Answered Prayer!

  Answered Prayer !

>>>>Genesis 24:10-15<<<<

 

When He, the Spirit of truth, comes . . .  He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.    John 16:13-14 (excerpt)

 

The Holy Spirit comes from the presence of God the Father to earth in order to call a people together for the purpose of knowing the Lord Jesus. The Spirit does not come to commend Himself to us; He comes to extol the virtues and love of the Son so that we might find Him irresistible.  Abraham's trusted servant gives us a marvelous picture of this aspect of the Spirit's work. He leaves his master's presence in the land of promise to find a bride for the son of promise (Isaac).  Abraham's old servant knows the will and ways of his master because he has been part of the family for a long time; his mission is to communicate the character of the son to the prospective bride.

 

Nothing is left to human wisdom or incidental circumstances. The servant loaded up 10 camels with things that would convey Abraham's intentions and verify his wealthy position. Arriving at the town where Abraham's relatives lived, the servant found the place where women gather. He prayed that the will of his master would be accomplished and then watched to see how the Lord would carry it out. When he meets a woman of gracious spirit (chosen beforehand by the angel who had been sent ahead to prepare the way) he obtains an invitation to her father's house. Thus, we have a prayer of faith and its answer!

 

The servant's prayer was an expression of confidence born out of intimacy with God. The focus was on his master's satisfaction, not on his own personal needs or pleasures (James 4:3). The servant did not cajole or manipulate; he did not scheme or fret.  He has demonstrated an example of Spirit-filled prayer - prayer that places the one praying in alignment with God's heart and will. In prayer, as in every aspect of the Christian life, I am to depend upon the Holy Spirit. He will draw my attention away from personal desires and needs and direct my heart and mind to the Father and His will.

 

Before we become a Bride in the heavenlies, we live as children of God on the earth, growing in the knowledge of His Son. There is unspeakable peace and rest when I understand that I am His treasured child and that I am entirely dependent upon the planning and working of my Father. Abraham's servant received a clear answer to his prayer because he set his heart on fulfilling his master's will, and then he waited for God to work out the details.  An angel has prepared the way – the work of the Spirit simply brings us into the prepared way so that we can observe His work first-hand!  We call it 'answered prayer,' but the Lord sees it as a well executed plan!

 

Perhaps I can learn something by comparing my prayers with the servant's prayer. When I pray, am I seeking to know the Father's mind and heart on a matter – or am I seeking relief for a difficult situation? When I pray, am I seeking approval to do things my way – or do I expect God to show me His next step? Am I willing to wait for the Lord to guide me into His prepared way – or do I depend upon my own good ideas while I charge ahead?

 

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

        James 4:3 

 

Most of us realize that it is necessary to depend upon the Spirit in order to understand the written Word of God – but have we learned to allow Him to lead us in prayer? He takes our thoughts, even our unspoken feelings, and intercedes for us before the throne of God. We can ask Him to teach us to pray according to the desires of God, and we can count on Him to intercede on our behalf. What a sweet privilege for the child of God who is destined to be the Bride of Son!

 

 [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will.      Romans 8:26-27 (Amplified)

 

Before he had finished speaking [praying] . . . Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.    Gen. 24:15

Rebekah - God's Heart Revealed

 Rebekah – God's Heart Revealed

>>>>Genesis 24:1-9<<<<

 

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son . . .      Matthew 22:2

 

God created the universe, with all its complex beauty, for His own enjoyment . . . then He put man in it to share His pleasure.  He opened the treasure house of heaven so that His love and grace would flow out to mankind because sharing His pleasure adds to the Father's enjoyment! The account of Abraham in his old age, making arrangements to obtain a bride for Isaac, is a reflection of our Father in heaven who has planned a marriage for His own Son.  Who is the Bride? She is the Church – the New Creation – who will live in union with the Son of God for all eternity. God's plan is to share all He has with believers who will inherit with His Son.

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.                                        Eph. 1:3      

 

[In Him] also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.                                          Eph. 1:11-12

 

Inheritance of the promised blessing is the focal point of Genesis 24. God promised Abraham that he would have many descendents who would benefit from the blessings God poured out on him. His son, Isaac, was heir to all God had promised, and through him the promise would extend throughout the generations to come. The opening verses of this chapter express Abraham's desire for Isaac to have a bride with whom he will share his inheritance. Don't miss his firm intention when he says to the servant , "go and take a wife for my son, Isaac."

 

The Father wants your company, and He has arranged to have it through His Son.  First, in Adam we see that God made man in His own likeness, he is a type of the Lord Jesus. In the woman we see a new creation – she was not created out of dust from the earth – her life came from Adam. The woman is aw type of the born-again Bride who will share all that God has given to the 'second Man' (1Cor. 15:47).  In Rebekah's story we will begin to see how God works out His plan for the Church. It begins with Abraham's commission to his faithful servant.

 

The servant is bound by oath to find a woman among Abraham's relatives; he is specifically told not to find a wife from among the Canaanites. The Canaanites, descendants of Ham, were cursed from the days of Noah (Gen. 9:25).  Also, Isaac is not to leave the land of his promised inheritance; it is his rightful home and he must wait there for his bride. Mesopotamia, the destination of the servant, represents the world. This type pictures the Bride as she is taken out of the world and brought to Christ. He remains on His throne in heaven awaiting her arrival. The Spirit of God will bring her to her heavenly home at the rapture of the Church.

 

Notice that if the chosen woman does not wish to accompany the servant, he is released from his oath. The servant's job is to win her heart, then, isn't it? Rebekah, and the Christians whom she pictures, must have a desire to be with the One the servant (picturing the Holy Spirit) represents. Abraham's devoted servant has charge over everything in his master's house – he is a part of the family – he knows the heart and soul of Abraham and his beloved son.  When he finds the right woman he will tell her all about his master's son and she will fall in love with him. Even though he is far away – and she cannot see him,  she will be eager to leave everything behind in order to become his bride. 

 

The Spirit of the living God has come to earth from the Father's throne in heaven. He declares the love of the Father for the Son, and reveals the Father's satisfaction with the work His Son has accomplished. This is recorded for us in the four gospels.  Then, in Paul's Epistles, He shows us how we can be united to the Son, for it is in union that we share everything the Father has given Him. However, long before Jesus came to earth, the real-life story of a father's plan to find a wife for his beloved son gives us an exquisite picture those New Testament truths.

 

It will be His joy throughout all eternity to exhibit the Church in all the glory and beauty with which He has endowed her … the marvelous display of the wisdom, power and grace of God in Christ.        C.H. Mackintosh

 

. . . all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.          1Cor. 3:22-23

LJ 6/10