Jacob prays. The prayer opens with address: O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac — he locates himself in a lineage. Then the command: You who said to me, return to your land and your kindred, and I will do you good. He is reminding God of His own promise, holding God to His word. This is not irreverence. It is the covenant relationship working as it is supposed to: both parties responsible, both parties holding the terms.
Then the confession: I am not worthy of the least of all Your mercies and all Your faithfulness that You have shown to Your servant. The Hebrew katonti — I am small, I have become less — is an unusual form, a perfect stative verb that says: smallness has happened to me, I have been made small. He crossed the Jordan with only his staff. He returned with two camps. Everything in between was given. He is naming that now.
The petition: deliver me from the hand of Esau my brother, for I fear him — lest he come and strike me, mothers and children alike. He names his fear directly. He does not hide it in strategy. He also appeals to the promise: You said, I will surely do you good and make your descendants as the sand of the sea. He holds the promise back to God. The prayer is complete: address, context, confession, petition, promise. Jacob has never prayed like this before. He will wrestle with God tonight.
