Then I bowed my head and worshipped the Lord…
who had led me by the right way…
GENESIS 24:48
The “I” speaking here is Abraham’s oldest servant. The “right way” that he mentions is the remarkable finding of a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac. And the worship flowing from a grateful heart is in response to the answer of a very specific prayer.
This week in our preaching from the book of Genesis, we find the well-advanced in years widower Abraham concerned that his son Isaac get married, and not just to any woman. So he deputizes his servant into the role of yenta, specifically removing the possibility of considering any of the local women. Rather, he must travel back to Nahor to find a wife there among Abraham’s relatives. And under no circumstances is Isaac to leave Canaan if the woman is unwilling to come.
So what does he do? He prays. And not just any prayer. He prays one of the most specific prayers recorded in all of scripture.
He asks for success. He asks that in finding a wife such as Abraham desires, the steadfast love of God will be displayed one more time. How often had he witnessed God display his love to his master? He saw it with Lot and the dividing of the land, of the saving of Lot, with Abimelech and the ongoing rescuing required as a result of their “say you’re my sister” deception. He saw it unmistakably when Isaac was born to very old parents. Why not ask for more of God’s steadfast love to be displayed in the finding of a wife for Isaac?
What if as a result, this coming Sunday, hundreds of specific prayers are offered up to this same God who loves to display steadfast love? And what if, upon reflection, we bow our heads and worship the Lord who has again and again led us in the right way? May the Lord richly bless our time in his Word as Kenny Clark preaches this story into our hearts.