April 9
	And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee.
	Genesis 32:9
Both at the beginning and at the conclusion of his prayer (verse 12), Jacob is insistent in that he says, “Lord, You are the One who told me to go back home. You are the One who promised You would save my life.” In so doing, Jacob takes the promises given to him and lifts them back to the Lord in prayer. This is a great, great key to praying effectively. “Concerning the work of My hands command ye Me,” the Lord declares (Isaiah 45:11). “Command Him?” you say. “That sounds an awful lot like the ‘name-it-and-claim-it’ mentality.” However, contextually you will see God is talking about the promises and prophecies He had already made to the people. Listen to what Jesus would say along the same line: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). In other words, “If you’re abiding in Me, hanging around Me, and clinging to Me, you can ask anything of Me because within you will be My Word.” What word? “Exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). It has been said that there are between three and five thousand promises given to us in the Word. Therefore, it is as if God says, “I want you to take these exceedingly great and precious promises, and I want you to command Me.” Too often, we live like spiritual paupers. We don’t see our families, our friends, or our country being blessed. Why? Because we have not asked (James 4:2). It is only as we pray the promises of God that we are able to draw from the inexhaustible resources the Lord has provided. Jacob understood this. That is why he was insisten

This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book "A Pillar By Day" by Pastor Jon. "A Pillar By Day" is a collection of 365 short devotions from the Old Testament books of Genesis through Deuteronomy.  If you would like your own copy of "A Pillar By Day" you may click here to go to SearchLight