197. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. For him, we must wrestle with God in prayer to bless us.

16 September 2021

“The Lord bless you.”

Numbers 6

23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

24 “‘“The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you.”’”

Psalm 67

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face shine on us.

Jacob Wrestles With God To Bless Him

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.

Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Genesis 32:22, 24, 26, 29-30

“....he encounters a man whom he wrestles with through the night. The man injures Jacob’s hip, but still, Jacob will not let go until the man blesses him. Jacob knew that he wasn’t wrestling a man, but God himself, and refused to let go until He blessed him. Jacob names the place where the wrestling match happened “Peniel” which means “Face of God.”” - Melanie Campbell, biblestudytools website/bible-study/topical-studies/important-lessons-from-jacobs-wrestling-match-with-god.html

wrestle verb 

to engage in deep thought, consideration, or debate 

to engage in or as if in a violent or determined struggle

"Wrestling with God or resting in him. Which is better?

Resting seems godlier, trusting that God will give me what I need without even asking. It seems more holy, more faith-filled, more biblical. Resting seems to indicate a more mature faith.

But when I look at the Bible, I see a fuller picture of prayer. Jesus tells us to ask, and it will be given to us (Matthew 7:7).

Wrestling with God is asking him for what we want, persisting in prayer, crying out to him for ourselves and others. 

When we wrestle, we believe that our cries and prayers matter.

We see the apostle Paul’s pleading with the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh, but then be content in his weakness so that the power of Christ would rest upon him (2 Corinthians 12:7–10).

Ultimately, we see Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, asking God to remove the cup from him, sweating drops of blood in his agony. And yet ultimately, Jesus declares, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Resting Begins with Wrestling

This wrestling with God in prayer doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t rest in him. As we give our burdens to Jesus, he gives us rest.

Resting begins with wrestling. So pray bold, daring prayers. Expect God to move. Talk to the Lord constantly.

And when your wrestling is over, you’ll find an intimacy sweeter than you have ever known. And that wrestling will lead you to true rest in the one who is worthy of all our worship and praise." - Vaneetha Rendall Risner, desiringgod website/articles/grab-hold-of-god

Wrestling with God in prayer many years ago, I can say God blessed me, he restored my health and my life, He blessed me allowing me to see my children's children. 

At a moment that death was staring at me, I found myself crying to God in prayer in the middle of the night, overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness, being unable to provide for my family when my children were starting college. I wrestled in prayer, admitting to God that I did not know what to do, admitting even not knowing what to utter in prayer, I could only cry and groan especially that my body was suffering from my emotional despair.

I did not know whether I would survive that moment, whether I would wake up alive the following morning.

In God's great faithfulness, I survived that moment and He has made me alive until now, 17 years after my skirmish with death, to tell the story of how gracious and compassionate is our God.

The Lord's compassion turned my heart to be affectionate, that I would hug Tatay and Inay, my siblings, and my in-laws, something I did not learn growing up. 

Someday, my children's children will say, wala ka sa Lolo ko; for him, we must wrestle with God in prayer to bless us.

""May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you rule the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.

The land yields its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him." (Psalm 67). This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

26 January 2018"

May you be blessed with God's Word.

Maraming salamat.