Abrahams servant finding Isaac’s wife, Rachel’s

“O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.” Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” “Yes, my Lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels. The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. – Genesis 24:12–21 NLT

This is a great example of praying a specific prayer and God answering this request.  This should be studied by anyone who is hoping to be married.  When you are praying for your spouse, pray specifically about the type of person you want to be with.  God knows exactly the type of person who will complement you but this is so you can recognize this person when you meet him or her.  Once Abrahams servant saw Rebekah do everything that he prayed for, he knew that God caused his mission to be successful.

Gideon the Fleece

Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. – Judges 6:36–38 NLT

This is a specific request for God to confirm his directions to Gideon.  This is amazing to me because though God already confirmed who he was to Gideon earlier in this chapter, Gideon still wanted confirmation.  So instead of God being upset for his lack of faith, he patiently worked with him and confirmed that He was with Gideon not only once but twice.  First time with dew on the fleece and a dry ground around it and the second time with dew on the ground and dry the dry fleece.   Then Gideon knew that God was with him.

Elisha praying that his servants eyes be opened

When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. – 2 Kings 6:15–17 NLT

Sometimes we also need to pray specifically so that we can see all that God has done around us.  Here Elisha prayed for his servant so that he could see that God outnumbered the enemy.  This type of prayer is important if you are dealing with fear.  Pray specifically that God will assure you that He is with you and He will open your eyes to confirm to you that He is with you. 

Elisha praying for rain

Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” – 1 Kings 18:1 NLT

“So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.” – 1 Kings 18:42 NLT

Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’” And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. – 1 Kings 18:44–45

A close relationship with God is necessary to be confident in prayer.  Elijah heard from the Lord that it was going to rain, so that gave him confidence to tell Ahab that it was going to rain.  He then moved to a position of prayer for what God spoke to him to be manifested in the natural.  He continued to pray until he saw a sign that what God spoke was about to happen.  So the key here is that we need to have a close relationship with God in order to hear from heaven and pray God’s will with accuracy and faith.

Jabez

There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request. – 1 Chronicles 4:9–10 NLT

This is one of the most powerful prayers that I know in the bible.  Most of the other prayers have some time that passed or a process before the answer came.  Reading this verse I can see that as soon as Jabez prayed his specific prayer, God answered his request.  I want to get to a place where I can pray and see the answers to my prayer right away.

Hezekiah

“About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’” – 2 Kings 20:1–6 NLT

One thing that I want to share from this passage of scripture is how God remembers faithfulness and he sees your heart.  You can bring anything that you want to God and he will remember how faithful you have been in the past and also see the love you have for him in your heart.  God hears and will answer.  In this passage, before Isiah left the Hezekiah’s courtyard, God answered his prayer and gave directions for Hezekiah so that 15 years would be added to his life.

Hannah

Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.” – 1 Samuel 1:10–11 NLT

The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.” – 1 Samuel 1:19–20 NLT

There may be some of you who desire to have children and have been waiting for a long time.  Hannah was in the same situation.  She prayed passionately for a son and vowed to give him back to God for his entire life.  It was the next morning that the entire family went to worship and God remembered Hannah’s plea and answered her prayer.