January 10: Genesis 24

January 10: Genesis 24

 

Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham."

~ Genesis 24:12

 

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

~ Genesis 24:26-27

 

"If the success for which we pray is determined by the world's definition of success, we could be in for a great disappointment... Of one thing we can be sure: God will never give us what is not good for us. Only when we pray for success in accomplishing the good that God has called us to can we be assured of his blessing."

~ F. LaGard Smith

 

Abraham is very old, and he is concerned about finding a suitable wife for his son Isaac. He entrusts his chief servant Eliezer with the task. Abraham has him swear that he will find Isaac a wife from his native land and that he will not allow Isaac to leave Canaan. Eliezer starts off by praying: he asks God for success and for kindness towards his master. He travels to Abraham's homeland and meets Rebekah. Eliezer realizes that he has found Isaac's future wife and immediately gives worship to the Lord.

 

Eliezer did not have an easy task ahead of him. He needed to travel a great distance to find a suitable wife for his master's beloved son. Before he started his search, Eliezer prayed for success from the Lord. After his task was finished, he worshiped God and gave Him all the glory.

 

The way that Eliezer took on this daunting task is exactly the way we should act when we have a challenge to overcome. The very first thing we should do is pray for the Lord's guidance. How many times do we jump right in and try to tackle an obstacle on our own strength? Then the last thing that should be done is to give God the glory for the outcome. How many times do we take credit for a successful outcome without thanking the One who made it all happen? Or how many times do we wonder why we struggle when we didn't even start off the right way?

 

I'm not saying that if we follow these guidelines that we will always get the outcome we want and that the journey will be easy. Sometimes our definition of "success" needs to be adjusted. When we seek God's will and give Him the glory, then our hearts are fully surrendered to Him and we grow in our faith, regardless of how the challenge is resolved. It's possible that the outward result of a challenge is not nearly as significant as the inward change that occurs in our hearts and minds.

 

How would you be changed if you prayed for success from God before every task and then worshiped Him when it was complete?