A Study in Persistence
“Prayer that is Powerful and Effective”
See Genesis 2519-34 and Genesis 32:1-32
Genesis 31:3, ”Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’”
Genesis 32:24-30, ”So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ 27 The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered.28 Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’ 29 Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’”
- The blessings of God are ________________ into our lives through prayer.
- Sometimes the blessings of God are only________________ through persistent prayer.
See Mark 7:24-30 and Luke 18:1-8
3.The blessings of God are not obtained by our _____________ but only by our ________________________.
“Winning the blessing comes by _________________________ to God.”
- God sometimes withholds His blessing to teach us that a __________________ with Him is better than any of His blessings.
- We know that God hears us because He became ______________ for us.
Tim Keller: “Jacob held on at the risk of his life to get the blessing for him; but Jesus held on at the cost of His life to get the blessing ___________________.”