God never gets tired of giving. He never gets tired of serving. And He never gets tired of answering your prayers.

On one day, you might pray that it will not rain so your local Church picnic isn’t ruined, and on the next, you might pray that it willrain so that your garden will grow. God hears both prayers with equal interest—and He answers them both!

God is, in fact, the greatest servant of all time. Scripture reveals that this particular quality of God—being a servant—can make you great as well.

Matthew 20:26-27 says, “Whoever wants to be the great man among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all” (Moffatt). This is what it takes to be great! How simple that is.

When Isaac was about 40 years old, his father, Abraham, decided it was time for him to marry. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, had relocated to Canaan years before Isaac was born, but they still had family back in Mesopotamia—and Abraham did not want Isaac marrying a Canaanite woman. Abraham commanded his oldest servant, probably Eliezer (Genesis 15:2), to go to Nahor, a city within Mesopotamia, to find a wife for Isaac. This account is recorded in Genesis 24.

As Eliezer reached the city, he stopped at a well just outside its borders. While resting there, he prayed that God would help him find the perfect wife for Isaac. He asked God to confirm that it was the right woman by giving him a sign: The woman whom God had chosen to marry Isaac must be willing to draw water from the well for him—and for his 10 thirsty camels.

Before he had even finished his prayer, a beautiful woman with a pitcher on her shoulder walked up to the well, intending to draw water to take back to her family. Abraham’s servant immediately went over to her and asked her for some water. Do you know what her response was?

“Drink, my lord …. I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking” (verses 18-19).

A camel can drink up to 53 gallons of water in three minutes. Picture downing 53 of those milk jugs in three minutes!

So let’s talk about what Rebekah actually was offering to do here.

Now just because a camel can drink 53 gallons in three minutes doesn’t mean it will every time, so let’s make a more conservative estimate: 30 gallons per camel. These camels had traveled a long way, and they were thirsty.

Why did Abraham’s servant ask for such a specific sign? Did he choose this task to be a sign simply because he was next to a well at that moment?

Abraham’s servant knew an attitude like that was a perfect sign that the woman was fit to marry Isaac. Rebekah’s attitude of service set her apart from all the other women of that city.

This moment was a direct answer to the servant’s prayer—and it changed Rebekah’s entire life!

Because Rebekah was willing to serve Abraham’s servant, she was chosen to become Isaac’s wife. Her entire life changed in a moment.

Luke 17:10 says, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” God isn’t looking for people who will do just what is expected of them. If Rebekah had drawn water for Abraham’s servant only, she never would have been chosen to be Isaac’s bride. But since she was willing to draw water for his camels also, Abraham’s servant knew she was a profitable servant—and he was able to confidently assure her and her family that it was God’s will that she marry Isaac.

God is looking for profitable servants to marry His Son, just as Abraham’s servant looked for a profitable servant for Isaac. Those who prove themselves to be profitable will have a life-changing moment just as Rebekah did: They will be changed into immortal spirit beings, marry Jesus Christ, and rule with Him for all eternity (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Now imagine that your brother or sister asks you for a glass of water, requiring you to rise from the couch, go to the kitchen, dispense the water into a glass, and carry the 12-ounce result back into the living room.

If you find that difficult, what will you do when you encounter 10 camels?

Even as a young person, there are always opportunities to serve. Talk to a senior. Make someone a note or a card. Draw someone a camel for their collection of biblical animals. Whatever those opportunities are, you should always do more than you are asked like Rebekah did.

Remember that service is an attitude. If we pick and choose where we want to serve, that’s not true service. If you put others’ needs ahead of your own, that is the attitude to strive for.

Try practicing this at home. If you see something that could be better at home, even if you didn’t cause it, take responsibility for fixing it. Shoes left in the living room? Put them where they go. Dirty plate on the table? Take it to the sink or dishwasher—even if it wasn’t your shoe and you didn’t dirty the dish. Leave things better than you find them.

You actually can practice this everywhere. If you see trash on the ground, pick it up, even if you didn’t drop it.

Also, learn to serve in silence. Sometimes it’s easy to do something that really we should do—maybe we weeded the garden or took out the trash—and then come back inside, run to our parents, and say: “Father! I have done well! Let ice cream abound!”

In “Unity Through Service,” Roger Brandon wrote: “The most effective service of all is when no one knows who did it. Serve behind the scenes; don’t proclaim your service (‘I’m washing the dishes!’). If you serve just to be seen of men, you will have your reward. But God sees when you serve in secret, and He will reward you openly (Matthew 6:1-4). If you serve to be out in the limelight, then it’s all for vanity—and vanity is a unity-killer. God rewards our unseen service not with a temporary reward, but with an eternal one.”

That type of service is the example that Rebekah set for us. So the next time someone asks you to pick up some hymnals, stack some chairs, or get a glass of water for your adorable sibling, just remember: It could have been 10 camels!