In Gen. 26:26-31 Abimelech and the Philistines show up for dinner. Sure right after all the work is done! Cause that’s what Philistines do, show up after the work party, to party! They cut a covenant, swear an oath, eat a meal, and depart in peace, yeah right! Then Isaac’s servant’s find a new well and he names it, ‘Shebah‘ the well of the oath or covenant. Beer means well and Shebah means oath. Beer-Shebah is an area south of Gerar or Gaza on the trade route, so a well would be very valuable in that location to travelers. Many times a well was about four feet wide and about six to ten feet deep in a dry river bed and would form a pit!

The wells in Genesis were very significant and associated with special events; Beer-lahai-roi, was the well of Him who lives and sees me, Gen. 16:14; 24:62; 25:11; Beer-sheba, was the well of the oath or covenant, Gen. 21:25-33; 22:19; 26:23-25; 46:1-5; Esek, was the well of contention, Gen. 26:20; Sitnah, was the well of hatred, Gen. 26:21 and those two were Isaac’s own attempts at well digging, after that he chose to live by the wells of his father Abraham. Rehoboth was the well of enlargement, as most would have us believe or as the Paleo-Hebrew says, “The head of the inner-room of my heart and home who offers my family security.” Gen. 26:22. When Isaac returned to Beer-Sheba, the LORD of his father Abraham made Himself known to him and established His covenant with him and Isaac built an altar for sacrifice, worship and prayer and pitched his tent and dug a well. He was staying put!

In Gen. 27, Isaac is 100 years old and blind and we have the story of the stolen blessing of Easu. First his birthright for a bowl of lentils in Gen. 25, the first-born always got the farm. So he gave away the farm for a bowl of chili. Then Jacob stole his blessing in Gen. 27 with an old goat or was it from the old goat? The moral here is don’t wait till you are old and blind to bless your kids because you might bless the wrong ones. Isaac lives 80 more years and dies in Gen. 35:27-29. He is gathered unto his people and buried by Jacob and Esau. Isaac is alive for 60 years after Jacob returns to the promised land with his family from Laban’s labor camp, but nothing is known of Isaac’s later years or of his earlier years for that matter.  Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah dies and her death is recorded in Gen. 35:8, but Rebekah’s death is never recorded. She died in silence, during Jacob’s 20 year absence, of a broken heart. She sent away her favorite son, never to see him again!

Now, what ‘Prayer-Principles’ can we glean from this “Well-Digger’s” life? Isaac learned about altars from his father Abraham, the ‘Altar-Builder.’ In fact he built one with him in Gen. 22 on Mt. Moriah and then laid on it! It was there Isaac learned to ‘Commune’ with God’ That is our First principle for prayer. The word commune in its earliest form meant to have in common, both in giving and in receiving, in thought, word and in deed. In fact, from it comes the words, commune, communicate, communion, community, and even communism. In Ps. 4:4, the word commune is (amar) ‘to say in your heart.’ To commune with your heart upon your bed and be still. In Ps. 64:5, the word for commune is (saw-far) ‘to recount, reckon, rehearse, enumerate, go over and over.’ In Ps. 77:6 the word for commune is (see-akh) ‘to muse, ponder, consider, to put forth in thoughts. (I communed with my own heart). When you commune with God no words are uttered, the giving and receiving takes place in your heart, soul and mind. Listen – You commune with someone!

The Second principle Isaac taught us about prayer is, meditation, Gen. 24:63, “Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide;” He was in the field meditating when his wife arrived. Listen – You meditate on someone! The word (soo-akh) means to go over a matter in one’s mind, to rehearse silently or aloud. To speak, mutter, utter, moan, or growl. The main difference between commune and meditate is the audible part. One is always silent ‘Commune’ and the other can be silent or it can be audible, ‘Meditate.’ Ps. 119:15,23, 48, 78, 148 use the same root word showing pious meditation and devotion. (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2) “But his delight is in the LORD.” You meditate “ON” someone or something.

The Third principle Isaac taught us about prayer is entreaty, Gen. 25:21, “And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife because she was barren;” He entreated (athar) the LORD for his wife, ‘to pray, to supplicate, to plead, to intercede, to stand in the gap.’ The root of this word means abundant, plentiful, and to multiply. I get the idea he did a lot of entreating, for a very long time! Amen? How does that verse go, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man, avails……” Twenty years is a long time to be barren. Now why was she barren (aw-kawr)? Listen carefully, this word means she was sterile! How is that for a prayer request? Pray for me I want a child, and oh yeah, by the way I am sterile! oi vey! Then she receives a double portion, ‘Red and Fred.’ You see faith is not believing God can, faith is believing God will! Now she is pregnant and the twins are struggling and she inquires of the LORD in Gen. 25:22, (da-rash) to seek or consult, but Isaac made abundant, plentiful entreaties (athar) on her behalf; to plead, to supplicate, to intercede, to stand in the gap. There is a big difference in their prayer lives, a big difference. Where did they grow up? hmmm?

You commune with someone; You meditate on someone; You entreat for someone! Did you learn anything from Isaac? How to dig a well? How to run from God? How to lie about your wife’s age? Or how to walk with God? I trust you learned some more principles about Isaac’s prayer life that you can apply to your own. Communing is from your heart to God’s heart; Entreating is uniting your spirit with God’s Spirit; and Meditating is from your mouth to God’s ears; and all of it is directed to your LORD! Which will it be for you today, a shovel to dig a hole and look for water, a pair of running shoes to find a place to hide, an old prayer altar to lay those burdens down, or a quiet place to hear that still, small voice; to commune, meditate, ruminate, and to take a fresh look into the face of Yeshua/Jesus. When was the last time you took a fresh look into the face of Yeshua/Jesus? Isn’t it about time you did it again?   “Between The Lines”

“Portraits of Prayer in genesis”  ‘Isaac The Welldigger Part-3’