Effective Prayer

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’” [Genesis 32.9-12]

Jacob prayed. If we knew nothing else of this passage, it would be enough to know that Jacob prayed.

But there is much more to Jacob's prayer than just the fact that he prayed.

Jacob reminded God three different times that He (God) had made commitments to him. In verse 9, Jacob reminded God that He had "told" him and "promised" him. Then, in verse 12, Jacob again reminded God that He had "promised" him.

Jacob was well aware of what God had told him and he had no reservation, in his prayer, of reminding God of what had been promised. In other words, Jacob held God to His Word.

And that is effective prayer.

How do we know? Because Esau did not wipe Jacob and his family out!

Father, thank You for the lesson today that I should remind You of what You have promised.