I was reading the other day in Genesis 24 about the story of how Isaac met Rebekah. Isaac’s servant was looking for a wife for Isaac and went to the well in Nahor. He knelt and prayed, “God, when I find the right woman, let all these things come to pass. The woman to whom I say, ‘Let down your pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink,’ she will say, ‘Drink and I will water thy camels also.’ Let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac, and then I will know you have shown kindness to my master.”
And the next verse says, “And it came to pass before he had even done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out.” She just came out of nowhere… quickly! And you know the story, he said, “I pray that you give me something to drink,” and she said, “Drink my Lord and I will draw water for thy camels also.” Verse twenty-one says he was just watching her and held his peace wondering if the Lord had answered his prayer.
So, he didn’t know for sure even though all these things had come to pass exactly how he prayed until he asked her whose house she belonged to. When she told him she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah (Abraham’s relatives), then he knew assuredly she was the one sent by God. I have read that story so many times, but today I was reading it and thinking—he prayed a very precise prayer, and when all the details were met, he knew it was from God.
It really encouraged me to not just pray vague prayers… “Oh Lord, please bless me. Please bless me on the job. Please bless my relationships.” We need to be specific what we’re asking God for. When the response comes and it’s so unambiguous that only God could have done it, then we will know it was an answer to our prayer.
Take a moment to reflect on your prayers. A vague prayer might be, “Lord, please help me find a good job.” But a specific prayer might be, “Lord, please help me find a job working day shift with weekends off so that I can spend more time with my family and go to church.” A vague prayer sounds like, “Lord, please heals all those who are sick among us.” Whereas a more specific prayer would be, “Lord, please heal Sister Susie’s leukemia, Brother Joe’s pneumonia, and little Annie’s diabetes. I pray they would make a full recovery and be made whole again.”
God already knows our wants, needs, and desires, but he wants to hear it from us. Prayer is a conversation with God, and he wants to know all the details.
Apostolic Momma 