The Servant’s Prayer
Genesis 24:12b
“O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.
We don’t even know the name of this servant who Abraham commissions for the monumental task of finding Isaac a bride, but we do know one thing: he knows how to pray. Now, at first glance, it might seem selfish to hear him open his prayer with the line, “grant me success”—and I can imagine health-and-wealth preachers exploiting this Scripture for their own gains—but the next part of this prayer makes his object abundantly clear. This success is self-sacrificing, not self-serving. He isn’t desiring a promotion or a raise or personal recognition from his master; he’s just wanting Abraham to feel showered by the love of God through his endeavor. And that gets me thinking: when was the last time I measured my own success by participation in someone else’s?
Remember, Christian: ‘express yourself’ might be the highest virtue in society today, but it isn’t a virtue at all. ‘Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself’ is. And take it from this anonymous hero of Genesis 24: people don’t have to know your name for you to be successful in that.