Taking Hold of the Promiser
"Jacob wrestled not so much with a promise as with the Promiser. We must take hold of the Promiser, lest the promise prove nugatory (of no force or effect). Prayer may well be defined as that force which vitalizes and energizes the Word of God by taking hold of God Himself. By taking hold of the Promiser, prayer reissues and makes personal the promise. 'There is none . . . that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee [me],' is God's sad lament (Isa. 64:7). 'Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me' (Isa. 27:5), is God's recipe for prayer."
—E.M. Bounds