Genesis 32 ~ Praying God's Word

Please read Genesis 32.

Meditate on verse 7a.

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.

God freed Jacob from Laban, and almost immediately forced him to face an old enemy, his brother Esau. Jacob had sent messengers to let Esau know he was coming home. The messengers returned telling Jacob his brother was coming to meet him with 400 men! Jacob assumed this welcoming party did not have good intentions (recall Jacob had tricked Esau out of a birthright and a blessing), and he quickly went into panic mode. He divided his family, the women and children, into two companies and surrounded himself with them, as if they were an army. He selected 580 of his animals, his blessings from God, to be given to Esau as a peace offering before having to face him. After his acts of desperation, Jacob put in a cry to God to deliver him.

Thankfully, in the midst of acts of faithlessness, God in His faithfulness will hear a cry for His help.

As the presents were being delivered and his wives and children were sent ahead to face the enemy, Jacob was left alone to face God. It wasn’t a pleasant encounter because God wrestled with Jacob all night. But even wrestling matches with God are meant for good, so you can be thankful when they come. The match ended with God blessing Jacob and giving him a new name, Israel. He indeed would be the father of God’s great nation as promised to his grandfather, Abraham (Genesis 12:2). The wrestling match also ended with Jacob being humbled by God; he walked the rest of his life with the limp God inflicted. That limp would always remind Jacob to fear God and not man.

Examine your life. What or who are you afraid of? What or who are you sacrificing to protect yourself? Are you giving away blessings from God because you are responding in fear to a situation?

STOP! Take a deep breath and pray Genesis 32:10-12 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, _________ and I are unworthy of
all the lovingkindness

 and of all the faithfulness which You have shown us.


Deliver us, I pray, from the hand of ____________ ,


for we fear them, that they will come out and attack us.

Help us to trust You and Your promises, LORD.


In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the Wall ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell