February 24 – Wresting Prayer
Sometimes, we are in so much pain that God calls us to wrestle in prayer. We need to see the light, we need to see breakthrough! The pain within is so intense that we just cannot ignore it anymore. Our greatest hope is breakthrough prayer. My only joy has been in breakthrough prayer at such seasons. This means we keep praying until we see the light, receive the joy and peace within
Genesis 32:24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
As Christians, we are always taught to rest and never wrestle with God. Wresting seems the unspiritual thing to do. Trusting, surrender and resting are wonderful; however, spiritual warfare and wrestling seem uncomfortable. Whenever I share on spiritual warfare, a certain smirk does come over many Christians’ faces! Wresting and spiritual warfare are part of the Christian walk simply because Satan, his fallen angels and demons dominate the earth. Wresting and spiritual warfare also develop deeper levels of understanding how God also fights the darkness on the Earth. As long as the devil is on Earth roaming around with his minions, wresting is part of our walk.
Jesus tells the parable of the unjust judge, who gave the widow justice because she kept coming to him and told us that we too need to cry out to God (Luke 18:1–7). Wrestling with God is persisting in prayer, where we need to cry out to Him, keep calling Him and crying out to him for ourselves and others. There can be no detachment or apathy in wrestling; it involves direct and constant contact. When we wrestle, we believe that our cries and prayers matter. We have hope that our situation will change. We are fully engaged. Throughout the Bible, we see people wrestling with God. Moses wrestled with God, interceding on behalf of the people to change God’s mind. He pleaded with God. He gave God reasons to answer his prayer. He reminded God of his promises. And as a result, God often relented of his judgment (Deuteronomy 9:18–19). Moses was willing to ask God anything, and when the answer was “no,” Moses rested. Moses deeply trusted God and dared to believe that what he said mattered. When David’s child with Bathsheba was ill, David sought God on behalf of the child. He fasted and prayed and lay all night on the ground. But when the child died, David got up, anointed himself, and went to the house of God and worshiped (2 Samuel 12:16, 20).
Habakkuk said, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘violence!’ and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2) But after his wrestling, Habakkuk is content to rest in God declaring “though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines . . . yet I will rejoice in the Lord” (Habakkuk 3:17–18).
Resting begins with wrestling. Did you ever experience greater fulfillment when you start praying about something? As we pray and talk to Jesus, contentment and sweet intimacy floods us. God loves wrestlers, people who ask, seek and knock! He give us rest and joy through our wrestling.
Rita F. Kurian
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