Genesis
32:24 ¶ And Jacob was left alone; and
there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against
him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was
out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me. 27
And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more
Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and
hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him,
and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that
thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place
Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose
upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 32
Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank,
which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the
hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
We do not know until later that when God appeared to
or walked with a person in the Old Testament it was the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Word by which all things were created, the second part of God called the Son of
God, the physical image of God’s person (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15). He is
in other places called the angel of God or the angel of the Lord, the meaning
of an angel being an appearance of someone who is also somewhere else, which we
see in Genesis, chapters 16, 21, 22, 31.
Isaiah
63:9 In all their affliction he was
afflicted, and the angel of his presence
saved them…
God walked with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8). He spoke
to Noah (Genesis 6). He appeared to Abraham (Genesis 12, 17, 18). He appeared
to Isaac (Genesis 26). God spoke to Jacob in a dream (Genesis 31). Here, God in
the form of a man, which would be the preincarnate Jesus Christ, confronts
Jacob when he is alone. They have this colossal wrestling contest. Wrestling is
perhaps the oldest combat sport known to man.
Wrestling is mentioned in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, in Greek mythology,
in Hindu, and Persian writings. It is depicted on very ancient cave art in
Mongolia and on Egyptian tombs. Preachers have long played out this scene as an
example of contending with God in prayer for something that you want.
Paul says that we contend against spiritual beings
that inhabit the spaces above us.
Ephesians
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
While any wrestling we do is spiritual in prayer and
fighting our flesh THIS was a bonafide physical wrestling match in the flesh,
at least for Jacob anyway. I would be careful talking about wrestling with God
in prayer. We do not get things from God by trying to pin Him down in prayer or
forcing something from Him. God’s mercy does not come to us through our force.
That’s a pagan ideal where magicians of Ancient Egypt and in India would
threaten the gods if they did not respond to the magicians’ enchantments. See
what we are told.
Ephesians
6:18 Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;
Philippians
4:6 Be careful for nothing [don’t
worry about anything]; but in every thing
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God.
The promises offered to us are not awards we win in a
fight with God.
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ephesians
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
We receive these things by trusting in Christ’s
resurrection.
Romans
10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
And by believing what Jesus said about Himself in John
14, that He is the only way to God and that He is in fact the image of God the
Father. In John 3:36 believing on Christ
is defined as believing what He said.
John
3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him.
So, in;
Acts
16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
This grappling match in Genesis was a unique event for
Jacob, not you. There is no athletic contest with God involved for us. If there
is a wrestling match, it is between you and your flesh or spiritual beings that
oppose God and you. But, what we can say here with certainty is a principle of
holding on to God and not letting go, which some of us have done, unfortunately.
We need to understand in all ways and at all times that it is God who is in
control of our destiny. There is no war with Satan, who can do nothing without
God’s permission, and no ransom paid to Satan for our souls, as the ransom is
paid to God by God. See Exodus 30:12 and Psalm 49:7.
Exodus
30:12 When thou takest the sum of the
children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom
for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague
among them, when thou numberest them.
Psalm
49:7 None of them can by any means
redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
But, as the parable of the friend pleading with his
friend for food in Luke 11 and the parable of the unrighteous judge in Luke 18,
it is expected that we will be persistent in prayer and not give up.
Luke
11:1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, as he
was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto
him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give
us day by day our daily bread. 4 And
forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And
lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. 5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall
have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend,
lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of
mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say,
Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto
you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet
because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall
be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of
you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he
for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if
he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Luke
18:1 ¶ And he spake a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which
feared not God, neither regarded man: 3
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying,
Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he
would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not
God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this
widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary
me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the
unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God
avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long
with them? 8 I tell you that he will
avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?
To make this a spiritual principle we have to
understand that God OFTEN makes Himself apparent to us in reality for nothing
happens that is not either caused by God or permitted by God; no cell function,
not a beat of your heart, or not even sickness and death.
For instance,
someone you love is sick, very sick. You pray fervently for their release from
the bondage of sickness. It means a lot to you that they get well. Do not, “let
go,” but pray fervently, fast if you are led to by the spiritual and emotional
urgency of the situation, but understand you may be wounded in the process,
like Jacob, a wound you carry with you for the rest of your life. It may be
God’s will that the one you love must go to Him. But, your persistence and
sincerity will result in a blessing and you will be changed by the, “struggle.”
This is just one example of possible applications and preachers have come up
with many others.
Jacob holds on and refuses to let go until God blesses
him. He is given the name Israel which typically is said to mean
"God prevails" or "God contends" but here the meaning in
context ironically refers to Jacob prevailing with God. Jacob demands that his
opponent tell him His name. But, there is no need. Jacob knows with whom his
encounter has been. Peniel and Penuel are two spellings of the same word. There
may be another reason but one reason for including both spellings is the question
among Jewish authorities regarding the spelling, I have read. Both mean ‘to see
God face to face.’ Who then has Jacob wrestled with?
John
14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been
so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath
seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Hebrews
1:3 Who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Colossians
1:15a Who is the image of the invisible
God…
Those who trust in Christ’s righteousness and realize
they are spiritually bankrupt and destitute on their own shall see God face to
face. They are made clean and pure by Christ. (see Job 11:4; Psalm 24:4; and
Proverbs 20:9 for pure as clean.)
Matthew
5:3 ¶ Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven….8
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
(The preparation of a heart to receive Christ is found
in Psalms and Isaiah, among other places.
Psalm
34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that
are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Isaiah
66:2 For all those things hath mine hand
made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I
look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my
word.)
Jacob will carry with him, in his limp, a reminder of
a very close encounter with the living God. He has had impressed upon him the
unseen power of God in the company of angels he met. He has been impressed with
the immediacy of God in his life with the encounter with the pre-incarnate
Christ. These are two things that should give us pause as we face uncertain
events ahead in our lives. There is invisible to us a great host which God can
and will use for His purposes and God Himself does not only meet us in close
encounters but His very Spirit dwells inside of us by virtue of the faith He
gave us when we believed. (i.e.; Romans 3:22; 8:9.)
We need to be persistent in prayer, to hang on,
acknowledge God’s sovereignty and His authority and His power. We may not get
what we want and we may be wounded and carry the emotional scars with us for
life but holding on to God is what is needed and never letting go, not even for
an instant. Prayer is our verbal communication with God. We are helpless,
needy, unable, and weak in the face of life’s inevitable pain and suffering.
C.S. Lewis, a famous Christian philosopher and writer
from England, was watching the woman he loved die. In the movie, Shadowlands, based on a book about his
experience, a friend says to him when he thinks, wrongly as it eventually turns
out, if I remember correctly, that Joy Davidman, the woman, is in remission
from cancer or even cured, “I know how hard you’ve been praying. And now, God
is answering your prayer.” But, C.S. Lewis replies in the negative, “That’s not
why I pray. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because the need flows
out of me, all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes
me.”
King David committed a horrible sin in the murder of
Uriah the Hittite to cover-up that David had gotten the man’s wife pregnant.
But, that child would not survive this sin. This passage begins with the
prophet, Nathan, speaking.
2Samuel
12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou
hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child
also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
15 ¶
And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that
Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child;
and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went
to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat
bread with them. 18 And it came to pass
on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to
tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was
yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will
he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But when David saw that his servants whispered,
David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his
servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed,
and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the
LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they
set bread before him, and he did eat. 21
Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done?
thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child
was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 22
And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I
said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
23 But now he is dead, wherefore should
I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return
to me.
These two men were wounded in their encounter with God
in prayer for these specific things. Their prayers were not answered in the
affirmative. The answer was not yes. It was no. What happened was the answer.
But, they held on.
Monica was born in the
year 332 in Tagaste, North Africa. Monica had a conversion experience at a very
young age and lived a life of virtue after being a brat.
When she reached a
marriageable age, her parents gave her in marriage to a non-Christian man named
Patricius. Monica’s husband Patricius, not only came home drunk each day but
had a violent temper and Monica was often the victim of his rage. Patricius was
not a faithful husband and therefore, Monica’s life was full of trials and pain.
Monica endured all her
trials with patience, gentleness and kindness. She would daily pray for the
conversion of her husband, even though he would oppose her Christian practices.
Her strong faith and hope in God’s mercy finally payed off. Patricius accepted
his wife’s faith a year before his death. He admitted that he admired his
wife’s strong faith and it was her unwavering kindness towards him that
changed him.
Augustine, Monica’s son, was seventeen when his father
died.
Monica and Patricius had three children out of whom
Augustine was the son who was to give his mother the worst heart aches.
Augustine was brilliant in his studies and
therefore was sent to Carthage, so he could develop his talents and become a man
of culture. Although he excelled in his studies, his behavior became
unacceptable to his mother. Not only that he went into lose living with women,
alcohol and addictions of all kinds, but also he got involved with a cult
called Manichaeism, a sort of takeoff on Persian religion, very new agey today,
with a good God and a bad one as two totally separate concepts, not Biblical at
all. Imagine the fundamentalist preacher of today talking about God in a war
with Satan over your soul, and Christ paying a ransom to Satan, and Satan
reigning in Hell. These are all similar but not exact comparisons to
Manicheism, not Biblical doctrines. One could only imagine the anguish of this
poor mother, Monica.
Monica never gave up her prayers for her son. She
would fast, cry and beg God for her son’s conversion. Monica would approach the
local bishop and ask them to win her son over to the faith.
The Bishop would often console her saying, “God’s time will come. Go now, it is not
possible that the son of so many tears should perish”. Monica was a
mother who never gave up.
Finally the time came when Augustine was twenty
nine a successful teacher then, had to work under the influence of Bishop
Ambrose. Monica found that her son had at this stage given up Manichaeism. Monica
made friends with Bishop Ambrose in order to help her son give up his current
lifestyle, living with a woman, drunkenness and the like.
For her greatest Joy, Augustine not only embraced
Christianity during an Easter celebration, but he decided to devote himself to
God’s service. Augustine, was not only a famous Bishop, but later became one of
the greatest figures of the early church. This was the result of his mother's
prayers being answered. She never let go of God.
We are told to pray
without ceasing in 1Thessalonians 5:17 and again the same notion is
presented by saying continuing instant in
prayer in Romans 12:12.
How much do you pray? How much of a need do you feel
to pray? I would never say to you to come up here in front of the podium and,
“do business with God.” You don’t do business with God. God is not a
businessman. He is your sovereign Lord and creator who is in absolute control
of your destiny. You come to God in submission, in your abject helplessness,
and in fear, awe, dread, and amazement at His power, His mercy, and His love
for you, a love so great that He came to live in a body like yours and even let
people like you execute Him, murder Him on a wooden cross, naked, exposed to
the shame and the ridicule of people much like yourselves. Then, He rose from
the dead so that by trusting in His life and death and resurrection you could
have eternal life with Him.
Pray
without ceasing.
Jacob wrestled
all night. Have you ever had a burden that led you to pray for hours? I
remember the Navigator’s class at the Southern Baptist church Beth and I
attended together for 20 years. One of our assignments one night was to find a
part of the building where we could be alone and just pray the entire time. It
was an eye-opening exercise as you realize how little time you devote to
prayer.
John Wesley
is credited with starting the Methodist Church. Some writers claim he prayed
two hours every morning. George Muller claimed to have over 5000 requests
answered by God on the day Muller made them. He started over a hundred schools
and founded orphanages where he cared for 10,000 boys. You’re not being asked
to be or guilted into being a Wesley or a Muller. You are not being asked to perform like the
Byzantine Empire’s ‘Sleepless Monks’ who prayed in 8 hour shifts around the
clock.
But, God
wants a very specific relationship with His people.
Micah
6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is
good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
And He helps us when we don’t know how to put our
heart’s concerns into words.
Romans
8:26 ¶ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.
So, what I’m encouraging you to do is to pray more, to
pray often, to pray fervently. Pray with your spouse, your children, and your
grand-children. Do you pray with your spouse every day? One reason I wouldn’t
make a good Pastor is because if a couple came to me and said they were having
problems and I found out they didn’t pray together every day I’d tell them to
do that for a few months and then come back to me if they still had their
problem. Of course, I would not be very popular because people like that pagan,
pastoral counseling regime that became popular in the 1920s. You know, here’s
five things you can say or do to your spouse every day, leave love notes laying
around, etc., blah, blah, blah.
Be devoted to prayer. Hold onto God. God speaks to His
people through His words in His book. Now, you speak to Him with your heart,
your lips, and your mind.
Hebrews
13:15 By him therefore let us offer the
sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving
thanks to his name.
Do you have little peace in your life? Are you
constantly worried and fretful like me? Are you always second-guessing yourself
and wondering what you could have done to make things work out differently than
they did in your life?
Colossians
3:15 And let the peace of God rule in
your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Isaiah
26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Are you a worrier like me? I’ve always said worrying
works because 95% of the things I worry about never happen so it must be a good
thing, huh. But we are told differently. Care-ful means full of care, that is
worry.
Philippians
4:6 Be careful for nothing; [don’t
worry about anything] but in every thing
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus.
A fretful heart is not a thankful heart. It is not a
heart that realizes that what has happened is the only way it could have
happened because that’s the way it happened. You can do nothing about what has
happened. Don’t put your hand to the plow and look over your shoulder. Your
best time with God is ahead of you and it is right now.
1Thessalonians
5:18 In every thing give thanks: for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Preachers often say that they preach their sermons to
themselves first. Prayer, or the lack of it in frequency and intensity, is
something that I am lacking so this sermon came to mind, or if I may presume on
God, God laid it on my heart because of my deficiency.
I am encouraging you to pray more.
Jesus took time to go apart and pray to God the
Father. He is our example.
Luke
5:16 And he withdrew himself into the
wilderness, and prayed.
Luke
6:12 ¶ And it came to pass in those
days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in
prayer to God.
And He gave His followers strict instructions on the
conditions under which they should pray.
Matthew
6:5 ¶ And when thou prayest, thou shalt
not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say
unto you, They have their reward. 6 But
thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But
when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that
they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things
ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Prayer is a personal worship of God, an acknowledgment
of who He is and of His sovereignty over us and all things. From the Old
Testament;
Hosea
14:2 Take with you words, and turn to
the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so
will we render the calves of our lips.
Psalm
141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before
thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
And Paul’s words;
Hebrews
13:15 By him therefore let us offer the
sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving
thanks to his name.
Remember who we are speaking to and totally dependent
upon.
Matthew
28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Again, I’ll repeat Paul’s statement and encourage you
to engage God with deliberation, with intent, and with expectation. Never pray
and not expect something to happen, even if it is only a change in your
heart.
Hebrews
4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need.
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