And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. (Genesis 32:24)

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Have you ever wrestled with God in prayer? Jacob did. As a result of Jacob’s tussling with the Almighty, he prevailed in prayer and received power with God (Genesis 32:28). 

A little boy once put a couple of cocoons on the dinning room table. The next day, when he awoke to go to school, he noticed something inside one of the cocoons struggling to get out. Very carefully he took his little penknife and slit the cocoon. Once he did, a beautiful butterfly emerged. However, the butterfly remained on the table. When the lad nudged it off the edge, the butterfly immediately fell to the floor. When he threw it in the air, it again fell helplessly to the floor. The butterfly could not fly.

The next morning, the boy noticed something inside the other cocoon struggling to get out. This time, he left it to struggle and breakout on its own. When he arrived home from school that afternoon, a beautiful butterfly was flying around in his house. The boy learned that there was something about the struggle that enabled butterflies to fly.

There is something about our struggles in prayer that enable us to prevail in prayer and receive power with God. Perhaps, God simply refuses to entrust the power of prayer with those who fail to prove their seriousness about it by prevailing with Him in it. At any rate, our Christian lives will never take to the air until we’ve learned to prevail with God in prayer. 

Far from being discouraged or disheartened by our struggles in prayer, you and I should realize that our struggles in prayer are necessary for the development of our spiritual wings. The next time you find yourself struggling in prayer, remember, it just may be God's way of enabling you to soar (Isaiah 40:31). 

“Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings." (Victor Hugo)