Genesis 32:24-26 “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hallow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, and he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, expect thou bless me.”
Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of the darkness of this work, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”
As American Christians in 2021, we feel the burdensome challenges of a constant struggle on behalf of our God, our faith, and our Christian heritage. We feel exhausted and discouraged as we attempt to wrestle our culture and our society back to the Lord our God. Our endurance is waning and our expectations are flagging. We face challenges that drop us to our knees and bring us to the verge of being pinned by our adversary. Yet, God wants us to be strong and to wrestle on!
Our Lord fully acknowledges and understands the challenges that we face; they are common to Christians throughout history regardless of the age or the context. After all, the conflict we face is actually part of a supernatural battle. Thus, it requires a supernatural solution, and God provides us the tools and the weapons to prevail.
How do we wrestle our nation back to the Lord? First, by acknowledging that as warriors in the ring, we need to rely upon God, His strength and His methods while setting aside our own human plans for victory. Second, we need to employ those amazing tools that God has given us – all of them – the whole armour of God! We need to rely upon truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Spirit, and the word of God. Finally, we need to fully engage the crowning jewel of our wrestling-match strategy: “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” It is through this underlying and overarching element of God’s strategy that we can see the greatest gains.
AS AMERICAN CHRISTIANS, MAY WE PRAY AS WE SHOULD TO WRESTLE OUR NATION BACK TO THE LORD! Let us pray always, so that we can be strong and wrestle on!
