In Genesis, chapter twenty-five, verse twenty-one, Rebekah, like Sarah, was childless for many years. Sarah, who was Isaac’s mother, remained childless until she was ninety. Rebekah, the daughter-in-law of Sarah, remained barren for a time. Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife. The scriptures do not indicate how much time passed between Isaac’s prayer and Rebekah’s pregnancy. However, we learn that Isaac was sixty, which means the couple remained childless for twenty years before sons were eventually born.
The important thing is that Isaac took action. Prayer is an activity. To faithfully inquire to God for the circumstance to change from what it is currently. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife. God responded to Isaac’s prayer. God had promised that multitudes would come from Abraham, but each birth in the line of God’s chosen people seems to have required specific intervention from God Himself. God’s people understood that their children were gifts from Him.
Isaac had to ask the Lord for the next child of promise from whose seed the Redeemer eventually would be born. In this way, God emphasizes the spiritual principle that redemption, spiritual inheritance, and the fulfillment of the covenant execute not through natural means but God’s action and grace in response to prayer and believing God to fulfill His promises. In other words, prayer and faith are how God chooses to grant His promises. However, our hearts must not be praying with an attitude to the Almighty one as if He owes us something but to reverence Him. Another important note is we should not ask God in a murmuring condition because the Lord does not tolerate such behavior. To address the Holy One about our concerns should be an attitude of gratitude and raise our voice with praise because He deserves it.