February 6, 2025
“A true follower of Jesus never becomes accustomed to the sound of footsteps headed for hell.”
Remember the story of Jacob. In Exodus 32, God promises to prosper him if he returns to the land of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. Jacob had been living in Egypt hiding from his twin brother, Esau. Jacob had stolen Esau’s birthright as firstborn. Before crossing the river into that land, Jacob prayed, “Lord, save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.”
Jacob did all he could do to prepare in a way that maybe some of his family and livestock would be safe from Esau. Then, alone, he stayed behind. You may recall “a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” He held onto the man and wouldn’t let him go until he gave Jacob a blessing. That’s when the “other shoe dropped”, for the “man” said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with human have overcome.” (Exodus 32:29)
Some have wondered what was being described in this narrative. I believe it is a graphic portrayal of prayer. An intense battle in which one wrestles with God for an answer to prayer. It’s the very description Paul uses in his letter to the Colossian church telling them that Epaphras, one of their own, “He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in the will of God, mature and fully assured.” (Colossians 4:12)
This kind of prayer is sometimes referred to as travailing prayer. J.D. Walt describes it as, “Praying in a spirit of urgency and audacity, an attitude of brokenness and desperation, a manner of prayer that could be daring and agonizing.” Such prayer felt as much as spoken. Maybe, I have begun to know this prayer.
It’s to this kind of prayer we turn Sunday. I have said several times that history shows us that before every great movement of God, there is a season in which this kind of prayer arises before God. It was this kind of prayer Jesus lifted at Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal and the day before His going to the cross.
I feel led to invite us to Love ,Follow , and Serve Jesus by uniting in this kind of prayer. It is our third step to take so we can Thrive in ’25 .
Pastor Brian
“A church that neglects prayer becomes disunited, scattered, lethargic, all but dead.” Charles Spurgeon
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