The Power of Prayer (Genesis 22-24)

You'll hardly find a more vivid story in the Bible on the power of prayer than Genesis 24. As Abraham buried Sarah (see Genesis 23) and approached the sunset of his life, he wanted assurance that Isaac would have a wife to continue to his line and to remain in the land God promised to give him and his family (see Genesis 13:12-17).

So he calls for his chief servant and sends him on a mission to find a wife for his son. And here's where the power of prayer takes center stage in Genesis 24. The servant travels back to where Abraham's relatives are from and asks God to direct him to the young lady He has chosen to marry Isaac (see Genesis 24:12-14). Then Genesis 24:15a says, "Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder" (NIV). Next, everything unfolds just the way the servant prayed, and God answers his prayer in a powerful way.

Wow! What a simple but amazing story that teaches us a key lesson about prayer, and here it is. God was obviously answering the servant's prayer even before he voiced it, but the Lord used the servant's prayer to direct him to His answer. You know, some people ask: Why should I pray if God already knows everything anyway? Well, God wants us to ask and depend upon Him for our daily needs, and as we lift up our prayers to Him, we learn how He's working to provide and guide us each step of life's journey.

So, while God knows what you need even before you ask Him, He still invites you to bring your requests before Him. In fact, Jesus used this very point to encourage us to pray, not to discourage us from praying (see Matthew 6:5-15). Through the way the Lord answers prayer, you'll discover more and more about His power and provision for your every need. Basically, we need to understand that we're not "informing God" of anything when we pray, He already knows everything! But He does teach us more about Himself as we ask and receive His answers and direction through prayer.