A Faithful Servant's Prayer

When we meet Eliezer in Genesis 24 he is unnamed and is referred to only as Abraham’s oldest servant. In this chapter Abraham has an important task ahead of him. God has promised him as many descendants as there were stars in the sky. Abraham believes in this covenantal promise and he and Sarah receive their heir, Isaac, in their old age. Now, Isaac is grown and Sarah is gone. It is time for Abraham to find his son a wife.  He sends his faithful servant, Eliezer, out on this mission. In the process we see that Eliezer is a man of prayer.

Eliezer shows us six things about how a faithful servant prays.  Let’s begin in Genesis 24 verse 11. Eliezer has just crossed the dusty desert and he begins with prayer.

And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. "Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. "Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink'--let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master." And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." - Genesis 24:11-17

Eliezer shows us six things about how a faithful servant prays.

1. Eliezer made prayer his first priority. Arriving at his destination, Eliezer started with prayer. He immediately talked to God about why he was praying. He prayed for success because he wanted to honor the task given him by his master, Abraham.  He didn’t tell God what to do, he approached Him first with the reason for his request.

2. Eliezer spoke openly with God. He talked to him about a specific way that he would know that God had answered his prayer.  It is important to note here that Eliezer is not being presumptuous—he isn’t telling God what to do. He is on a mission, one that he has very likely been talking to the Lord about as he and a team of men and animals made their long journey across the desert. He is now talking to God about how, specifically, he could know that God was answering his prayer. He did not want to seek just any girl of his own choosing—he wanted God’s girl. He asked God for a specific answer so that he could know with assurance he was following His will.

3. Eliezer responded to God. When he saw a potential answer to his prayer, he ran to meet Rebekah. Rebekah was beautiful, we’re told. She looked like the kind of girl Eliezer would like to take home to meet Isaac. Was she the one? He ran in faith, he did not hesitate, to find out.

Let’s keep reading:

So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?" - Genesis 24:18-23 

Eliezer continues to show us an example of prayer here. 

4. He shows patience. He remains silent, watching the young woman, no doubt observing how she responded to the animals. “Going down and coming up” indicates that she was walking up and down an embankment—this took a while. Observing her during these many trips, Eliezer would have been trying to get a sense of whether or not she was the answer. How the minutes must have seemed like an eternity as the camels noisily lapped up the cool water that the girl faithfully hauled for them. Eliezer waited to ask his next question.

5. He sought an answer. Eliezer is an example of prayer when after he has waited in patience, he asked for a decision. He is not afraid, he does not fear rejection. If this girl was part of God’s plan for his people—a HUGE plan—he had to find out.  He asks for an answer.

Let’s read Rebekah’s answer:

So she said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor." Moreover she said to him, "We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge." Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. And he said, "Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren." - Genesis 24:24-27 

6. Eliezer praises God. He doesn’t forget that after prayer, there should be praise. After hearing Rebekah’s answer he immediately bowed his head and worshiped God.  He did not wait to hear her answer to his proposal, he did not wait until every detail of the arrangement was worked out and he had safely delivered her across the barren desert. No, he recognized God’s answer even before the answer was complete and He praised Him right then and there in faith. He praised the God of heaven for answering his prayer request for kindness towards his master.

Eliezer was a man of prayer and praise. As a faithful servants of God, we can learn from his prayer life. Is prayer our first priority? We can be confident when talking to God and not be afraid to ask Him for specific answers and direction. Do we run to find eagerly to investigate potential answers to prayer? Patience, Eliezer had it, but it is often the most difficult part of prayer. Patience allows us to hear His voice and not run ahead of Him. Like Eliezer, we can boldly seek answers. We should never be afraid to ask for decisions. Lastly, let's not forget to praise Him for his answers.

Eliezer was a faithful servant, and his prayer life is a great example for each of us—his fellow servants of the King.