurrence. A
prayer of occurrence, according to my own definition, is a prayer where we
expect an occurrence of something to indicate the will of God. In the book of
Shoftim (English: Judges) for example, Gideon twice seeks to confirm God's will
based on the particular conditions of a fleece and the morning dew (see Shoftim
/ Judges 6:36-40). It's interesting that Gideon already knew what God wanted
him to do. He only went through this procedure because he was scared. Yet God
cooperated with Gideon's requests. In the case of Abraham's servant, he asked
God that if the woman to whom he asks a particular question answers in a
particular way, then let her be Isaac's future wife.
And she shows up! He set the prepared question before God, and
as if reading a script Rebekah answers exactly as requested. Moreover, we read
that she appeared on the scene "Before he had finished speaking"
(Genesis / Bereshit 24:15; CJB). Not only did God answer his prayer, he hadn't
even finished praying before the answer began to materialize before his eyes.
Who would not want to learn how to pray like that!
Many years later Isaiah prophesied that the day would come
when God's people would experience answers to prayer in this same fashion. He
writes, "Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I
will hear." (Isaiah 65:24; CJB). Perhaps we are in that day, the day when
God is so anxious to answer our prayers that he grants our requests before we
can hardly get the words out of our mouths. But what do we need to do to get
God to respond to us in this way? Abraham's servant holds the key. His prayer
demonstrates an essential spiritual principle that if we follow it, there is no
limit to what God will do for us.
Heaven's resources were at the disposal of Abraham's servant
because he was living out God's plan. He didn't travel all that way to satisfy
the whim of his master. Abraham's desire for his son was rooted in God's will.
We too can expect God to answer our prayers when we pray his will.
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