Jacob's Prayer and Our Prayers

In Genesis 28:15, 31:1-13, God told Jacob what was going on around him in regards to the end of his time in Harran with Laban and his returning to where Esau was.  In verse 3 and again in verse 13,  He gave Jacob specific instructions:

¹⁵ And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

³ And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. 

¹³ I am the God of Bethel ( a location that had meaning to Jacob), where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

  There is a very clear example of Abraham praying to carry this out in Genesis 32: 9-12:

 ⁹ And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.¹¹ Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.¹² And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. Genesis 32:9-12:

There are several key aspects of this prayer we can learn from:

•  The first thing Jacob said was 'O God' in acknowledgement of where help comes from.
•  Jacob also repeated God's instructions and promises.
•  In verse 10, Jacob exhibited his humbleness and thankfulness.
•  Jacob then laid out specific details and his concerns.

This prayer has great practical applications for us today when it is compared to  I Timothy 2:1 and Philippians 4:6,7,8. When God promises and instructs us there is no shame in having concerns that one needs help with. When God gives us instructions and tasks to do, we need to believe and carry it out and remember what He has promised. At times this can be tough as there are forces in operation that tell us otherwise.

Many many years ago, before I really understood what revelation from God was, I remember clearly a promise of God specific to a situation that I had prayed about. The answer was so simple and clear even to the point of establishing a location that was involved in its fulfillment.  I didn't realize it until much later. The reason for that all was for encouragement and keeping the promise intact when the 'wrestling' in opposition to it popped up in my mind.

When we pray we enter into an agreement for help. Jacob had several appearances from angels to help him along.  In the grace administration in which we live, we have the spirit of God within to comfort and instruct us. Prayer is important for our own sakes. We should never underestimate its value.