Give me success this day

Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. – Genesis 24v12

Isaac had grown up and it was time to find him a wife. Abraham called his most reliable servant to go back to their homeland and find a suitable woman. This was an important task and the servant knew that the responsibility was huge.

When he got back to the homeland he must have faced quite a dilemma. ‘Okay, here I am. Where do I start?’ This is a place where I have often found myself. Sometimes I just don’t have a clue what to do in a situation.

My solution too often is just to jump ahead and do something, anything, no matter what it is. After all, any movement is better than nothing, right?

The servant had it right. He got there and he paused and made the right choice.

What was it? He prayed. ‘O Lord God please give me success this day.

Short, sweet, simple, and to the point. ‘I don’t know what to do here God. Would You please give me success in my task?’

I am just back from a Christian workers conference in Kilkenny. The driving force that came out of that meeting was the importance of prayer. It sounds like we are beating the same drum to say that, but we, or at least I, just can’t seem to get it through our heads.

We are not going to succeed on our own without seeking God’s face, His direction, and His success. Try as we might, ‘if we in our own strength confide our striving will be losing.’

I want to get to the point that my every day begins with the words “Lord, please give me success.’ More than I want to be at the place where before every task I am able to pray ‘Lord, please give me success in this task.’

Now is a good time to start. ‘Lord, would You please give my success, not my success but Your success today.’