Success

Gen 24:12 "Then he said, 'O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.'"

Isaac needed a wife. How would he get one? Abraham relied on his most trusted, oldest servant in his house and told him to go to his country and find a wife for Isaac. Sure. Just go and grab some unknown woman and bring her back to marry Isaac, sight unseen. Talk about a blind date! This was a blind marriage! But, being the servant that he was, he swore to Abraham that he would do this thing and try to find a wife for Isaac.

What was the first thing that he did? Did he put adds in the local Jerusalem paper and wait for women to come to him? Did he post it on the internet for the first internet engagement? Did he stand in the middle of the town square and have a beauty contest? No. The first thing that he did was pray. This is cool because the guy who had been with Abraham the longest knew how he was going to receive direction. It wasn't his own smarts. It wasn't his own ability? It was totally up to God. He saw this trust and dependence in Abraham's life and he lived it as well. I wonder if those that I work with see this in me?

And what did he pray? "O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day…". There was no question. This guy was not calling on the gods of the Canaanites. He was relying on the Lord God of Abraham. He was calling on Jehovah Elohiym, the eternally existing ruler of all creation. He was calling on the One and Only God. He was relying on the only One who could really move, who could really direct, who could really bring this about. And he was asking for one thing: Success. The word for success actually means "an encounter without pre-arrangement". And he was not asking for it for tomorrow or next week or within a month. He was asking for a specific time: "This day." Pretty demanding…yet pretty trusting.

And for what reason? "…and show kindness to my master Abraham". This is all this guy cared about, his master Abraham. He wasn't asking for this encounter or this success for himself. He was asking for it on behalf of the guy who sent him there, his master, his employer.

This makes me wonder. When was the last time I prayed for success for my employer Bentoff & Duber? When was the last time I asked God to make me successful not for me, but for Michael? When was the last time that I prayed that I would be successful for Michael so he could see the power of God? I need to start praying that way. Praying and working for someone else's success so they can have an encounter without pre-arrangement with the Lord God of Abraham.