Read with Me
Genesis 32:9-12 (HCSB)
Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. Please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’ ”
Listen with Me
Jacob was desperate with fear of what his brother Jacob would do to him and his family when he arrived with his 400 men. He had hit the end of his own cleverness so, finally, he turned to God in prayer. The contents of his prayer shows that even though his was not a mature faith, he was growing in faith and in his knowledge of God.
Even though he calls God the God of his grandfather and of his father, Abraham and Isaac, not his own God, he acknowledges that it truly was Him who called him to leave Haran and return home to Canaan, and that God had promised to make him prosper. Thus, he had assumed that God was also promising to protect him and to not let him fall prey to his vengeful brother.
Jacob acknowledged that he was not worthy of the faithful love God had shown him and of the blessings he had received over the last twenty years. In that time, he had gone from being an exile with nothing but the clothes on his back, to being rich, with four wives, twelve children, and one on the way, enough to make two separate camps.
Finally, Jacob reminded God of His promises to him and begged for His help, not in overcoming his brother, but in simply surviving any attack that could come. After all, he reminded Him, God couldn’t keep His promises to him if He allowed him to be killed and all his possessions coopted by his brother.
This was by no means what most would call a “perfect prayer”, but it was heartfelt, and it reflected an accurate understanding of God’s call and His promises, as well as the fact that He could and would help him in this moment of need. And his prayer was answered in very short order.
Pray with Me
Father, I agree that this is overall a good prayer. Actually, it is a better prayer, one that reflects a better understanding of You, than I thought Jacob possessed at that point! The sad part is that he waited to pray it until he had exhausted all his own resources and cleverness. How very like him we are today. All too often we keep You in our hip pockets, available to pull out when nothing else has worked. How much better it would be if we would look to You at the beginning for Your guidance, and simply do what You tell us. How many traps along the way could I have avoided if I hadn’t stubbornly insisted on doing things myself! Help me, Lord, to seek Your face first and always, and then simply follow and obey. Amen.