There was just something about Jacob that we all need.

There was something is Jacob’s nature that drove him forward. Even his name reveals it. Jacob means "one who supplants", or "one who takes another’s place".

Jacob took his brother’s birthright and blessing.

He took his uncles sheep.

And he did these through shrewd business dealings.

Jacob was a man who pressed on till he got what he wanted. He never gave up. Even when he was injured in the struggle, he stayed in the fight till he won.

How many of you have watched professional wrestling on TV? We know it’s fake, but it’s entertaining, so we watch it anyway. We’ve seen the guy who keeps taking a beating, and when you think he’s just about done for, suddenly he gets a burst of energy or something and he turns it around and starts winning.

That’s Jacob! He looks like he’s losing, but just the fact that he hangs on shows that he is winning.

Years ago, in a world class marathon, the final runner who was at the point of collapse. Apparently, the distance was more than he bargained for. The last runner had finished at least 10 hours ago; the winner had finished about 16 hours ago. The man was without question, the loser of losers. He was cramping, hurting, exhausted to the point of collapse, hopelessly out of the race. But there was something in his attitude – he wouldn’t admit defeat. He was going to finish that race. And you know something? The stands were full of applauding people as he stumbled to the finish line. They had waited because they heard of this heroic runner who obviously had bite off more than he could chew, but refused to give up. He was still in the race.

You’re never out of the race until you quit running. Listen, you may not finish first, but by all means finish!

Anybody who has ever accomplished or earned anything has done it through persistence. Here is Jacob, obviously over-powered, but he won’t give up. His hip has been dislocated; he is in excruciating pain; but he won’t let go of this one with whom he is wrestling.

Jacob knows he has hold of something important, and he won’t let go till he gets a blessing out of it.

Jacob may or may not have known he was wrestling with the angel of God. It doesn’t matter. He knew it was important that he be victorious in this matter, and that’s all that counted. His struggle was symbolic – it represents the prayer life of every believer.

Remember what the angel said? "You have struggled with God… and prevailed." What do we know about prevailing prayer?

Prevailing prayer takes patience. You don’t get everything you want instantly. You must prove your mettle. Do you have what it takes to become successful in prayer? Will you see it through – pray it through?

Prevailing prayer costs you. Are you willing to pay the price? Jacob lost a night’s sleep and sustained an serious injury. He was physically handicapped for the rest of his life.

Prevailing prayer takes time and energy. He wrestled. He didn’t ‘now I lay me down to sleep" pray. He struggled. And it took all night. He lost some sleep. He worked at it, because he deemed it vitally important and worth the effort.

Prevailing prayer is hard. It’s not easy to wrestle all night. At any time, Jacob could have said, "I give". But he didn’t; he couldn’t. The stakes were too high. He really needed his answer.

Prevailing prayer is worth the effort.

Sometimes you feel like it’s a losing battle. You feel like you can’t win. You feel like throwing in the towel.

Sometimes prayer seems unrewarding. The answers are usually not immediate, and are not always the exact way you wanted them. Sometimes you feel like nobody is listening.

Sometimes when I call my daughter in Cincinnati, I get a busy signal. Sometimes I get no answer. Sometimes I get an answering machine. Sometimes I even get a wrong number. But I keep trying, because it’s important and she’s worth it.

You must learn to pray that way. Don’t quit until you have heard from God.

Abraham bargained with God. He pressed the issue. He pushed for a better deal. God doesn’t mind!

Daniel prayed for 20 days with no sign of a response from heaven. But then, on the 21^st day, he got a visit from an angel. Wow! Was it worth it? You bet!

Sometimes when I pray, I feel like I get a busy signal. I have learned that when the line is busy, it’s always my end that tied up, not God’s. I have to clear the lines before I can get through.

Sometimes, I feel like I got a wrong number. Then I know that I’m praying the wrong way.

Sometimes I feel like there is no answer. Then I know that God is waiting, and I too must wait. Timing is vital. God has a plan and a schedule. Wait for it.

I want you to notice something of vital importance in this story. Jacob was in trouble. He had wronged his brother years ago and was now going back home to face him. He was afraid. In fact, judging from his actions, he was terrified. So he was desperate with God.

First I want you to notice that God heard him and answered his prayer, even though he was clearly in the wrong in the matter of dealing with his brother. He cheated his brother. He deserved whatever his brother wanted to dish out. But God had mercy on him. You don’t have to be perfect in order to pray. If you did, none of us would ever get through to God. But you have to be sincere.

Secondly, Jacob was asking for protection from Esau. The first thing he received was a physical limitation that prevented him from taking matters into his own hands.

Jacob has three choices: He could run, fight, or trust God.

He couldn’t very well run, because his hip was dislocated. He couldn’t get up enough speed to outrun Esau.

He couldn’t fight very well, because he was already injured. His flesh was weak.

He had to trust God. There were no other options for him.

Be prepared, when you put something in God’s hands, to release that thing to God.

Moses and the children of Israel had followed God and had put their future in his hands. Now that future was threatened. What would they do? God said, Be still and know that I am God."

Be prepared, when you place something in God’s hands, for God to put you in a position of helplessness. It won’t always happen, but sometimes God may have to disable you in order that he might have free reign.

I.E. I have this spell-checking thing in my computer. Sometimes, when I am typing up my notes, if I misspell a word, the computer will correct it. That’s wonderful if you type like I do. But, sometimes I want to misspell a word. For example, "Thus saith the Lord." Well, ‘saith’ is not in the computer dictionary, so when I type ‘saith’ the computer corrects it, and another word replaces ‘saith’. But I want ‘saith’ in the text.

Sooo, I have to disable spell-check in order to have ‘my way’. That’s what God has to do to us sometimes. That’s what he did to Jacob. Jacob had been finagling his own way for years. God had to stop him in order to help him.

Jacob got his blessing – he got his answer – he was reconciled with his brother. But look what else he got.

He was changed. He was permanently handicapped in order that he might permanently rely upon God.

But also his name and his nature were changed. He was now called Israel, instead of Jacob. Israel means, "he will rule as God." Jacob means, "he will weasel his way to the top." Which sounds better to you? Jacob was no longer a ‘conniver’ but a ‘ruler’. He ruled through prayer.

Through prevailing prayer, Jacob became a new man. He began to operate on a different set of principles. Instead of making his own way, Jacob learned to pray his way through life. Through prayer, he was changed and his life was changed.

You too, can have this kind of power with God. God has not changed. He has no favorites. He just works through those who have learned how he works.

Have you learned to wrestle with God? It’s better than the old way of doing things.