Gen 32:9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee.
Jacob and his family leave Haran and are on their way back to Canaan. He is happy to go home. He has been away from home for twenty-one years. But he has a worry. The last time he had to leave home was because of his brother Esau. His brother wanted to kill him. Jacob had committed a great sin against his brother. Twenty years had gone by. He does not know if his brother still harbours the hatred against him. He is not worried for himself but for his family.
Jacob sent out some messengers to deliver a message to Esau. The messengers returned with this report that Esau is on the way to meet him with four hundred men. It doesn’t look good. It looks like Esau is on his way to have a war with his brother. Jacob is greatly afraid and distressed (Gen 32:7). What did he do?
Jacob prayed (Gen 32:9-12). Jacob laid out his trouble before God. He teaches us that times of fear should be times of prayer; whatever frightens us should drive us to our knees, to our God. “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears” (Psa 18:6).
We can learn a few things about the prayer of Jacob.
1. RELATIONSHIP
He approached God not merely as God the Creator, but as “the God of his father Abraham and the God of his father Isaac.” It was God in Covenant relationship. This was laying hold of the Divine faithfulness; it was the prayer of faith. He appealed to Him on the ground of a sure and established relationship. It was as if he was saying: “God, you have helped my ancestors, Abraham and Isaac; help me too.”
Today, we come before God not as the God of our forefathers, but as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore our “God and Father.” The apostles in some of their epistles appealed to God as the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:3; 4:6; 1 Pet 1:3).
Christ wants us to address God as our Father; “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,” (Matt 6:9). It shows a relationship we have with God. How good it is to address God as our Father. We are in a Covenant relationship with God.
2. ASSURANCE.
Jacob cast himself on the sure Word of Jehovah, pleading before Him His promise. God promised to be with him and brings him back safely. He humbly reminded the Lord how He had said, “Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee.”
Has God promised to be with us too? Yes, He did. He said: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5; see also Matt 28:20). Do you believe in the promises of God? God is faithful; it means He is trustworthy. Do you trust Him?
Someone has rightly said this: The shortest distance between a problem and its solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
3. HUMILITY
Jacob said: “I am not worthy” (Gen 32:10). The publican’s prayer is honoured because it comes from a heart which is broken and contrite (Luke 18:13-14).
A young preacher who had just finished Bible College and was starting his first Sunday with a congregation was asked to pray during worship. He was so excited and he prayed for fifteen minutes. He thought his prayer would be heard for his “much speaking” (Matt 6:7). An old preacher came to him after the service and said: “That was a good prayer. But for a prayer to be heard, it does not have to be eternal.”
It is not our long prayers but our faith in God that gets the answer. God hears the prayers of faith and humility (Jas 5:15-16).
4. EARNESTNESS
Jacob prayed for deliverance. He offered up his request with great faith, fervency, and humility. See how earnest he prayed: “Deliver me, I pray thee,” (Gen 32:11).
To be earnest is to show depth and sincerity of feeling. Do we pray earnestly or mechanically? James says: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas 5:16). James is teaching us about the right attitude towards prayers. It is not listless, indifferent, cold, lifeless, as if there were no vitality in it, or power, but that which is earnest, sincere, hearty, believing, and persevering.
Brethren, Satan dreads nothing but prayer. “The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”- Samuel Chadwick
Times of fear, troubles, and afflictions should be times of prayer. Let us pray before we start our day. “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psa 55:17).
Jimmy Lau
Psa 119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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