Now we need to look at the ‘Great Archer’s’ later life and draw some ‘Principles for Prayer’ from it. In Gen. 21 Isaac is born, Isaac is weaned at age three, and Sarah sees Ishmael laughing and casts out the bondwoman and her son. She never accepted Ishmael as her own, Never! Note Abraham’s response in Gen. 21:11, “And the thing was very (meh-ode) exceedingly grievous (yara – to tremble or quiver) in Abraham’s sight, because of his son!” He loved Ishmael very much and I believe he had an attachment to his mother Hagar, as well. Have you ever been grieved to the point of trembling and quivering? Not mad, grieved? I have and it is very unsettling. He is all shook up, but in v.12, God says, “Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad or because of the bondwoman…” It will be all right, he is thy seed and I God will make it right.

After assurance from God, Abraham sends them off early in the morning with a skin of water and a loaf of bread into the wilderness of Beer-Sheba. From riches to rags, from prince to a pauper, from caviar to bread crumbs. Do you think Ishmael was upset? Wouldn’t you be upset? And on top of all that they are lost in this desert wilderness, Gen. 21:14. The word wandered is (ta-ra) which means, ‘to err or to go astray, to be deceived, to stagger.’ His father is gone, his water is gone, his bread is gone, the road is gone, and his inheritance is gone. His brother got it all and he is sitting under a bush in the hot desert sun about to die. BUT his God, El Shaddai, is not gone! Remember, He is the one in v.12 that told Abraham to send them away. His mother, Hagar is a bow-shot away, and for the ‘Great Archer’ that is a long way off and she lifts up her voice and weeps or wails, (Bek-ah) to cry, shed tears, wail, weep bitterly, or mournfully.

What did Ishmael, ‘God Shall Hear” learn from his father, Abraham to do in a situation like this, when he was between a ‘Rock and a Hard Place,’  like Ur, Haran, Canaan, Egypt, Damascus, Bethel, Moriah, or Gerar? PRAY! V.17, “And God heard the voice of the lad…” (na-ar) from weaning to marraige. Not Hagar’s wailing; God heard Ishmael’s praying! The angel of God calls out from heaven, “What ails thee Hagar?” What is your problem? He saw her, in her affliction (anah) but He heard the lad, Ishmael in his prayer. Then He says to Hagar, “Fear Not!” Why? v.17, a second time, “For God has heard the voice of the lad where he is, ‘right there!” Not only did He hear him, He knew right where he was!

Now here is your ‘Principle for Prayer’ in v.19 and it is a BIG ONE! “And God opened her eyes , and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.” Listen, the well of water was there the whole time, they just could not see it. Abraham gave her a bottle, but God gave her a well! Amen? Listen, prayer opens our eyes so that we can see God’s provision. Let me repeat that, “Prayer Opens Our Eyes So That We Can See God’s Provision!” What does v.19 say, “And God opened her eyes and she saw…” When did He open her eyes? Listen, after Ishmael prayed, not after she wept, after the lad prayed! Then you move into vv. 20-21 and it says that God was with the lad and he grew and dwelt in the “Wilderness of Paran” and became a “Great Archer.” However, his mother took him a wife from Egypt.  You can take the woman out of Egypt but you can’t take Egypt out of the woman.

This is not the end of Ishmael, he comes back with Isaac in Gen. 25:9 to bury his father Abraham with Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. Then in Gen. 25:17-18 we have a strange ending and I will take it literally, he is 137 years old, “and he gave up the ghost and died (mooth) and was gathered unto his people.” (Paradise)  But v.18 says, “and he died (naw-fal) in the presence of all his brethren.” This other word speaks of a violent death; to fall in battle; to be attacked and killed. Some authors see it as dividing up the land, I don’t! Yeshua/Jesus said, “If you live by the sword (Peter), you will die by the sword.” In fact if you change the vowel points (napal) becomes (nepel) which is a miscarriage, or an untimely birth or an abortion. Remember in Gen. 16:12, God said this man would be a ‘Wild Man’ and his hand would be against every man and every man’s hand would be against him.

However, Ishmael leaves us one giant ‘Principle for Prayer,’ “Prayer Opens Our Spiritual Eyes To See God’s Provision.” Why pray? Because we are blind! Prayer gives sight to our eyes; direction to our hearts; taste to our mouths; smell to our nostrils; sound to our ears; touch to our finger tips; and life to our cold dead souls. Prayer is to our spiritual lives what breathing is to our physical lives. If you stop breathing you will die physically and if you stop praying you will also die spiritually, that is an incontrovertible fact. God’s will, God’s plan, God’s provision, God’s way of escape is no mystery but it is only seen through the eyes of prayer. In this case it was a Lad.  How humbling! Imagine hearing God say, “What ails you mom or dad? I have heard the voice of your son or daughter, go fill your water bottle!” Prayer doesn’t conform God to our desires, it conforms us to His desires. It’s a shame we have to wander in the wilderness dieing of thirst when the spring of living water is just a prayer away. We need to teach our children very early ‘To Pray.’ Not just how to pray, or what to pray, or when, or where, but why we bother praying at all. Shhhhhh, Ishmael, “God Shall Hear!” That’s why! Psalm 65:2.  “Between The Lines”

“Oh God, help us to be an example to our children. Help us to be men and women of prayer, so that we might teach our children and grandchildren to pray. LORD, teach us to pray, so that we might teach others to pray.” In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  Ishmael – Part #2