Be Real, Then Say “Thy Will.” Being real means bringing our true hearts to God in prayer, telling Him our pain, worries, fears, and desires. It also means bringing His promises to Him, praying His very words back to Him, asking Him to act as He has already committed to act. God welcomes the prayers that sound like a child saying to their parents, “You said we would get ice cream together, so can we go today?” This honest posture is balanced with submission, “Thy will.” Like the child following the request for ice cream with “and I’m okay if we can’t go today.” - Pastor Paul Crandell, 4/19/26

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Day 1

Featured Verse: Genesis 32:11–12

Jacob reminds God of His earlier promise to make his descendants as numerous as the sand of the sea. How do you respond when God seems silent or when His promises feel distant in the middle of your greatest fears?

Jacob says, “I am afraid” and then immediately turns to God’s Word. What does it look like for you to bring your honest fears to God while still holding onto His promises?

In this moment of panic, Jacob doesn’t try to fix everything himself, he pleads with God to deliver him. How easy or difficult is it for you to stop striving and simply ask God to rescue you?

Pause and Reflect: Lord, like Jacob, I come to You right now feeling afraid and overwhelmed by the situation in front of me. Help me to honestly name my fears to You and then remind You, and myself, of Your faithful promises, trusting that You will deliver me just as You promised. Amen.

“There is this which is commendable to be said about Jacob’s fear — it led him to prayer.” -Charles Spurgeon

Day 2

Featured Verse: Genesis 32:24–31

Jacob wrestled with a mysterious Man until daybreak and refused to let go until he received a blessing. When have you experienced a prolonged season of spiritual struggle where you felt you were wrestling with God Himself, and what kept you from giving up?

Jacob came away from that night physically limping yet spiritually transformed, receiving a new name: Israel. Looking back on your own times of intense spiritual wrestling, how has God changed your identity or character through the pain and persistence?

Jacob declared, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” What does that kind of determined, clinging faith look like in your life right now, especially when God seems to be resisting or delaying the answer?

Pause and Reflect: Lord, like Jacob at Peniel, I am wrestling with You in this season of struggle, pain, and uncertainty. Help me to cling to You with stubborn faith, refusing to let go until You bless me, even if it means I walk away changed, humbled, and limping, yet deeply aware that I have met with You face to face. Amen.

“Who would not be willing to have a bone out of joint, so that he might have a sight of God? King Manasseh was bound in chains, but by that means he was brought to know the Lord. Hezekiah was sick nigh unto death, but by that sickness he was taught many precious lessons. Paul had a thorn in the flesh, but that thorn was used to keep him humble. Affliction is one of God’s medicines. By it He often teaches lessons which would be learned in no other way. By it He often draws souls away from sin and the world, which would otherwise have perished everlastingly. Health is a great blessing, but sanctified disease is a greater. Prosperity and worldly comfort are what all naturally desire; but losses and crosses are far better for us, if they lead us to Christ.” -J.C. Ryle

Day 3

Featured Verse: John 15:16

Jacob came away from Peniel both limping and transformed with a new name and identity as Israel. In what ways has Jesus’ choice and appointment of you required you to let go of self-reliance or carry a “limp” of weakness, so that the fruit you bear in your life is lasting and clearly comes from Him rather than your own effort?

Jacob’s nighttime wrestling left him forever changed. He saw God face to face and walked differently afterward. Looking at your own life, how has Jesus’ sovereign choice of you (rather than you choosing Him) reshaped your identity, priorities, or daily walk, especially in areas where you once relied on your own strength?

Jesus appointed you specifically so that your fruit would remain long after your own efforts fade. Like Jacob who emerged from his wrestling both wounded and blessed, in what areas of your life right now is God inviting you to persevere through difficulty or “limping” weakness, knowing the lasting fruit He produces will endure because He chose and equipped you?

Pause and Reflect: Lord Jesus, just as Jacob wrestled through fear and weakness at Peniel until he clung to You and received a new name and blessing, I thank You that You chose me and appointed me before I ever chose You. Help me to abide in You, to bring my fears and 'limps' honestly before You, and to cling to You in prayer until my life bears lasting fruit that glorifies the Father. Amen.

“It was not we who chose God, but God who, in his grace, approached us with a call and an offer made out of his love…Jesus chooses disciples not simply so they would have the thrill of knowing they are chosen, but so that they would bear fruit that remains, to the glory of God the Father.” -Alexander Maclaren

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