Genesis 32:25-26

Genesis 32:25-26. That he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, so he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

When we come nearest to God, we must have a deep sense of our own personal weakness; it must never be supposed, if our suit prevails with heaven, that there is anything in us, or anything in our prayers, to account for our prevalence. Whatever power we have, must come from God’s grace alone; and hence, usually, when we pray so as to prevail with the Lord there is at the same time a shrinking of the sinew, a consciousness of weakness, a sense of pain; yet it is just then that we are prevailing, and therefore we may rest assured that our prayer will be answered. The Angel said, "Let me go," at the very time when Jacob felt the shrinking of the sinew: "He said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he (Jacob) said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."