I will not let thee go, except thou bless me

Chapter 32 of Genesis recounts the mysterious time when Jacob wrestled throughout the night with God. It's a dense passage, with many important spiritual implications.

But I'd like to focus on what Jacob says to God at daybreak, when God is getting ready to leave. Jacob says (verse 26, KJV),

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

But, wait! Doesn't Jacob's tone seem a little rude? He doesn't say "please." In fact, he's physically holding onto God. Yet, God still honors the request, and certainly not because Jacob is righteous. In fact, most of Jacob's behaviors up until this point involve deception of some form or another.

Yet despite Jacob's unrighteousness, and despite his apparent rudeness, God honors Jacob's request. Jesus speeks of a similar theme in Luke 11 and Luke 18. In both of those chapters, Jesus tells parables of people who repeatedly, and annoyingly, makes requests. Yet, in both passages, those requests are honored.

I believe the message is that, when we make requests of God, we need not concern ourselves with decorum. After all, standards of "etiquette" are created by humans, not God. And we need not even pretend to be righteous. We're not. Rather, we must make our requests in faith, and with a full reliance on God's providence.