It was quite bold for Abraham’s servant to pray the way he did. It was like asking God to help him pick the correct lottery numbers. What if none of the women had offered him a drink? Then what? Go home? Press on, less confidently, with a weaker request? Clearly God had the lottery numbers picked!
I wonder if we can be so bold in our requests when an important task or decision is before us. Recently I had to decide between two excellent candidates for the position of drum major for next season. I thought about it, interviewed them both, asked their peers and finally made what I believe to be the right decision. And I think I remember praying a short prayer asking God to help me figure it out. But I wasn’t bold enough to ask for specific evidence of God’s hand behind the scenes. I could have prayed, “Lord, whichever student gets the final cut-off conducting the national anthem will be my choice,” or even, “whichever one volunteers to go first.” It’s hard for me to imagine a scenario in which I wouldn’t subconsciously stack the deck in favor of one candidate or give God an ‘out’ if neither student did what I prayed for.
I think Abraham’s servant was confident because he had seen God answer his master’s prayers so many times before. And, notice that Abraham’s servant did not pray for the successful completion of his task, but for smooth treatment for his master. Though he might have been concerned about doing his job well, his first thought was about his master’s situation. Perhaps we will be more confident if our prayer requests have the well-being of our students at the forefront, rather than concern about how our choices will make us look.
Next time you don’t know what is going to happen, and you need something to happen, pray a bold prayer, trusting that God’s hand has been working behind the scenes in preparation for the moment at hand.