“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.” Genesis 25:21
Isaac’s prayer on behalf of his wife, Rebekah is a powerful example of what can happen when a pressing need meets believing prayer. Though being a husband of a barren wife was a slight against his manhood, there was more at stake than Isaac’s reputation.
The offspring of Isaac and Rebekah would continue the bloodline of God’s redemptive plan for mankind. Isaac was not praying for bragging rights. He was interceding for his wife, but he was also trusting God to write the next chapter of the story of redemption through her.
God answers prayer. He always does. Sometimes God says, “Yes.” At other times He says, “No.” More often than not God says, “Wait.” In the case of Isaac and Rebekah God said, “Yes, but wait a while.” Nine months after Rebekah conceived, she bore her husband a set of twins.
Though not always within the same nine-month time frame, answered prayer is delivered from God’s heart to your hands. Learning to wait on God is one of the vital signs of maturity. If you embrace the waiting you will receive peace of God in your heart before they hold the answer from God in your hands. Peace is The Preparation God gives to you when you put your trust in Him through believing prayer.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7
One of the greatest mysteries of life is the creation of a child from the union of a husband and wife. Science has done a great deal to enlighten us to the details. It has not proven capable of understanding why some women are unable to conceive when under the all-seeing eye of the microscope, all systems are go.
Many couples have come to the end of their own resources and turned to adoption as the only means available to them to build a family. I am no longer surprised when I hear this story recounted to me. Some time between the moment the adoption papers were filed, and the child is placed in their arms, a couple announces with great delight and immense surprise, “We’re pregnant.” What’s that all about?
Releasing a pressing need in the hands of a prayer-answering God is a healthy way to live. It is the most effective way to find relief from the stress and fatigue of carrying a burden on your own back or taking matters into your own hands. PRAY!
In the case of Rebekah, I can’t help but wonder if hearing her husband pray for her was the one thing that had been missing in the process of producing an heir. When she heard her husband intercede for her, and not criticize her, perhaps her heart was turned towards her husband.
There is nothing in the world like prayer, to create the one flesh relationship between a husband and a wife. Prayer is The Preparation they need to be the partners and parents God intends for them to be. When Isaac prayed, it is no wonder God heard him. It is little wonder Rebekah did too.
The greater miracle may be that a husband prayed for his wife, not that God opened her womb to bear a child. They both are miracles of biblical proportion. Prayer was The Preparation for the blessing Rebekah would receive. Isaac needed to know his heir came from God, not himself. Rebekah needed to know nothing was impossible with God. Her pressing need created a praying husband and a set of twins. Her prayer life was about to go to the next level. But I digress.
NOTE TO SELF: When you pray with and over your wife, you invest more in her than the breath in your lungs. Prayer engages the heart of The Father, and the power of The Spirit, in the name of The Son. Interceding for your wife to receive a blessing from God places great value on her, and magnifies her in His Presence. The former honors her, and the latter pleases God. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!