14 May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘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.”
Sometimes it is difficult for us to determine if a specific action is God’s will. Abraham’s servant has traveled many miles to their ancestral hometown. The servant is going there to get a wife for Isaac, Abraham’s son. He doesn’t have a clue how to do it. He prays a prayer out of desperation and faith. He lays out what he thinks is a good way to confirm which girl is the one he should get for Isaac. His prayer is an honest prayer, one spoken in faith, one spoken out of need. There is no demanding or presumption on his part. He knows there is nothing he can do to help this situation. He knows he is powerless. In seeking God’s will, a good place to start is to begin empty handed. Our plans must be put down and allowed to die. Perhaps God will pick them up and use your talents and abilities, likes and dislikes. Perhaps God will change your likes and dislikes. But we must be willing to simply accept what God brings us. It is also OK to submit a plan and allow God to reject or modify it. It will always be better when the Lord’s hand has touched it anyway. This servant proposes a plan to the Lord. And the plan actually is exactly how events play out. Now I don’t know if that is what the Lord had in mind all along and his prayer was inspired, or if the Lord worked on the heart of this young woman, but the prayer came true. Because his prayer came out of a relationship with the Lord, his prayer was guided by that relationship. If we are soaked with the Word, our prayers will be in God’s will. You won’t be asking for that 5th Jaguar to be kept on your yacht for emergency travel while you are on your never-ending vacation. Your prayers will be filled with compassion for others and care for eternal things. And your prayers will reflect your own life of service and sacrifice. Prayers that come out of a life of living the Gospel are prayers in line with God’s will.
The Arnold Journey 