Daily Manna

Key Verse

“And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob” (Genesis 32:27).

TEXT — Genesis 32:24-30

Message

While cross-examining key witnesses presented by their opponents in court, lawyers often minimise their testimonies by probing critical facts that highlight fundamental character defects. Typical issues of concern would include a previous criminal conviction, a prior vicious or immoral act, a preexisting medical condition that affects the client’s cognitive ability, or videotaped surveillance footage of the individuals portraying them in a harmful light.

In our text, Jacob was praying for divine intervention for deliverance when he heard that Esau was coming to harm him with four hundred men. In the narrative, Jacob asked for a blessing in the course of the agonising prayer session. Instead, the angel asked for his name. When he mentioned his name in that encounter, the Lord changed it to Israel – the new identity that would give Jacob power with God and men. Jacob’s victory was obtained through intense, passionate supplication, prayers, and repentance. We will remember that Jacob had earlier lied about name and identity to snatch the birthright from Esau. He acted against his conscience. The same question came again to him and he was honest to mention his real name. God had mercy on him and gave him a new name, marking a new beginning for Jacob, now Israel.

Every Christian must realize that whenever we come before God in prayers, His initial focus is on our character, not the complaints or petitions that we bring. He knows our lives, our hearts, thoughts, and motives. And because God is too holy to behold iniquity, our un-repented sins block us from getting his attention. But when our sins are purged by the Lamb’s blood, we stand as saints before Him, with a new identity, a new status, and a new name that carries nothing of our sinful past. Our prayers then rise to God on the wings of grace and mercy, and our blessings, protection and security come down from Him. We cannot enjoy a new day, a new dawn with the privileges of enjoying divine assistance and blessings, if we remain under the guise and cloak of a false identity clouded with sins and transgressions.

Thought for the day

God is more interested in your piety than your petition.

• Bible
• in one year
• GENESIS 21-23 (Read By Alexander Scourby)