May 2 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"I will not let you go unless you bless me" (Gen. 32:26).

Devotional

It is the knowledge of his need that gives true eloquence to the petition of the beggar. A sense of destitution, of absolute poverty, of actual starvation, imparts energy to his plea; it gives perseverance in its attainment. His language is, "I must have food or I'll die!"

This is just what we want the child of God to feel. What are you but utterly dependent on God's daily bounty? What resources do you have within himself? None whatever! And what are you without God? Poor indeed!

Now, in proportion as you become acquainted with your real case—your utter destitution—you will besiege the throne of grace and take no denial.

You must know your needs. What grace are you deficient in? What besetting sin clings to you? What infirmities envelop you? What portion of the Spirit's work is declining in your soul? Where are you the weakest and the most exposed to the attacks of the enemy? What do you yet lack to perfect you in all the will of God?

Examine yourself honestly, and know your real condition. This will endear the throne of grace. It will stir up the slumbering spirit of prayer. It will supply you with errands to God. It will give argument, energy, and perseverance to your suit.

It was this deep and pressing sense of need that imparted such boldness and power to Jacob's wrestlings. "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And the LORD said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed" (Gen. 32:28).

Thus, imitate the patriarch. Begin the day with thinking over what you may possibly need before its close. Is any cross anticipated? Is any temptation feared? Is there any danger to which you may be exposed? Then go and wrestle for the needed and the promised grace.

Oh, it is a great mercy to have an errand that sends us to God. And when we remember what a full heart of love he has, what a readiness to hear, what promptness in all his answers, what entering into the minutest circumstance of a believer's life—how it reproves the reluctance and rebukes the unbelief that we perpetually manifest in availing ourselves of this most costly, holy, and precious of all our privileges!

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
ev'rything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
ev'rything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged:
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful,
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness—
take it to the Lord in prayer!

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our Refuge—
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee,
thou wilt find a solace there.

(Joseph Scriven, 1855)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.