Word of Encouragement (03/01/2022)
The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD 27 and said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen." (Gen. 24:26-27).
Last week, we reflected on Eliezer’s prayer that God would bless his mission and help him choose the bride God had chosen for Isaac. Then, we read, “Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder” (Gen. 24:15). When Eliezer finds this out through his interaction with her, he offers a prayer of thanksgiving, which is what we will reflect on.
We can sense his deep joy and gratitude in this prayer. Why was he so thankful? One reason must be how quickly God answered his prayer. God brought Rebekah to him “before he had finished speaking” his prayer! She was the first one he asked for water and the last one because she did everything that would show Eliezer that she was God’s chosen bride for Isaac. How wonderful it is when God answers our prayers right away! It’s like when you can’t find your keys. You search everywhere to no avail. Anxious, tired, and frustrated to no end, you finally sit down and pray. After the prayer, you start your search again, and the first place you look is where you find your keys! You get goosebumps all over and break out into a prayer of jubilant thanksgiving!
It is wonderful when God answers our prayer right away like that. We should pray with the confidence that God can answer our prayers even before we finish our prayer if He so wills. But we also know that that’s not always the case. Most of the time, we must wait patiently for God’s timing. When that happens, I hope we still remember to give God the kind of thanks He deserves. We must remember that, when our heavenly Father “takes a long time” to answer our prayer, it is not because He doesn’t care, and we have to convince Him to do what we ask of him with many words and persistence. No, it is because He knows the perfect time and conditions, in which we should receive His answer.
We should also know that God’s answer to our prayer is related to other people’s prayers or what God has been working out in their lives. Who knows whether Rebekah had been praying about her marriage and saw that this was God’s answer to her prayer, seeing that she was ready to go with Eliezer right away? God is the sovereign Lord of all. He is the gracious heavenly Father not only to us but to all other believers. He listens to the prayers of all His children. With His infinite wisdom, He is able to orchestrate His answers to all their prayers to work together for His glory and for the good of all His children—all this, while He directs the course of history unto the end, which He decreed before the foundation of the world!
Oh, how wonderful and marvelous is our God! Let us praise Him for His wisdom and power and love! Let us give thanks to Him for all the ways God has answered our prayers! And let us pray with confidence that He will continue to do so—at times, immediately and at other times, after a time—until that glorious day when all our prayers will cease and turn into praise!