And yet, even with all these advantages, he did not find a good shidduch until he prayed, pleaded, and entreated Hashem — and only after he prayed was he answered and he found his destined match.”
This is explicitly stated in Parashas Chayyei Sarah (Bereishis 24:63–67):
וַיֵּצֵא יִצְחָק לָשׂוּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִפְנוֹת עָרֶב וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה גְמַלִּים בָּאִים וַיִּקַּח אֶת רִבְקָה וַתְּהִי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה - Yitzchak went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he looked up and saw, and he saw that camels were coming... and Yitzchak took Rivkah, and she became his wife....
The K’li Yakar comments there (Bereishis 24:63), “Although Avraham and Yaakov instituted the prayers of Shacharis and Ma’ariv, respectively, we do not find that they were answered immediately. But regarding the prayer of Minchah, we find that Yitzchak was answered at once. For it is reasonable to say that Yitzchak prayed for his zivug while Eliezer was still on the way, for it is written (Tehillim 32:6), עַל זֹאת יִתְפַּלֵּל כָּל חָסִיד אֵלֶיךָ לְעֵת מְצֹא - Therefore let every pious man pray to You at a time of finding, and Chazal said (Berachos 8a), “At a time of finding — this refers to a wife.”
“Therefore Yitzchak went to the field to pray this prayer — for if Hashem had given him a field fertile beyond all others, as it says (Bereishis 26:12), וַיִּ זְ רַ ע יִצְחָק בָּאָרֶץ הַהִוא וַיִּמְצָא בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִוא מֵאָה שְׁ עָ רִ ים - Yitzchak sowed in that land and found a hundredfold, then surely He would also give him a wife, ‘the field of the world,’ who would bear good and upright seed before Hashem.
“And immediately upon his prayer it states (ibid. 24:63), וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה גְמַלִּים בָּאִים - He looked up and saw, and behold, camels were coming. For during tefillah he had kept his eyes lowered, and immediately after completing his prayer, he looked up and saw that he had been answered — for the camels were coming, bearing his destined wife.”
Thus concluded the Chafetz Chaim, “From here we learn that for a good shidduch, one must pray! It is not enough that the young man is good and worthy, perfect in Torah and fine traits — he must also pray and beseech before the King Who matches all pairs, that He should prepare for him the proper and fitting shidduch.”
The young man accepted the advice of his rosh yeshivah, which he in turn had received from the Chafetz Chaim zt”l, and he began to pray abundantly for success in finding his match. In due course, his prayers were answered — he found his proper zivug, and built a home of Torah and honor.
