PRAY SPECIFICALLY AND EXPECTANTLY
“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, 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,” 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.’ “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.’ 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
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. —Proverbs 3:5-6
How specific are we in prayer— in our talking with our Lord? In the passage above, Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. As his servant went, he prayed—he talked with God very specifically for guidance saying, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, 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,” 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.” That is a very specific request and Abraham’s servant was expecting this guidance from the Lord.
It happened just like he requested. The answer was undeniable as it was so specific— “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.’ 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.” Rebekah spoke the very words Abraham’s servant had requested be spoken to guide him to the right woman to be Isaac’s wife. There was no denying it.
So, how specific are we in prayer? I was at a Planet Fitness the other day (I have a black card and travel to different ones depending on where my schedule takes me for the day) and I prayed for who our Lord would have me talk with. I went through my whole workout, but no conversations— just greetings. After I finished, I said, “Lord, I am going to sit at the table. If there is someone You want me to talk to today, have them come sit at the table. Shortly after I prayed, a guy walked directly to the table and sat down across from me. We entered into a conversation. He shared how he used to be a powerlifter, shared about his work, shared about his retirement and now his wife was also retired, shared about his back surgeries stemming from powerlifting— which he would not do if he had it to do over again.
The conversation moved to spiritual matters and he told me about his religious background but today his thought was he wanted to be a nice guy and be kind to people and hopefully he would make it to heaven. That opened up a lengthy discussion on why Jesus came and had the opportunity to share the gospel with him and encourage Him to read the info I gave him. He said he would.
Let us be more specific and expectant when we talk to our Lord. Yes, Dear Father, may this be so by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son Jesus. So be it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLDEt9KP2O0&list=RDBLDEt9KP2O0&start_radio=1