Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” (Genesis 32:9-12)

Someone once said, “you can’t go home again,” meaning that we can’t really return to our exact past. But Jacob tried to go home after being gone 20 years, remembering that brother Esau had vowed to kill him, so Jacob ran for his life. However, he could not stay away from the Promised Land forever, so in Genesis 32 Jacob came back to Canaan to face both his past and his future.

Jacob didn’t first respond well to the pressure of coming home. He reacted in fear and unbelief. Then Jacob did something right, going to the LORD and praying with faith, thanksgiving, and God’s word.

First, notice Jacob’s prayer had God’s word: the LORD who said to me, “Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will deal well with you” (what God said in Genesis 31:3); For You said, “I will surely treat you well…” (what God said in Genesis 28:13-15). Praying the words of God’s word is important, and many prayers fall short because God’s word is not in them. Often, there is often none of God’s word in our prayers because there is so little of God’s word in us. Jacob did well to remember what God said.

Second, Jacob’s prayer had thanksgiving. He said, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies. Jacob understood he was not worthy of what God had done, or what he was asking God to do. Instead, he relied on what God promised.

Finally, Jacob’s prayer had faith. He prayed, deliver me, I pray. Jacob boldly asked God to do something based on God’s own promise.

No matter how great Jacob’s prayer seemed to be, the true quality of his prayer would be seen after he prayed. Real prayer, great prayer, changes us. We can leave our prayer and face our situation with a different mind. George Mueller, a great man of faith and prayer, once was asked, “What is the most important part of prayer?” He replied: “The fifteen minutes after I have said ‘Amen.’”

Today, pray according to God’s word, pray with thanksgiving, and pray with faith. Most of all, stay firm in faith after you’re done praying.