Pentecost 19 — October 19, 2025

Promise → Prayer: Wrestling with God’s Will

Navigating Life Through Divine Cause and Effect – Part 2 Text: Genesis 32:22–30 Supporting Texts: Luke 18:1–8; 1 John 5:13–15; Matthew 6:10

Introduction

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Every why hath a wherefore.” That old Shakespeare line tells us what we already know—everything has a cause and an effect. Last week we saw how God’s generosity causes gratitude in our lives.

Today we move to the second cause and effect: 

God’s Promise leads to Prayer.

One might ask: Why pray?

If God already knows what we need, why struggle in prayer?

If His will is going to be done anyway, what’s the point?

The answer lies in the mystery of the Gospel: 

God’s promises don’t eliminate prayer—they cause it.

When God speaks, His Word awakens faith, and faith speaks back in prayer.

As we delve into how God's promise prompts prayer, we look at the life of Jacob, a man whose entire journey was marked by struggles—and whose prayers were answered by those very promises.

I. The Cause: God’s Promise Invites the Struggle

Jacob’s life was one long wrestling match—first with his brother, then with his father, then with his uncle, and now with his own fear. He’s about to see his brother Esau—whom he cheated twenty years earlier.

God had previously made a covenant with Jacob, commanding him to return to his homeland and family. Despite God’s instruction to go back where He would bless him, Jacob was initially resistant, fearing for his life because of his past deceitful actions toward his brother Esau. Through his experiences, Jacob was learning to trust that God’s blessings were not earned through his own scheming, but were an undeserved gift of grace. The stage was set for a defining moment in his walk with God.

So here is Jacob, alone at night beside the river Jabbok, and every sin and failure of his past comes rushing in.

He’s terrified, exhausted, out of schemes—and yet, he prays.

Genesis 32:9 NASB95

“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’

Jacob prayer is based on God’s promise.

He reminds God of His own Word. “Lord, You said!” That’s not arrogance—that’s faith. Faith, you see, takes hold of what God has spoken and will not let go.

A very trust OT Commentator echos: “Jacob pleads the very promise of God. True prayer always takes its stand upon the divine Word” (Leupold).

That’s what the Lord’s Prayer teaches us too.

When we pray, “Thy will be done,” we aren’t resigning ourselves to fate—we’re clinging to promise.

We’re confessing that God’s will is not something dark or unknowable—it is good, gracious, and revealed in Jesus Christ.

We can pray boldly because the One who commands us to pray has first promised to hear.

Jacob’s story teaches us that promises lead us into prayer, but what happens when prayer feels like a struggle? As Jacob physically wrestles in the night, we learn about the spiritual wrestling in our own prayer lives.

II. The Wrestling: Faith Clings to God’s Will

For Jacob, it happened this way: In the darkness, Jacob feels a hand on his shoulder. The text says simply, “A man wrestled with him until daybreak.” But this was no ordinary man. Luther says, “God deals with Jacob as a father wrestling playfully with his child, to strengthen him.” The divine Son, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, meets Jacob in the struggle.

All night long they wrestle—sweat, tears, dust, and faith colliding. It’s not a fight for victory; it’s a struggle for blessing. And it is the same with us. Prayer isn’t a polite conversation with God—it’s a wrestling match of faith that clings to His promise even when He seems silent.

There’s a mystery in that, isn’t there? Because sometimes prayer feels like wrestling in the dark. We ask for healing, and sickness lingers. We plead for reconciliation, and silence stretches on. We cry for relief, and the night seems endless.

God doesn’t always give us what we want, at least not right away. Have you noticed this? We pray and pray and pray for something, but there seems to be no answer. Sometimes we become discouraged or angry with God for not listening. We might even conclude that God doesn’t love us.

And yet, in that darkness, God is near. He lets Himself be held. He draws us in—not to defeat us, but to deepen our faith. As one pastor put it, “God lets us win, like a father wrestling with his child. He allows us to hold Him by His promises.”

That’s the heart of the Third Petition: “Thy will be done.” It isn’t a sigh of surrender; it’s a statement of trust. I ran across a quote that puts it beautifully:

“When we pray ‘Thy will be done,’ we are asking that God would crush our stubborn will and make His holy will prevail in us.”

And when we pray that way, we are wrestling with God’s will, not against it. We are saying, “Lord, I don’t understand what You’re doing, but I trust that You know what’s best. Bend my will to Yours. Make Your will my peace.”

You see, sometimes God gives us the opportunity to exercise our faith by being persistent in prayer. Wrestling with God in prayer is a way of demonstrating that we trust he will do what’s best for us, in his own time and in his own way.

And we see this most clearly in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus Himself prayed through tears, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” He wrestled with the Father’s will and prevailed by submitting to it. And because He prayed that prayer perfectly, we now can pray it faithfully. Every “Thy will be done” we speak echoes His prayer that saved the world.

Just as Jacob’s wrestling match leaves a lasting mark on him; and our prayerful struggles transform us. Let’s explore how this happens—not by overcoming God, but by clinging to His promises through every prayerful bout.

III. The Effect: Prayer That Submits Is Prayer That Prevails

When the dawn comes, Jacob limps away from the river, but he’s a new man. The Lord renames him: “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”

He prevailed not by overpowering God, but by holding on to Him in faith. The limp was proof that he had met God and lived. The wound became a witness.

So it is with us. Every unanswered prayer, every sleepless night, every struggle where we cling to God’s Word leaves a mark on us—a limp of faith. —But that limp is a blessing. —It teaches us dependence. —It teaches us trust. —It teaches us that the greatest victory in prayer is not getting our way, but being drawn closer to God Himself.

Think of it this way: every prayer is like a wrestling match, where the struggle signifies an active engagement with God’s promise.

What has He promised? Sometimes prayers do go unanswered, but He has promised forgiveness, Life, and Salvation to everyone who clings to Him in faith. “And so Lord, it seems like I need to wait a little longer for answer, but I praise and thank you for your promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Mold my confidence in what you have given me.”

Prayer, you see, doesn’t change God; it changes the one who prays. That’s the effect of “Thy will be done.” —Our will bends. —Our pride breaks. —Our hearts rest.

And then prayer becomes peace. We stop trying to twist God’s arm and instead find ourselves held in His.

Now that we see how prayer transforms, let’s bring it closer to home. What does it mean for us to leave our spiritual wrestling matches with a limp, blessed by every struggle and prayer we undertake?

IV. Application – Learning to Limp

So what does this mean for us today?

When prayer feels unanswered, don’t let go. The silence of God may be the sound of His hand strengthening your faith.

When your will conflicts with His, pray harder. The struggle is not rebellion—it’s relationship.

When the outcome wounds you, remember Jacob’s limp. God’s touch hurts only to heal.

When you’re tempted to give up, remember Jesus. In Gethsemane He wrestled for you—and because of His obedience in shedding His blood for your sins and mine, your prayers are now heard.

Tanya and I were in a wrestling match with God when we heard that this congregation had voted to extend a Pastoral Call to me. We knew the Lord was moving us to a different location, but Williston? The prayerful wrestling wasn’t just hours, but weeks. From the time you voted to when the Call documents were received and entire month had gone by. We needed that wrestling time to deepen our trust in God’s direction, which resulted in a peace that surpasses all understanding, as the Lord promised through St. Paul.

We may never wrestle God physically the way Jacob did in this unusual story from the Bible, but we do wrestle with God spiritually in our prayers. Like Jacob, be bold and persistent in asking God for his blessings. Then, trust that the God of love will answer in whatever way is best for you.

Friends,

Faith wrestles, clings, and in the end, rests. That is divine cause and effect: —God promises—so we pray. —God wrestles with us—so we trust. —God blesses—and we limp away, but blessed indeed.

As we pray, blessed through wrestling, we lean into a life where our prayers are not just struggles but assurances of God’s enduring love and promise.

Conclusion

Jacob’s story and the Lord’s Prayer meet at the same point: God’s will is not to crush us but to bless us through struggle.

So when you pray “Thy will be done,” picture Jacob at the river. Picture Jesus in the garden. Picture yourself holding on to God’s promises and refusing to let go until His mercy blesses you.

That’s what prayer is. That’s what faith does. It clings to Jesus and His Word and will not let go until the blessing comes.

Divine Cause: God promises to hear. Human Effect: We wrestle in prayer until His will becomes our peace.

You may walk away limping—but you will walk away blessed.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayers of the Church

(For October 19, 2025 — Promise → Prayer: Wrestling with God’s Will)

P: Heavenly Father, You have invited us to come before You in prayer, not because we are worthy, but because You have promised to hear. Teach us to cling to those promises as Jacob did—to wrestle in faith and not let go until the blessing comes. Hear us now as we lift before You the needs of Your people and the cries of this world.

A brief pause.

P: O Lord of mercy and might, You invite us to pray, “Thy will be done.” Crush within us every stubborn will that resists Yours. Bend our hearts to trust that Your good and gracious will is always for our blessing and salvation. Keep us steadfast when prayer feels like a struggle, and remind us that You wrestle not to defeat us, but to strengthen our faith. Lord, in Your mercy, C: Hear our prayer.

P: Faithful God, You have commanded us to pray without ceasing and not to lose heart. Strengthen Your Church on earth to pray boldly and confidently according to Your promises. Bless pastors, teachers, and all who proclaim Your Word. We especially pray for those who will gather this week at The AALC Pastors’ Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota—grant them safe travel, mutual encouragement, and renewed joy in the Gospel of Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, C: Hear our prayer.

P: God of peace and justice, we intercede for our broken world. We pray especially for continued peace in the Middle East—for an end to bloodshed, for the protection of the innocent, and for leaders to seek reconciliation rather than revenge. Let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Turn the hearts of all people toward Your righteousness and truth. Lord, in Your mercy, C: Hear our prayer.

P: Compassionate Father, look with mercy on all who are sick, suffering, or struggling with addiction. Be their refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Grant healing to the afflicted, peace to the anxious, and perseverance to those in recovery. Surround them with Your people, that through prayer and compassion, they may know Your steadfast love. Lord, in Your mercy, C: Hear our prayer.

P: Lord of nations, have mercy on our country. Guide our leaders to act with integrity, humility, and wisdom. Protect those who serve in law enforcement and the armed forces. Teach us as citizens to pray for our nation—not in despair, but in faith that You rule over all things. Let our people learn to pray without giving up, that we might seek peace and live quiet, godly lives. Lord, in Your mercy, C: Hear our prayer.

P: Gracious Savior, You have invited us to Your Table, where You give Your very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Prepare our hearts to receive this gift with repentance and faith. Let this holy meal strengthen our faith for the daily wrestling of prayer and renew our confidence that Your will for us is mercy. Lord, in Your mercy, C: Hear our prayer.

P: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your promises and resting in Your will, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And, Lord, be merciful to all: when we reach our final hour, grant us a blessed departure from this world and, on the last day, a resurrection into Your glory. Amen.