Prayer is powerful because God answers prayers. There is nothing too big that God’s can’t handle, and there’s nothing too small that escapes His loving care if only we ask for it through prayer, as a servant of Abraham did in Genesis 24:42-46. This responsible servant was tasked to find a wife for his master’s son Isaac in Abraham’s native land. When he arrived there, he came to a spring. Assuming from the text, this faithful servant wanted to pick just the right wife for Isaac, but how was he supposed to know who to pick. Fortunately, he knew that the God of his master Abraham answers prayers.
42 “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, 43 behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also.
Genesis 24:42-46 ESV
God Knows Our Needs Before We Speak Them
I have read this section of Genesis 24 multiple times of late, and God has recently opened my eyes to its beauty and the power of its words I hadn’t previously noticed. My favorite part of this passage is the servant conceding, “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water…” (Genesis 24:45). Often, our prayers are not answered in our timing or how we expect, but this verse is such a wonderful reminder that God does hear our prayers (even before we speak them!!), and He knows exactly what we need when we need it.
Psalm 139:1-6 proclaims…
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
God knows us better than we know ourselves. When the Isrealites were slaves in Egypt, Exodus 2:25 (ESV) says, “God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” Just like He saw the Isrealites and knew their struggles, God saw Abraham’s servant and knew what the servant needed even before he asked for it.
Have Faith in God’s Plan
When the servant prayed to God, he had faith that God would answer his prayer. We can see this by the very specific actions the servant requested of the woman whom God would send. Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV) explains, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Having faith in something we can’t see is often hard. It’s way easier to take control into our own hands. Instead of resisting God’s authority, we can rest in it.
Even this struggle can be lifted to God in prayer. Although it’s tempting to dismiss God and rely on ourselves or other things, Jesus instructs, “ Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). We must humble ouselves to realize that God is in control, and He is the only one who can truly satisfy our needs. Just like He provided Rebekah to fulfill His plan to answer the servant’s earnest prayer, God will provide for us according to His plan.
We Have A Friend in Jesus
Reading Genesis 24:42-46 combined with listening to the hymn What A Friend We Have In Jesus really got me thinking about what a gift prayer is. What an even greater gift it is that God knows our needs even before we pray! As Romans 8:26 communicates, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Anytime and anywhere, we can pray to the Lord with assurance that He hears our prayers, yet knows our needs better than we do, and He will care for us out of the riches of His grace. Our compassionate God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in one, is the best friend we could ever have.
