Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year TwoSample

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it (Matthew 10:39 NKJV).

How has your prayer time changed you?

Jacob is afraid. He is about to encounter his brother, the one that he cheated out of both the birthright and the blessing. Jacob is concerned that his brother will kill him. Jacob, therefore, goes and prays. There, we are told he meets a man whom we learn from Hosea 12:2-6 is actually the angel of the Lord (we could call Him the pre-incarnate Christ). Jacob encounters the angel of the Lord and wrestles and prays so tenaciously that he is injured. He will walk for length of days with a limp. Nonetheless, because he would not let the Lord go until he was blessed, God honored the prayer request that Jacob had brought before Him.

There are three lessons to be gleaned from Jacob’s prayer. First, prayer should be costly (Genesis 32:24–25). Jacob left the prayer meeting with a limp! Two, pray persistently and expectantly (Genesis 32:26). The third lesson is as follows: Persistent and expectant prayers are honored (Genesis 32:27–30). Jacob’s opponent blessed him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28 NKJV).

Employment Point: Pray hard, expecting God’s blessing.