Do you have confidence when you pray? If not, why not? We serve a living God who desires to see His plans accomplished in this world. One of the vehicles to partner with God in furthering His great plans on this earth is through the humble means of prayer. In this week’s Torah Portion, we read an encouraging example of praying in confidence in order to see God’s plans materialized on earth.

The Search For A Wife

Abraham was intent on finding a wife for his son Isaac, the son of promise. Sarah had died three years earlier and Abraham was getting older. The time had come for Abraham to put a plan into action to find a wife for Isaac:

Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” – Genesis 24:1-4

Abraham entrusted his most faithful servant to accomplish this task of finding a wife for Isaac. In order to emphasize the importance of this task, Abraham asked his servant to place his hand under his thigh and to swear to the LORD God of heaven and earth to take a wife for Isaac from Abraham’s relatives and not from the Canaanites.

Abraham’s servant clearly understood the importance of this matter of finding a wife for Isaac but he also understood that choosing a wife for Isaac may have some complications. Abraham’s servant addressed some of these issues: 

The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” Then Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there! The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there.” So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. – Genesis 24:5-9

Abraham answered his servant’s questions and told him that by no means should he take Isaac back to the land from which Abraham had come. 

Confidence in God’s Promises

When Abraham replied to his servant’s questions, he not only told him the conditions of the oath but he also explained to him the larger picture of God’s promises to him. Abraham reminded his servant that it was the LORD who took him from the land of his birth and that it was the LORD who promised to give his descendants the land of Canaan. Isaac and his future descendants were to live in that land in order to fulfill God’s promise.

Abraham had been walking with the LORD and listening to His voice for at least sixty-five years at this juncture in his life and he was absolutely certain of God’s promises to him and to his descendants. Based on the reality of who God is together with God’s promises to Abraham, he told his servant, “…He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.” (Gen. 24:7b) Abraham knew the ways of God and he was certain that God would direct the steps of his servant to find a wife for Isaac in the same way that God had blessed him and provided for him everywhere that he traveled on his many journeys. 

A Reasonable Faith

Abraham had even mentioned how God would send His angel ahead of him in order to help him succeed in finding a wife for Isaac. Abraham had full confidence in God’s ability to provide a wife for Isaac from his relatives up north, however at the same time, he also knew that his servant could only be responsible for fulfilling this oath as much as it depended on him: “But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there.” (Gen. 24:8) Abraham was a man of faith but he was also a man of experience, realizing that life does not always workout as one may expect it. 

I truly believe that we see a beautiful example of a reasonable faith in action through this scenario of Abraham with his servant. Abraham knew God, heard His voice, and walked in obedience to what God told him. Abraham understood that God was unwavering in keeping His promises and believed in total faith that God would provide a wife for Isaac. Abraham also believed that taking a wife for Isaac from his family up north was the best way forward and he spoke words of faith in agreement to this belief to his servant, however, he also knew that if God did not provide a wife for Isaac from his family up north God would surely provide the suitable woman for his son from some other place. This is a reasonable faith that we need to imitate and practice.

The Journey Of Faith

The servant of Abraham received these words of faith from his master and agreed to his oath before the LORD. The servant then set out on his journey to find a wife for Isaac:

Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. He said, “O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.” – Genesis 24:10-14

The servant arrived to the city of Abraham’s brother Nahor and had his entourage settle near the well of water outside the city. Then Abraham’s servant prayed and asked the LORD to show lovingkindness to his master and grant him success. 

It seems that God had truly sent His angel ahead of Abraham’s servant and prepared the way as it did not take long for the servant’s prayer to be answered:

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. – Gen. 24:15-16

Rebekah had already been on the way while the servant was offering up this prayer of faith in the God of his master Abraham. Rebekah is the answer to his prayer as we know from the rest of the account in Genesis chapter twenty-four. 

Confidence In Prayer

Each one of us would obviously be elated to experience answered prayers as directly and instantaneously as Abraham’s servant, however, God’s response to our requests is not always according to our expectations. Abraham knew this well throughout his life and he had learned to wait on God. 

The absolute surety by which Abraham instilled in his servant the task of finding a wife for his son Isaac before sending him on his journey is a reminder of Abraham’s strong faith in God. However at the same time, Abraham’s willingness to accept the possibility that God may have a different means of providing a wife for Isaac allowed Abraham to also convey to his servant the necessary freedom from the oath if he was unable to persuade a young lady to accept the offer. 

Bold confidence in prayer is not based on us or our ability to accomplish plans in this world, but rather, on God’s ability to move mountains if our prayers are in agreement to His will. Abraham knew well the promises which God had given him and in order to fulfill the promise of his descendants possessing the Land of Canaan, Isaac needed a wife. Abraham’s confidence in the LORD was transferred to his servant who prayed in faith and boldness according to God’s promises to Abraham and God answered.

The object of our faith is paramount to effective prayer. When we come to God in prayer we must simply believe who He is and pray in accordance to His will:

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. – 1 John 5:14-15

We must know Him, come before Him, and ask for requests according to His will. God is not a genie who exists to grant our requests but a holy God who longs to see His children walk in the fullness of His plans which He has for each one of us. 

A Centurion’s Request

In closing I want us to recall the story of the centurion who asked Yeshua to heal his dying servant. The faith of the centurion is notable and provides a good illustration to this subject of having confidence in the prayers and requests which we make of God. The story of the centurion is recorded as follows: 

When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Yeshua, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Yeshua, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” Now Yeshua started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Yeshua heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. – Luke 7:1-10

The interesting circumstances about this story is that Yeshua was already on the way to the centurion’s home at the first request of the Jewish elders whom the centurion had sent and it seems that Yeshua was already prepared to heal the servant. It was at this point that the centurion sent other friends requesting Yeshua to simply say the word and he believed that at Yeshua’s command the servant would be healed and so it happened. 

The centurion surely had great faith and Yeshua said that He had not found such great faith among the people of Israel, His own people who claim to be a people of faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The faith of the centurion was truly great but more importantly, it was the object of his faith which allowed him to boldly make his request. 

Confidence In Prayer

The centurion believed that Yeshua was who He claimed to be, the Messiah, and he had total confidence that supernatural power flowed through Him. As a man in authority over a hundred soldiers, the centurion understood the power of military might, however beyond what he knew of human authority, he had complete faith in Yeshua to heal the sick as the Anointed One of God with complete authority over life and death . Yeshua recognized the centurions great faith in Him and healed his servant by His authority.

God honors our faith and desires to hear our requests. The confidence and boldness of our prayers must always be centered on who God is and seeing His plans accomplished in this world. We need to do all we can to understand who God is through His Word, listen attentively to His voice, and know Him intimately in our daily life. On this basis, each one us can boldly approach His throne of grace and know that He hears and He will answer according to His perfect will.

Shabbat Shalom!

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*All Scripture take from NASB Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Torah Portion: Gen. 23:1-25:18

Haftara: 1 Kings 1:1-31

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