February 2, 2026

Business by the Book

Genesis 24:12-14  And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. 

The unknown servant that Abraham sent to find a wife for Isaac knew when to ask for guidance. Upon being given this task he asked Abraham for some clarifying instructions (verse 5). In today’s verses this servant is in Nahor standing by a well of water. In a bold manner he asked the Lord to show him in a very specific way the future wife of Isaac. This is a prayer of faith. It is a bold prayer, a sincere prayer, and a great example of prayer.

I once read, “As capital is to the businessman, so too is prayer to the Christian.”  Many businesses fail because they are undercapitalized. Likewise, many believers fail because they do not pray. Consider prayer like this, it is asking for guidance of the One who knows everything. For some reason people find it difficult today to seek out guidance, even from the Lord.

Many businesses have rules about the overt display and propagation of the Christian faith in the workplace. In part this is understandable and in part it is indefensible, but it is the way it is. The wonderful thing about prayer is that no one else even needs to know that a person is praying. While we don’t know if this servant’s prayer was silent or spoken we do know one thing about prayer, Jesus told his followers to pray privately in their closet and He would answer publicly (Matthew 6:6). Of a certainty there is a place for public prayer for all to hear, and of a certainty there is a place for silent private prayer.

Throughout the course of my life there have been many times that I needed immediate guidance from the Lord. In management meetings, at dinners, during negotiations, and many other assorted times and circumstances. Each and every time that my mind turned to prayer, God answered. He gave me an idea, or the way to phrase a response, or He changed the very course of a discussion, He is amazing, He always knew what I needed and gave it to me at the right time.

Need guidance? Ask the one who guides the stars, who controls the tides, who is the one constant in an ever changing climate. Let me leave you with this thought, Rebekah would have been at the well, would have given the servant some water, and even watered the camels regardless of whether the servant prayed the above prayer or not. But without his prayer, he would not have known that she was the one woman that should be Isaac’s wife. I wonder how many opportunities I have missed in life because I did not pray about it properly. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about one great opportunity I missed that cost me over one hundred thousand dollars.

Dr. William Howe