After making these arrangements, Jacob probably was still not at peace. Thus, he did something unusual—he prayed (vv. 9-12). This is the first record of Jacob's praying in his entire life. (In 28:20-22 it was his vow, not his prayer to God.) During the twenty years Jacob was under the squeezing hand of Laban, there is no record that he prayed. Although Laban changed his wages ten times, Jacob did not pray. In principle, we all are Jacobs. We have received the promise of God and we have come to know God, but still we do not pray. No matter what happens to us, we do not pray. Instead of exercising our spirit to pray, we exercise our mind to consider and our natural strength to face every problem. Jacob did not pray when he was with Laban; instead, he employed his natural strength to manage the situation. But now, being about to face Esau, he was brought to a place where he had no more skill. All his skill, technique, ability, and strength had been exhausted. When he learned that Esau was coming with four hundred men, he was frightened. The most he could do was divide his people into two groups, thinking that if the first were sacrificed, the second might be spared. Because this was the best Jacob could do, he was forced to pray.
Jacob prayed a very good prayer. His prayer was much better than the prayers of most Christians today. 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 do thee good" (v. 9, Heb.). Here we see that Jacob prayed by holding on to the Lord's word. The best way to pray is to take God's word as the standing for your prayer. Jacob seemed to be saying, "Lord, didn't You say that You would do me good? Now I stand on Your word and ask You to do something about it." Although this verse seems to indicate that Jacob was quite experienced in prayer, there is no hint in the previous record that he prayed at all.
In verse 10 Jacob said, "I am smaller than all the lovingkindness and all the faithfulness which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two camps" (Heb.). I like Jacob's expression here. He seemed to be saying, "Lord, my capacity is so small that it cannot contain all Your lovingkindness and faithfulness." Here, Jacob was humble in the presence of God, confessing that he was not worthy of God's rich lovingkindness and faithfulness toward him and that he had passed over Jordan with just his staff, but that the Lord had increased him to two camps. Here we see a vivid picture of two camps in the heavens and of two camps on earth. Due to this, the chosen one should have been perfectly at peace. In the next verse Jacob continued, saying, "Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children." Here we see Jacob's fear of Esau.
The high point of Jacob's prayer is in verse 12: "And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude." In this part of his prayer, Jacob touched God's economy, for he spoke of the seed. To pray like this is not only to hold on to God's word but also to touch His heart. God had chosen Jacob with the goal of having seed for the fulfillment of His purpose to have a corporate expression of Himself on earth. Jacob probably did not understand this, but he still prayed very well. As we study this prayer, we see that it was marvelous in every respect. I hope that we all shall pray like this.