AMAZING GRACE IN ANSWERED PRAYER
February 23, 2024
Genesis 24:50, 51
Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
Scripture reading: Genesis 24:1-67 NIV - Isaac and Rebekah - Abraham was
now - Bible Gateway
AMAZING GRACE IN ANSWERED PRAYER
Psalm 145:18
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth
1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.
Psalm 102:17
He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Psalm 55:17
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
Romans 8:26-27
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. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Ah, the amazing grace of prayer!!
What is clear from our Genesis 24 reading today is that God did hear the prayer of Abraham’s servant.
Here is the story. Abraham told his servant to go take a wife for Isaac from Abraham’s descendants, “go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant takes an oath to follow Abraham’s wishes and off he goes. When the servant arrived in Haran, late in the day, when the women would come to the well to get water, he stopped and he prayed, overwhelmed by the task before him and wanting to fulfill his oath to Abraham her turned to the God who hears.
“Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’, let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
We are told that before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder and she “was very beautiful.” . . . She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. The servant ran to meet her and asks, “Please, can I have a sip of water from your jug?”
Rebekah responds, “Certainly, drink!” And she held the jug so that he could drink. When he had satisfied his thirst she said, “I’ll get water for your camels, too, until they’ve drunk their fill.” She promptly emptied her jug into the trough and ran back to the well to fill it, and she kept at it until she had watered all the camels.
Talk about a detailed answer to prayer. In this prayer the servant asked God to be God. God heard. God listened. God answered. Look at the servant’s response in verse 27, he worshipped, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” One more thing as Rebekah’s brother and father hear the story they say in response, “This is from the Lord.”
“This is from the Lord.” I love that phrase. “This is from the Lord.” How many times have you declared such words in your walk with God? How many times have you witnessed God listen, hear, and move? When was the last time that you experienced the “great and hidden things” revealed to you by God’s grace?
It happens doesn’t it. We Pray, God Hears and we witness the action of God. Not always as swiftly as we would like. But God moves and there is no doubt about it.
So, what is your major life issue today?
Where do you need/want to see God do “Great and hidden things” around you?
I came across this quote the other day, “One truth about prayer that we learn later in life is that God moves us to pray about things He plans to answer. This way we learn to pray with more boldness.” Ponder that one a bit, I did. It is truly amazing grace that God answers our prayers, and His answers are always gracious help given to the “destitute.” Our God is gracious and will answer our prayers. Trust and Pray and Follow.
That’s some really Good News for us as we head into our weekend and prepare for the 2nd Sunday in Lent.
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