Gold in Wrestling ! Dr . Mrs . Lilian Stanley
Gold in Wrestling ! Dr . Mrs . Lilian Stanley
As Rio Olympics sink into history our minds are still fresh with scenes of wrestling , especially with a bronze for India . We find a wrestling match in the Bible too . The wrestlers were Jacob and God . What ' s interesting about it is that Jacob won the match . Before we come to the incident itself , let us see what it means to wrestle with God to experience aREVIVAL IN OUR PERSONAL PRAYER LIFE .
Let ' s read Isaiah ' s lamentation about the lethargy in the prayer life of Christians . “ There is no one who calls on Your name , who stirs himself to take hold of You ” ( Isa 64:7 ). This speaks about a person ' s personal prayer life . The prophet could not find even a single person who was willing to rouse himself from his slack in prayer life to call on God ' s name and catch hold of Him . God is close to us , but we are not enthusiastic enough to get hold of Him . If we do not pray , we cannot take hold of God . Prayer is holding God in our grip .
For revival in our prayer lives , we should pray ,
pray and pray . There is no other way . If you sleep in prayer , pray when you wake up . If your mind wanders , pray when you arrest your wandering thoughts . Never give up praying . Then you ' ll find revival in your prayer life .
Let ' s now come to the wrestling match in Genesis chapter 32 . Jacob wins the quarter finals and is assured of a bronze when he won over his father-inlaw ( Gen 31:55 ). As he enters Semifinals , he recounts God ' s promises for victory : “ I will make you prosper ” ( 32:9 ). Jacob was scared . Very scared and panicked thinking about Esau . At that juncture he made a vital decision . He thought the solution to the problem was in spending time ALONE WITH GOD and take hold of Him . So he sent everyone across the brook , including his family ( Gen 32:24 ). He had rightly understood the teaching of Jesus , “ to go into your room , close the door and pray to your Father ” ( Mt 6:6 ). Jacob is now ready for the semifinals . His opponent enters the ring . The match lasted till daybreak .
“ A man wrestled with him till daybreak ” ( Gen 32:23 ). It was not a chance encounter but a choice encounter . The man did not come to meet him when he was in company . But when Jacob was alone He met him . It was a personal , one-on-one , hand-to-hand combat . It was a tough match and about to end in a draw . But his opponent , seeing that He could not get the best of Jacob , threw Jacob ' s hip out of joint . Surely He was a powerful opponent .
What would anybody do in such a scenario , when pain shoots through his body ? He would immediately relax the grip instinctively , unable to stand the pain . But Jacob would not let go of his quarry . Now the man is crying for mercy : “ Let me go , for it is daybreak ,” He pleads . But Jacob , having his clutch still on Him would not budge . He had the audacity to tell God : “ I will not let You go unless You bless me ” ( 32:26 ).
After asking his name , the man said , “ Your name will no longer be Jacob , but Israel , because you have
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