“And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 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. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”” (Genesis 24:12–14, ESV)
By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master. Why do we allow the faithless to tell us how to pray? I mean, seriously, have you noticed what they say to us. “You can’t pray like that! I mean, you can’t tell God what the scenario will be. He’s sovereign and Almighty. He’s in charge. He’ll tell you what will happen.”
Often these well-meaning people are educated in the Bible and have more years with Christ than we do. And so, we believe them … until we start reading our Bibles! And then, we realize that the men and women of faith did a lot of things that the people of faith today tell us not to do.
It’s at that moment when we stop and think, reflect and wonder. While we aren’t going to get judgmental, we should become fruit inspectors. Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:7–8, ESV) The fruit Jesus refers to in these words is answered prayers. Do these well-meaning people have the fruit of God-sized answers to their prayers? Do they share those answers?
When Abraham’s servant asked God for favor, he wanted to be absolutely sure he didn’t mess this up. After all, this was going to be the wife of his master’s son, the successor to the covenant of God and the heir to the Promised Land. Talk about pressure to get it right!
So, when life brings about important decisions, do as Abraham’s servant did: Pray in faith. Set out the scenario that will show you God has answered you. Don’t make it bizarre. Simply allow it to reveal God’s will, something a bit out of the ordinary.
Then, step back and watch God work.
Faith Filled Fridays hope to boost your trust in God and accelerate your daring and courage in everyday life. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each encouragement out of a heart that has known both great joy and great loss – his wife of 38 years, 5 months and 2 days was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. Through every experience, God has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. He welcomes your comments below.
