Some More Amazing Things about Worship 2
David W Palmer
4. Worship Involves Wrestling
Jacob wrestled with God’s representative until he prevailed:
(Genesis 32:24–31 NKJV) “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!” … And He blessed him there … and he limped on his hip.”
(Genesis 32:28 DBT) And he said, “Thy name shall not henceforth be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast wrestled with God, and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Jesus wrestled in prayer until he prevailed over his flesh and natural will:
(Luke 22:44 NKJV) “And being in agony, He (Jesus) prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Jacob and Jesus both wrestled:
• Jacob’s flesh was weakened
• But his name changed—his character changed through God’s grace in the spirit
• His flesh was crucified
• His spirit released, and then
• He was resurrected with a new body, but it still carries the nail holes
Both Jesus’s intense prayer and Jacob’s wrestling help us to understand the actual process behind true worship. We come carrying our struggle with our flesh and its rebellion. Then, we praise by choice; we stand on God’s word; we confess it is true; we enter his gates and courts with thanksgiving and praise. But before we come out, we engage in a wrestle with our will—wanting it to yield to God.
Following our Lord Jesus, we say, “Not my will, but yours be done!” With Jacob, we say, “I will not let you go.” Like Jacob, we bring our natural fears and inhibitions that war against our destiny. In either case, we wrestle until something changes. We grapple through progressive stages of surrender until perfect peace and the gift of faith prevails. During the process, we offload our sin, upload our cares, and download his grace. Eventually, we experience:
(Luke 22:43, 50–51 NLT) “Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. ... {50} And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. {51} But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.”
We need to imitate Jesus’s worshipful prayer; we need the same results: after the angel’s touch, grace prevailed, and Jesus was in full control—healing flowed again, love for his enemies, etc. resumed. But if we ever stop the process of fresh surrender—if we feel that we have arrived and don’t need fresh grace—we will end up becoming Pharisees, murderers of Jesus, the living Word of God.
Today, can you say with Jesus, “Not my will but yours be done”? If not, could you at least say, “Lord, please help me; I am willing to be made willing.” But whatever you do, don’t stop worshipping—including corporately if you can.
