More important than being miraculously transformed by God, becoming a “prince” with God or receiving the blessing of God, is our coming to know God. This is the pinnacle of prevailing prayer and its premier prize. 

Jacob wrestled with God until he knew God. He did not need God to identify Himself by giving His name, because Jacob knew with whom he had wrestled. He named the place where he prevailed with God in prayer “Penial,” which means “the face of God.” Jacob met God face to face in the place of prevailing prayer!

It is in the place of prevailing prayer that you and I will meet God face to face. Although we come to know God in the instant of our conversion (John 17:3), we become intimate with God through a lifetime of communion. Faith in Christ is all that is required for an acquaintance with Him, but a lifetime at His feet is demanded of all who would become intimate with Him (Luke 10:38-42). 

The fact that so many view prayer as a means for securing God’s favors rather than as a means for seeking God’s face, explains the absence of shining faces in the world today. In Moses’ day, only he had a shining face, since he alone knew God “face to face” (Exodus 34:29-35; Deuteronomy 34:10). Unfortunately, there is still a serious shortage of shining faces in the world today, due to our unwillingness to draw near enough to God to prevail with Him in prayer and exude His glory to the world. 

“The whole meaning of prayer is that we may know God.” (Oswald Chambers)