“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

“Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

“She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
Genesis 24:42-46

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Every summer, a somewhat sleepy town in upstate New York comes alive as droves of families from all over the country bring their 12-year-old sons to play baseball in Cooperstown. For those who are unfamiliar, Cooperstown is home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and two multi-day baseball tournaments that run all summer, only for 12-year-olds. It’s the kind of stuff little boy dreams (and maybe big boy dreams too) are made of. 

I grew up in a New York Yankees household, so an excuse to take our boy to the baseball capital was thrilling—until it wasn’t. In a late-night game, I watched my son throw a beautiful pitch that produced a line drive right to the shin. It was fast, and the impact was loud. He fell to the ground, and I froze. 

He came off the field and I saw it, the bigger-than-a-golf-ball lump protruding out of his shin. He needed a few things, one of which was ibuprofen. I left the park to get it, and as I drove, I prayed with such fervor and volume—because of course God hears louder prayers more clearly. If I’m honest, I also prayed with desperation. I declared in faith that He was the Healer and could take what I saw as a bone contusion and heal it so this little guy could still play ball. But would He do it? 

In today’s Scripture, Abraham commissioned a servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. To determine if Rebekah was the right woman, the servant decided to pray for a sign. Before he finished praying, Rebekah did precisely what the servant had asked for. God answered his prayer even before he finished it! 

Moral of the story: God answers prayers. I felt silly praying so fervently for a boy to play baseball. People in this world face much harder, more difficult situations. But what God showed me in those moments was that as much as I wanted this kid to play, He wanted it even more—after all, before my son is my son, he’s His son. 

The next day, we arrived at the field—the teams stay with their coaches in the park—and to our surprise, there was our boy. Limping, but on the field. By some miracle, the swelling subsided enough and the pain was manageable, so he was ready for the second game that day. God answered my prayers and a boy got to play ball. 

Next Steps

Has God ever answered a prayer exactly as you asked? How has that helped you remain hopeful in other seasons?

If not, take some time today and be honest in prayer with God about how you feel about seemingly unanswered prayers. He’s listening and He will respond.