Genesis 24:12

Vs.12-“And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham,”- Now that the servant has made the journey and is in a position to meet the women of the city, he begins to pray for the help of the Lord.  1.)  The servant calls on the LORD God (Jehovah Elohim).  This is the same terminology used by Abraham in this passage.  The servant has learned of God through his master’s example and teaching.  2.)  He calls on the ‘LORD God of my master Abraham.”  Why did he not take possession and call Jehovah his God?  There are three possible answers.  A.)  He did not know or claim Jehovah Elohim as his God.  I don’t believe this to be the case because he has sworn to his master, Abraham, by the LORD God of heaven, he was comforted by the fact that Abraham told him the Lord would send an angel before him, and because he is praying to the LORD in this passage.  People don’t usually pray to God if they don’t believe in Him.  B.)  He may use this terminology because God has identified with Abraham and made great promises to Him that are confirmed through the covenant of circumcision.  Later in history when people would pray to God they would say something like, “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  Jehovah God is identified over and over again as the God of Abraham.  3.)  This terminology could have been used because the servant was endeavoring in a task that involved Abraham.  It was his master Abraham that had caused him to swear, and it was for the benefit of his master’s family that he was now in Mesopotamia.  In essence he was saying, “O Lord you are the One who made great and precious promises to my master and I am calling to you on his behalf.” 

“I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.”- The servant is praying for one thing in particular and that is that the Lord would bring a wife back for Isaac.  In nature this prayer is supplication as well as intercession.  Supplication is the act of making an earnest petition to God.  Intercession is praying on the behalf of another.  1.)  He prays, “Send me good speed this day.”  This was a prayer of supplication for himself which ultimately is a prayer of intercession for another.  His success now would bring blessing to another later.  ‘Send me good speed’ means ‘give me success in my endeavor.’  He is attempting to do something for his master and he is praying that God will make his way prosperous.  He also prays for God to do it ‘this day.’  We need to be patient and trust God’s timing, but there is nothing wrong with praying for God to do something soon.  Sometimes we are in time sensitive situations and we need God to act quickly.  The children of Israel couldn’t be too patient when they were crying out to God at the Red Sea.  The Egyptian army was coming and they needed God to do something quickly.  David asked the Lord to answer His prayers speedily in a number of occasions.  For example, in Psalm 31:2, he asked the Lord to deliver him speedily.  The servant was asking for success in his endeavor and he was asking for it today.  2.)  ‘Shew kindness unto my master Abraham.’  This is a prayer of intercession.  He is asking on behalf of his master, Abraham.  His prayer is that God would show kindness or special favor to Abraham in this situation and provide a wife for his son. 

 

 

One-Line Explanation:  The servant prays for God’s blessing and help in finding a wife for Isaac.

 

Lesson:  1.)  You can have a great influence on those around you.  Remember what God said about Abraham earlier in the book of Genesis?  He said in Gen 18:19  ‘For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.’  This servant is a testimony to that.  He calls upon and trusts in the same God that his master does.  Abraham had influenced and taught his household.  This is a challenge to us to teach, instruct, and display the truth of Scripture to those in our homes, our schools, and our places of occupation.  Do you influence your coworkers for the cause of Christ?  Do you influence your schoolmates?  Do you influence your neighbors?  Do you influence your family?  2.)  In the Old Testament you will read of people praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  In the New Testament we pray in the name of Jesus.  Why?  A.)  Identification.  By saying, “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” there is no doubt which God you are praying to.  When we pray in Jesus’ name we are identifying who we are speaking to.  It has become politically correct in our day to pray to God, but not use identifying terms such as the name of Jesus.  At various political gatherings it has been called inappropriate to pray in the name of Jesus.  They want you to pray to God and be as generic as possible so that the other ‘faith groups’ present will not be offended.  I believe in publicly identifying who it is that you are speaking to.  B.)  When you are praying in the name of Jesus you are praying that God’s will would be done and that God’s Son would be glorified.  This is primarily what it means to pray in Jesus’ name.  Praying in Jesus’ name does not mean that you will automatically get whatever it is that you have made request for.  Praying in Jesus’ name is saying that the purpose of your prayer is to bring about God’s perfect purpose and that God would be glorified in the fulfilling of the prayer.  When the servant in this story was praying in the name of the God of Abraham, he was praying that the divine covenants made with Abraham would be fulfilled by the God who made them.  C.)  There is power in the name of Jesus.  The name of Jesus can bring salvation, healing, help, and hope.  There is no other name that has the power of the name of Jesus.  Jehovah God could bring success to the servant’s endeavor.  There was no one else that could do what the LORD God of Abraham could do.  Praying to Allah, Buddha, Mary, or some saint will not get the job done.  There is power in the name of Jesus!  D.)  We pray in the name of Jesus because He is our mediator.  He is our great High Priest.  We go through Jesus to get our prayers to God.  We pray in His name because He is our mediator.  3.)  ‘Send me good speed.’  This is a prayer for success.  I don’t know anyone in their right mind that doesn’t want success in whatever it is they are trying to accomplish.  There is nothing wrong with asking God to bless your church, give favor to your family, increase the production of your business, etc.  Just don’t allow success to become your god.  We need to be like Job who proclaimed he would serve God in prosperity or in suffering.  We do not serve God just for what we can get out of God.  God is not a Genie in a bottle that will give us all of our heart’s desires.  We are promised tribulations, trials, and persecutions in this life; however, there is not one thing wrong with praying for God’s blessings and favor on your life.  4.)  ‘This day.’  The servant prayed for God’s immediate blessing.  Ultimately God has the sovereign right to choose how, when, or if He will answer your prayers; but, it is acceptable to pray for God’s immediate blessing.  For example, when I go out soul-winning, I am praying for God to allow me to see somebody saved ‘today.”  Many times God answers that prayer and allows me to see fruit.  I pray before our Sunday Morning service for a good response to the message TODAY!   Just recently I was trying to be a blessing to some new converts in our church.  This lady had a disease that required special medication and she could not find the medication anywhere.  She was in a panic and needed to find it soon for her health.  I was in the home with her and the man of the house looking for this medication.  We had a revival service that night and I needed to go soon.  I stopped and said, “Let’s pray.”  I basically prayed for God to show us where the medicine was and quick!  Within a minute of praying we had found the medicine!  I am a church planter and finances are short in supply sometimes.  A few weeks ago I looked at our bank account and we had $4.40 left in the account.  We had bills that were due and no money to pay them with.  My prayer was, “God I need a financial miracle and I need it today!”  God gave us $1,000 that same day from a very unlikely source and by the next Saturday we had $4,400 in the bank account.  God sent us money from everywhere within a week’s time!  There are occasions where you need God to answer prayer quickly!  Don’t be afraid to pray for immediate needs.  5.)  ‘Shew kindness unto my master, Abraham.’  This servant was an excellent help to his master.  This is the kind of guy that you want working for you or serving with you.  This was a man of intercessory prayer.  He was not a rebel who tried to usurp the authority of Abraham.  He was not a lazy bum who tried to get out of work.  He was not backbiter that accused and spoke evil of his master behind his back.  This was a man that loved and prayed for his master.  By the way, I believe these qualities go together.  We need church members at Berean Baptist that won’t criticize and have roast preacher behind their spiritual leaders back.  We need members that won’t gossip and criticize one another.  We need Christians that will pray for their preacher, pray for their church, pray for their missionaries, and pray for their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  I have found that if you love your Christian brothers and sisters then you will pray for them and the more you pray for them the harder it becomes to criticize and tear others down.  A praying Christian is normally a loving Christian, a praying Christian is normally a working Christian, a praying Christian is normally a Christian submissive to Biblical authority.  Are you rebelling against your God given authority?  Are you lazy and unwilling to get involved in Church programs?  Are you critical of the church and the pastor?  Maybe it’s time to get your heart right and pray for your preacher!  Are you at odds with your brothers and sisters in Christ?  Maybe it’s time to pray for them instead of backbiting!  This servant was a man of intercessory prayer!  There are so many people hurting, our country is quickly turning away from God, Christian children are becoming prodigals, there are millions lost and dying and going to hell and we spend our time criticizing those who are trying to make a difference.  God have mercy on us!  Let us pray for those who stand for the truth!  Let us pray for our God given authorities!  We need to be the right kind of servant and the right kind of servant is one who prays for others.