Naphtali: Wrestle and Prevail
Scripture Reading: Genesis 30:8
“And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.”
Naphtali: Wrestle and Prevail
In Genesis 30:8 we see wrestling going on between Rachel and Leah. Who is benefiting from this? Abraham, Jacob, and the promise of God are benefiting. There is a divine plan (Abraham), divine productivity in the works (Jacob), but there is also a divine pattern in place when God comes into a situation. When we are sons of God and we hear from Him, God also hears us because we are joined to Him. He will come to our aid to judge whatever is judging us. He will condemn our judging situations. He will come in and give us the anointing to wrestle and prevail.
Rachel named the sixth son of Jacob, Naphtali, which means “my wrestlings.” There is no way you will be joined to God and not wrestle with everyday life situations. The beautiful thing about a person wrestling while attached to God in love and in praise of Him is that when God comes to judge the person’s situation for good, the person will prevail. Not every wrestling brings about victory, but the wrestling of the Son of God, the wrestlings of those who are called by His name will bring victory. Rachel said with great wrestlings she had wrestled with her sister and prevailed. Yes there is trauma included in the challenges of wrestling, but prevailing over these challenges is your destiny if you are a son of God. I believe that as you internalize this Scripture, Naphtali will manifest in your circumstances.
How do we wrestle as Christians? We wrestle in prayer, in praise, and in purpose; we wrestle in the Kingdom, standing, holding firm for the Lord. We are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. We wrestle but we do not fail; in the order of Naphtali, we wrestle and prevail. I pray for that person who is wrestling with a situation right now. The wrestling of a Christian has a sure end and it is that you will prevail. Our wrestling is not the type where people watch as we stumble and fall. Our wrestling consists of trials that bring triumphs and tests that bring testimonies. I pray for that one who is wrestling and wondering when this wrestling match will end. It is not going to end until you prevail because you are a son of God. God has an expectation for your life, a seed He has sown in you. You may wrestle and wrestle and wrestle, but you will prevail and then you will understand why you had to wrestle. Wrestling sometimes helps us to shed excess weight because we wrestle through fasting, through prayer, and by dropping bad habits. We wrestle in aloneness, with internal struggles. You do not take a troop to wrestle, but when your wrestling is through you win and then you generate a troop.
I pray for that one who is in a wrestling season now. Take consolation from Rachel as she was bringing forth the sixth son of Jacob. She said, “with great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister.” Note she said wrestlings, not wrestling. The Bible says wrestlings and that is why we go from one wrestling match to another. The encouraging phrase is, “I have prevailed.” I pray that confession for you and that you will call your situation Naphtali. I love the blessing of Naphtali because it is satisfied with favour since it has wrestled and prevailed. When someone wins a match, everybody is on that winning team. When somebody wrestles and triumphs, everybody comes for the celebration. I pray that God will cause the oil of victory to pour manifestly into the challenging circumstance you are in so that you will not wrestle in vain. The life of the Christian includes daily wrestling, but it also brings victories. If you had not wrestled you would not have won. I pray that your wrestling will cause you to prevail in the name of Jesus.
Prayer Points:
How do we wrestle and prevail? We must have in us the Prevailer. The Prevailer is the Holy Spirit; the Prevailer is Jesus in our heart. If you have never given your life to Jesus, there is no way you can wrestle and prevail without the Prevailer.
Open up your heart now and say, “Lord Jesus, I open the door of my heart to you. Come in today and come in to stay. Give me the grace to wrestle and prevail in Jesus’ name.”
I pray that you will learn that wrestling is the rule. You will wrestle in prayer, in praise, and in purpose. You will wrestle in commitment to God, in attachment. You will wrestle and you will prevail. May you wrestle and prevail in the order of Naphtali in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
