Alone and fearing what Esau would do to him, he prayed to God for His help and mercy. In Genesis 32:10, Jacob tells God he is not worthy of His mercy: "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant." Yet although he wasn't worthy, he continued to ask God for His blessing.

How many times do we wrestle with God, asking Him for a blessing or for mercy in our life? Is there a need we have, or have we been praying about something without receiving an answer?

Jacob struggled all night long until his hip was put out of socket, but he still hung on and asked for the blessing. "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"

Sometimes we feel that we just can't deal with our problems any longer. How often do we give up when our prayers are not answered—at least not in the fashion we thought they should? God hasn't turned His back on us. Many times our prayers are answered, but the answer sometimes is "no" or just "wait."

In Luke 18:1-8 we read the parable of the persistent widow. The widow continued to pray and worry the judge until he granted her wish, "Lest by her continual coming she weary me" (verse 5). God says He will avenge His elect who cry out to Him day and night. There will come a time when there will be no more crying or tears and all things will be made new.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, "When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." During those times when we feel we can't go on, remember the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." God has a blessing in store for each of us. We just can't let go until we receive it! UN