Praying Through Pain: Moving From Grief to Praise a 10 - Day Plan by Kathy-Ann C. Hernandez, Ph.d.Chikamu

Day 8

Asking for Help

When I think of someone praying through the pain, I am drawn to the image of Jacob wrestling with God throughout the night. Jacob was desperate for answers. God had told him to return home after a twenty-year hiatus because of his deception to both his father and brother. But now, on his way back, he receives news that his brother Esau is on his way to meet him with a militia of 400 men.

This news fills Jacob with dread. He is unsure how his brother will receive him, and he is perplexed by the workings of God. And so, he retreats to a quiet spot near the Jabbok river to have one-on-one time with God. As he prays, he suddenly feels the grip of an unfamiliar arm on his shoulder. Instinctively, he puts up the fight of his life. When he finds out, to his amazement, that the one with whom he is wrestling can grant the same petitions for which he has been praying, he requests directly: “I will not let You go unless You bless me” (Genesis 32:26).

Four aspects of this night-long prayer encounter are instructive.

It is purposeful: Jacob makes his request clear and specific, asking God for what he needs.

It is intimate: Two beings physically grapple with each other throughout the night. Can you see them struggling, limbs twisting and turning every way, trying to pin the other down?

It is intense: A battle of strength and will-- neither one is willing to give in.

It is persistent: The battle goes on until daybreak. Jacob was not willing to let go until his petition was granted.

Jacob’s encounter with God illustrates the praying that is necessary for us to move past our pain. This is a purposeful, intimate, often intense, and persistent prayer. We pray for as long as it takes for our humanity to have an intimate encounter with divinity!

As surely as Jacob leaves with a physical reminder of that night—the messenger touches Jacob’s hip and wrenches it out of its socket—we do not leave these encounters the same. When we wrestle through the pain with God, we will receive a blessing from our time here.

Reflect

Jacob’s encounter with God at the Jabbok river left him with a physical reminder of his struggle. What might be the costs to you of engaging in this purposeful, intimate, often intense, and persistent prayer?