Be A PRAYer! - Genesis 32:22-30
The year was 2020. The world was turned upside down and people were cooped up at home more than ever. Money once spent on travel or dining out now went into DIY projects. Contractors were overbooked, boredom ran rampant and Youtube seemed to have all the answers. Suddenly DIY-ers fancied themselves ambitious builders, seasoned handymen and backyard mechanics.
As good as that sounds, not every attempt ended well. Some overly ambitious souls found themselves in way over their head and learned the hard way that doing it all on their own, often just cost more in the end. This morning the Holy Spirit confronts us with a challenging question, when it comes to fixing life’s challenges, are we DIY-ers? Genesis 32 teaches Jacob, and us, that God doesn’t want us to be DIYers but PRAYers by showing us that prayer is private, persistent, and productive.
This world has seen its fair share of people who have tried to DIY their way through life, but perhaps none quite like Jacob. God had promised that the older brother would serve the younger, but Jacob grew impatient and took matters into his own hands. One day, when Esau returned from hunting, famished to the point of death, crafty Jacob saw his opportunity. With a bowl of stew Jacob bartered with his brother: “Sell me your birthright, and you can have some.” A full stomach in exchange for the prized blessing of the birthright. A prime example of Jacob’s DIY schemes.
But one scheme led to another because while he had tricked his brother, he still had to pull the wool over his fathers eyes, literally. Isaac in his old age was near blind, Jacob saw this too as an opportunity. Disguised with goat skins, Jacob fooled his blind father into thinking he was Esau. And it worked, he got the blessing. But when Esau found out what he had done, Jacob was forced to run away for his life.
Even in exile, Jacob didn’t stop his DIY workings. He made a deal with his uncle Laban to marry Rachel, but woke up after the wedding beside Leah, her older sister. Laban had out-schemed the schemer. So Jacob DIY-ed another seven years to win a second wife Rachel. But then Rachel, his beloved wife, couldn’t have children, Jacob tried another DIY fix by fathering sons through her maidservant. Jacob’s home life quickly became a tangled mess as four wives and all their children competed for his love and attention. Each DIY plan only complicated his life further.
Now at God’s command Jacob was returning home to face the animosity that had been left to simmer for the past twenty years. Even worse, brother Esau was reportedly approaching with four hundred men in tow. For the first time in his life, Jacob has nowhere left to run, and nothing left to DIY. Is Esau still furious? Will he kill me on sight?
These were some of the thoughts occupying Jacob's mind. Just a few verses prior to our text, Jacob prayed “Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau… for you have said, I will surely make you prosper.” And so now having sent his wives, his children and all his possessions across the Jabbok river we are told, “Jacob was left alone.” That was one bridge Jacob was not yet ready to cross. So he found space to silence the noise, the fear, the doubts - that old voice still whispering that just maybe God might let him down.
Through a series of failed DIY projects, Jacob had learned the hard way how to pray. He discovered a valuable lesson: prayer is private. To prepare, Jacob cleared away his possessions, isolated himself from the hubbub, and even distanced himself from his own family. Yet even then, he was not truly alone, he was alone with God. For Jacob, the first step in prayer was not speaking; it was separating.
Do you find yourself praying like that? Would your prayer life be described as distraction free? Do you silence the notifications, shut-away your possessions, and step away even from the bustle of your own family to spend time in prayer? Or, do you lean into distractions as excuses for a lackluster prayer life saying, “I’ll pray later.” We’ve all done it. We all do it. Prayer so easily gets pushed to the backburner, left to simmer until our life boils over into disaster
Jesus never treated prayer that way. Prayer for Jesus was never a backburner item. Was the Savior of the world also not busy? Yet time and again, Jesus withdrew to remote places to pray. For him, prayer wasn’t an obligation, it was a privilege–an opportunity for one-on-one time with his Father. It was Jesus’ privilege, it was Jacob’s, and it’s ours as well. We too, are invited to clear away the clutter, silence the noise, and run to our heavenly Father in private prayer.
But privacy was not the only lesson Jacob learned that night, because we are told just then “A man wrestled with him till daybreak.” This mysterious opponent never identifies himself by name, and later when Jacob asks, “What is your name” the man still doesn’t give Jacob a direct answer. But there are clues about who this opponent is, clues that make such an explanation seem unnecessary. First, the stranger wrestles Jacob in a real, physical struggle while Jacob was already wrestling spiritually with God. Second, with just a touch he miraculously dislocates Jacob's hip. Third, this mystery man has authority to bless Jacob and to rename him “Israel.” Fourth, in the aftermath, Jacob declares that that very night he “saw God face to face” and lived. Finally, Hosea 12 confirms that this was indeed the preincarnate Christ. Jacob really was wrestling with Jesus!
Much like a father wrestling with his young son, where the dad could easily end the match at any moment, God was pleased to wrestle with a mere mortal and even let him prevail. But this was no lighthearted playful tussle. The Hebrew word for ‘wrestle’ literally means to get down and struggle in the dust. It was intense, it was grueling, it was painful, and it lasted until dawn. Jacob clung to God with every last shred of strength he could muster even as pain seared through his hip. Through gritty determination Jacob models persistence. Even when the Lord said “Let me go,” Jacob shouts back, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” That’s persistence that doesn't quit.
Can we pray like that? As good Lutherans, should we pray like that? Can we get dusty with our Lord in prayer? Can we engage in prayer for hours on end? Yes! Prayer is not merely a bedtime tradition or the ticket to begin a good meal. Prayer isn’t limited to bowed heads, folded hands, and words read from a book in church. Sometimes prayer is a full-bodied, persistent struggle that can sound like a pained wail “I don’t understand why you took them.” It’s the tear-stained plea that says “Fix what's broken in my marriage.” It's the midnight cry, “Don’t let my loved ones drift further from you.” It’s the deep ache of loneliness that begs to be filled by companionship. It’s the heart that says "Teach me contentment.” It’s the struggle of faith that prays, “I know you have the power to heal.” It’s the voice that whispers, “Lord, I’m scared to say Your will be done, because I really want it my way.”
Prayers like that are intense, they're grueling, they can go til dawn. But the Lord delights to wrestle with us in such prayers. Not because he’s cruel or unaware of our situation, but because he wants us closely caught up with him in our every struggle. Like a patient father wrestling with his child, he invites us to cling to him tightly. Your Father won’t crush your feeble attempts. He welcomes them. He uses them to strengthen our faith and reliance on him.
Even Jesus prayed that way. In Gethsemane, he prayed with such fervor that his sweat fell like drops of blood as he pleaded that if it were God’s will, the coming cup of suffering might pass from him. In that persistent prayer, Jesus showed that clinging to the Father in prayer is not sinful, it’s trust. So when you pray, don't give up because God’s timing seems slow or his answers unclear. Pray persistently that ‘God’s will be done’ over our DIY fixes because that is the mark of a seasoned faith.
Jacob struggled, and God answered because prayer is also productive. It may not have been the answer Jacob imagined. He may have been praying for strength to outrun Esau or overpower him if push came to shove. But God had other plans. With one divine touch, Jacob was taught a lesson that 20 years of DIY schemes had failed to teach: that he was never once the source of his own strength. From that night on, every step Jacob took would remind him of just that. Yet his prayer was productive. God did bless Jacob as he was intending to do all along, as he had promised to do numerous times before.
At dawn, Jacob limps away a changed man, no longer scheming. He met Esau, not with tricks or an army, but with humility and faith in God’s providence. And what happened? The brother he feared, embraces him. What Jacob had been trying to fix his whole life through manipulation, God resolved through grace. Isn’t that how it goes for us too? We go through life testing out our own half-baked DIY plans because we doubt the productivity of our prayer and the power of our God. We think, will this prayer even help? Will God really make this situation better? Yet even when and where our faith limps, God meets us with that same grace he had for Jacob.
It’s the same undeserved love for us that brought the God-man to take on flesh for us. To fall to his knees in exhaustion as he walked that dusty road to Calvary to bear the weight of the world's sin. It was the same hands which touched Jacob’s hip that were willingly stretched out on the cross so nails could be driven through them. It was as sweat and blood flowed and the crowd jeered that the Savior struggled for each new breath as his heavenly Father turned his face away from him. But it was there in that ultimate match up, with our Savior against our sin, that our Savior conquered.
Because of Jesus, your God forgives every botched DIY attempt. Because of Jesus, God is not only wishing to bless you, he has blessed you! Because of Jesus, your prayers are always productive–even when the answer isn’t what you expect. You can be sure that your heavenly Father answers in a way that is most productive for us. Prayer gives you the boldness to wrestle with his Word and the confidence to cling to his promises, because prayer is productive.
Jacobs story ends not in defeat but in blessing, because God delights to bless those who cling to him. So find your quiet place, shut out the noise, and be alone with your God. Wrestle with him in persistent prayer. Cling to his promises that because of Jesus every prayer you pray is productive as he sees best. So when it comes to life's challenges, don't be a DIYer, be a PRAYer. Amen.
