Stretching his back the best he could, the faithful servant wished again for a more comfortable way to travel. He’d been on this camel far too long. Weeks too long. It had been a lengthy journey. A quiet ride. The men with him weren’t given to chatter. His thoughts weren’t given to silence. Like shooting stars, they exploded across his mind, voicing concerns, raising doubts, asking questions. He didn’t have answers. Not really. Nothing that would permanently quiet the storm of thoughts in his head. His mission was slightly terrifying. So many things could go wrong. What if he didn’t find a suitable woman? What if she declined? What if her family wouldn’t let her leave? What if he had to return to Abraham empty-handed?
He couldn’t let that happen. Wouldn’t let it happen. He’d interview every eligible female in Abraham’s hometown before he’d concede. Failure was not a viable option. He must secure a wife for Isaac. The promise he’d made to Abraham echoed in his mind, weighed heavily on his heart. The questions he’d posed chased one another through his thoughts. What should he do if the woman was unwilling to make the daunting journey to marry a man she’d never met and live among people she didn’t know? It would be unsurprising to garner negative responses, receive pushback from family. Every father of the bride wants to meet the groom. Preferably before the wedding. But Abraham had been adamant. In full faith, the girl must come to Isaac. Isaac must never go to the girl. Ever. He should never return to the land of their ancestors. He needed to stay put. Right there. In the land God had given them.
By the time the buildings of Abraham’s hometown began to appear on the horizon, the servant had been in his thoughts for far too long. Every question or problem with any potential to arise had been thoroughly cogitated. He’d finally settled on a game plan. One he’d learned by watching Abraham as they journeyed from place to place following the sometimes nearly indistinguishable hand of God. He would pray. Before doing anything else in the city. Before arranging accommodations. Before commencing a candidate search. Before casting a call for the most beautiful girl, most talented cook, most cordial hostess. Upon arriving in town, he’d park his band of camels and all his goods near the well where all the young women would come to draw water. But before they got there, before one beautiful face had the potential to sway his choice, the servant would pray.
This prayer would be unlike any prayer he’d ever prayed before. Probably distinctly different than any he’d pray in the future. He didn’t have the words all planned out yet. Some of them might not even need spoken to an omniscient God. He’d say them anyway. Tell God where he was and what he was up to. Tell Him on whose behalf he was doing this task. Then he’d utter his request. Ask for his miracle. Because it would be a miracle if this worked. He would ask God to let the one girl who should be Isaac’s wife give him a drink from her water jug and offer to water his camels as well. It would be an enormous undertaking.
Camels like water. A lot. They literally soak it in. A quick internet search will tell you that camels can drink multiple gallons of water at a time. Double-digit amounts. And there were ten camels. Based on even the most conservative estimates I found, the girl would have to haul somewhere around 200 gallons of water for the camels alone. Any idea how much a gallon of water weighs? I do. Now and then I believe myself amazing enough to haul two-gallon jugs with one hand. I quickly learn I’m crazy. My arm tightens. My shoulder pulls. My hand hates me. Immediately. Maybe I’m just an out-of-shape wimp. Regardless, it stands to reason that hauling 200 gallons of water would be exhausting. And she wouldn’t be done. That sweet girl would still have to draw and carry the water she initially came to retrieve for her household. She was going to be there a while. The servant was going to have plenty of time to observe her mannerisms. How she interacted with the other girls at the well. How she treated his camels. How she handled herself around his traveling companions. It was a test he prayed someone would pass.
As evening approached, the servant positioned himself and his camels around the well. Dropping to his knees, he prayed. A prayer of faith and hope. A prayer only God could answer for a miracle only God could give. A prayer that was rather quickly interrupted by the approach of a lovely young woman with a jug on her shoulder. Watching as she walked past and filled her jug, the servant waited until she was headed back toward him, then approached and asked for a drink from her water jug. I know. Creepy. Some random guy lurking by the well watching the girls fetch water. In our world it would have smacked of ill-intentioned attention. We’d tell our girls to run the other way. Scream. Use their cell phone to call the police. Apparently, that’s not how they did things back then. At least Rebekah didn’t. Disregarding any concerning vibes exuding from the somewhat sketchy situation, she stopped. Whipping the jug off her shoulder, she offered him a drink. While he was slaking his thirst from her freshly filled pot, she innocently bubbled out an offer to water his camels, too! All ten of them.
The servant must have nearly choked as he tried to swallow his shock and his drink at the same time. It had to be one of the quickest answers to prayer he’d ever seen. Literally. He hadn’t even said, “Amen!” This was the first girl that came along. Yet here he was with the exact miracle for which he’d asked. Staring at the wisp of a girl in front of him, he realized the enormity of the task he’d asked God to make her undertake. But couldn’t refuse. It was exactly what he’d prayed for. It wasn’t a minimal task. The girl would definitely be late getting home with her water jug. But it gave him time to watch, to listen, to wrap his head around the fact that the God of Abraham had brought him success so quickly upon his arrival. Gave him a moment to pause and be grateful that before he did anything else, he prayed. (Genesis 24)
With little effort, most of us could find a dozen things to unpack in this account. Abraham’s faith. The servant’s faith. Rebekah’s faith. But the outcome of the adventure really hinges on this one thing. The servant prayed. First. Before anything else. Before finding a comfortable place to rest. Before announcing his arrival. Before introducing himself to the community. Before heralding his mission. Before searching out Abrahams’ relatives. Before letting everyone know about his situation, his need. Before voicing his concerns to all who would listen. Before conducting his business in any normal human way or using age-old strategies. Before doing anything, he asked God to do everything. The servant prayed.
Those are life goals right there, friend. Seriously. We aren’t good at that. Praying first. Trusting God to handle things we can’t. We are much better at talking. Railing, really. Going on and on to everyone who will listen about our alleged grievance, issue, insult, or problem. By the time we wind down and remember to pray about it, our minds are buzzing with so much bad advice and so many ill-conceived notions we can’t even hear the voice of God telling us which path to take. We have no idea what to do or how to do it. We are frustrated and confused and a little angry. Maybe a lot angry. And you know what? That’s exactly where the evil one wants you to be.
He’s counting on you being there. Humans are predictably similar. We all struggle with the same basic things. Talking too much is absolutely one of them. Praying too little is another. The evil one knows that. He also knows that if he can get in on the ground floor when you haven’t yet prayed, your mind is swirling with the problem, your fingers are texting and you’ve called your best friend to vent, he can screw things up royally. And, wow, is he happy! That’s right up his alley. Screwing things up. One well-placed thought followed by a carefully worded question will fly across your mind and you’ll be in your feelings for hours. Days if he can make it happen. But you can cut him off at the pass, stop his fun before it begins, if you simply do what the faithful servant of Abraham did. Pray. (Proverbs 10:19; I Peter 5:8; John 10:10; Ephesians 6:10-18)
Pray first. Every day. In every situation. Talk, or don’t, later. Before you waste a hundred hours hashing it out in your head. Before you ring your best friend. Before you fire off a questionable text. Before you do anything at all. Pray. Pray before the evil one has time to set up camp in your head. Pray before he can plant seeds of anger and bitterness in your heart. Pray before you cast aspersions and blame and spread rumors you have no business spreading about things of which you have no real knowledge or understanding. Pray for the same things in you that the servant had in him. Pray to suppress the need to speak when you should be silent. Pray to guard against the raging, ridiculous thoughts that draw you aside. Pray that your actions exhibit your dedication to God and your willingness to let Him work in the way He wants. Don’t manipulate the situation. Don’t play games with people. Don’t make a scene. Just pray. First. And let God answer. (Proverbs 10:14; 21:23; II Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 4:29-32; 5:1-2; I John 2:6; Leviticus 25:17)
In a world of impatient waiting and rushed responses where little time is given to thoughtful answers or the wisdom of contemplation, it has never been more important to pray first. Start your day that way. Every day. End your day that way. Fall asleep quietly, calmly bringing your concerns, petitions, problems to God. Before you do anything else with those things. Before you talk to anyone else about those things. Pray. Before you make that decision. Before you say those words. Before you take that action. Pray. First. Not just when things are overwhelming or scary or feel impossible. Pray when things are annoying, irritating, infuriating. Pray when your knee-jerk reaction is to do something else. Pray before your mouth shoots off, your brain misfires, your soul gets led astray. Pray. Always. About everything. Pray to be like Jesus. Pray to be inhabited by Him. Pray that only His thoughts will be in your head. Pray that only His words will be on your lips. Pray that His actions would flow through and out of you. Before you do anything else. Pray. (I Thessalonians 5:17; Colossians 4:2; Matthew 26:41; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Luke 18:1; Psalm 19:14)