The word or name ‘Ishmael’ or ‘Yi-Shama-El’ means, “God shall hear and answer!” His very name implies prayer, in fact Ishmael’s name is a monument of God’s goodness in answering prayer. Now, we could call him, ‘Ishmael the Bow-Hunter’ as Gen. 21:20 states, “He grew , and dwelt in the wilderness and became an archer.” However, the Hebrew word for Archer is (Qash-shat) which is the intensive form of (Qe-shet) for ‘Bow.’ (Qe-shet) is the weapon and (Qash-shat) is the wielder of that weapon; the Bow-Man; The Archer; The Shooter. Now you can not see it in the English, but in the Hebrew there are two words for ‘Archer.’ (Rabah) to become great and (Qash-shat) Bow-Man or Archer. So Ishmael was not just a bow-man, but a ‘Great Archer.’  Maybe the greatest archer that ever lived. Because the intensive Hebrew word for ‘Archer’ (Qash-shat) is used only one time in the Bible, right here and has the word (Rabah – Great or to become great) attached to it. He kind of reminds me of Legolas the Master Archer in ‘Lord of The Rings.’

So we have Ishmael, the first born of Abram, whose name means, “God shall hear” who becomes the greatest Archer that ever lived. Nobody else in the Bible has this title, nobody! He becomes the, “Annie Oakley’ of the Older Testament, and he dwells in the wilderness of Paran, ‘The Place of Caverns.’ His mother Hagar, gets him a wife from Egypt and he has 12 sons which become Arab chieftains, much like Isaac who has 12 sons which become tribal princes of Israel. By the way Ishmael is not the founder of the Arab nations, Joktan the son of Eber was. Ishmael just joined them and adopted their life style. Historians tell us a pure Arab race came from Joktan to Mohammed and a mixed Arab race came from Ishmael, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Hagar whose name means, ‘Flight’ runs away from Sarai her mistress in Gen. 16 and ‘The Angel of The LORD’ finds her by the well in the wilderness of Shur which she names, ‘Beer-La-Hai-Roi.’  ‘The well of Him who hears and sees me…” And He promises her a son named Ishmael, “God shall hear.” Why, because, Gen. 16:11 says, “The LORD heard thy affliction (anah).” Same word we find in Isa. 53:4 of our LORD’s suffering. We learned from Hagar, last time that ‘God hears, God cares and God sees’ us in our affliction, in our distress and in our dire needs. When we are between a rock and a hard place, but we want to look at her son’s life and draw some ‘Principles for Prayer’ from, ‘God Shall Hear’ to apply to our lives.

First let’s look at the, ‘Great Archer’s early life.’ Hagar returns to Sarai and submits and her son is born, whom Abram names Ishmael at the age of 86, Gen 16:15-16. In Gen. 17:1 Abram is 99 years old when the LORD appears to him, 14 years pass between those two verses. The LORD talks to him and says, “I am the Almighty God, ‘El Shaddai’ the ‘All-Sufficient God’ and Abram falls on his face, a good position. God then changes his name from ‘Abram – Exalted Father’ to, ‘Abraham – Father of Many Nations.’  Now, there are 27 verses in Gen. 17 and 21 deal with prayer and prayer is a two-way street. God talks you listen; you talk God listens, it’s that simple. Most Christians miss this point! Abraham is laying on his face before God as God is talking for 20 verses and Ishmael who is 13 years old now is probably lying on the ground right next to his exalted father. He is the apple of his father’s eye, the son of his old age who had become a Great Archer. God affirms His land covenant with Abraham and gives him circumcision as a sign between Him and the children of Israel. Sarai’s name is changed to Sarah, ‘Princess – Exalted Woman, or Noble Woman, and God tells Abraham that He will give him a son by Sarah.

Abraham falls on the ground again, laughs and asks if a child can be born to a man who is 100 and a woman who is 90. Gen. 17:17. Paul affirms this condition in Rom. 4:18-22. He said Abraham’s body was dead and so was Sarah’s womb. But I want you to note the gravity and the urgency of Abraham’s words in Gen:17:18, this is not a question, but a statement, “And Abraham said unto God, “Oh, that (Lu-I wish; If only) Ishmael might live before thee!” Before Thy face or before Thy presence! Note the exclamation point in your Bible! He is begging and pleading for Ishmael. Oh, how he loved the son of his old age, who doesn’t? Did, he doubt God? NO! Rom. 4:20 says he didn’t! He loved Ishmael and Ishmael loved him back. How much? Enough to let his father circumcise him at the age of 13, v.25 with a sharp stone. Now that is love, sharp or not! They shared this moment, this covenant together, father and son!

Question, do you think Ishmael believed in and loved the God of his father Abraham? Do you? El Shaddai promised to bless Ishmael, to make him fruitful, and to multiply him exceedingly, Gen. 17:20 at the age of 13, his Bar-Mitzvah, if you will! Ishmael is with Abraham in Gen 18 when the LORD and the two angels appear to his family and Abraham intercedes for Sodom. Listen, God reveals His plans to us, so we will intercede. Has He revealed His will to you? Then pray! Isa. 45:11. If not, then listen! I would say Ishmael is standing right next to his father in Gen. 19:28 as they watch the smoke ascending from the plains of Sodom while Lot and his two daughters escape. That’s why Abraham prayed! God is some what bound by our prayers, look at Lots life and Abimelech’s life, if Abraham doesn’t pray, Abimelech dies. God reveals His plans to us so we will intercede! Ishmael was with him in Gerar when his father lied about his 90 year old step-mother Sarah.

He is crushed at the birth of Isaac in Gen. 21. He lost his total inheritance at the age of 14 and was humbled when Isaac was weaned at the age of 17 and he mocked or laughed. (tsaw-khak) The same word used in Gen. 17:17; 18:12 where Abraham and Sarah laughed at the news of a child being born to them. This is the root word for (Yitzak) Isaac! Question, was Ishmael a God fearing, God honoring young man? I believe he was. Not only would he have learned to pray, worship, and sacrifice with his father but I’m sure he helped build those altars and gather those stones. A key passage for me in Ishmael’s up bringing is Gen. 18:19 where the LORD asks Abraham if He should hide anything from him? (Read It) What lessons have we learned so far from Ishmael’s early life that can help us in our spiritual walk or journey or in our prayer life? Other than, ‘Prayer being a two-way street; and God revealing His will to us so we can intercede? Listen, Ishmael loved his father; He obeyed his father; He honored his father; He trusted his father; He served his father; and He worshiped his father. Now apply that spiritually to your ‘Heavenly Father’ and watch what happens.  “Between The Lines”

“Father, please teach us to listen twice as much as we talk in our prayer time and maybe, just maybe we might accomplish a whole lot more. Thank You, for what we have learned from, “God Shall Hear” yet we have so much more to learn, so teach us.” In ha Shem Yeshua! Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  Ishmael – Part # 1