Gen 32:1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
Gen 32:2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

I use to wonder why I never saw angels like the Old Testament men did and came to the conclusion that if I needed to see one, God would dispatch one to me. Jacob had a calling inherited from Abraham. God used His angels to make sure it came to pass just as He had promised Abraham. Nothing changes that.
He was to go back to the land promised to his grandfather. Perhaps an angel was sent because his fear of Esau might have caused Jacob to go settle in another place instead of returning home.

Gen 32:3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Gen 32:4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
Gen 32:5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
Gen 32:6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

This story along with the story of Joseph is really a tear jerker. Jacob feared that Esau was coming with 400 men for vengeance but I believe Esau thought within himself that with so much cattle and herds, his brother would need help and he sent men to help.

Gen 32:7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
Gen 32:8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
Gen 32:9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
Gen 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
Gen 32:11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
Gen 32:12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Jacob prayed this prayer but I believe the Lord had already answered this prayer. Then we can think again that perhaps Esau originally planned to attack Jacob with 400 men and God answered the prayer of Jacob that night and Esau changed his mind toward Jacob and longed to see him. We don't know for sure but I believe Esau missed his brother for years and his heart yearned to see him for a long time. I do believe God can change a heart instantly though. We see that when a person is converted and believes in Jesus Christ. His heart is changed and he receives the spirit of God into his soul instantly changing that person from death unto life that comes by faith in Jesus.

Gen 32:13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
Gen 32:14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
Gen 32:15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
Gen 32:16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space between drove and drove.
Gen 32:17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
Gen 32:18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
Gen 32:19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
Gen 32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
Gen 32:21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
Gen 32:22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
Gen 32:23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
Gen 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Gen 32:27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Gen 32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Here is the famous story of Jacob wrestling an angel of the Lord. Some believe this to be the Son of God, Jesus Himself. Jacob was desperate in prayer and prevailed with God.

This reminds me of times when we wrestle in prayer and seek God for something that is troubling us. I know we can rest in God's grace and just simply trust Him but sometimes we need to diligently seek God in prayer and not take spiritual things lightly. The old Pentecostals used to call it "praying through".
Jacob wouldn't quit until he felt assurance that God was going to bless Him with His favor and presence and protect him from the wrath of his brother.

God answered his prayer but I believe God desired Jacob to seek him and overcome the weakness of his flesh that Jacob had before in the days when we used tricks and deceptiveness to get what he wanted instead of waiting on God to bring His will to pass.

Sometimes it takes prevailing in prayer to overcome our flesh and our own desires and wants. We get in the way of God's blessings and God's will.

Jacob's wrestling with God could have been a time of yielding himself to the will of God and cleansing himself from the fears, desires and weaknesses of the flesh.
He could have feared his brother so much that he had to have God's assurance before he went any further. He was in anguish and God met the need. This is one reason why this person could have been the Lord Jesus instead of an ordinary angel. Christian also need to prevail in prayer.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

We wrestle against wicked spiritual rulers of darkness that do not want us to prevail with God. Jesus told us to pray always. We are saved by the mercy and grace of God but our flesh is weak.  We need to pray always.

Mar 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

This kind of prayer is more than just a short sentence prayer that we pray before a meal. I believe in Luke 21:36, the Lord is urging us to pray that we are ready when He comes and will escape the future tribulation that is to come upon the face of the earth.  Those that are spiritually ready will not go through the tribulation it seems.  At least not the part where the wrath of God is poured out upon those that persecuted the believers in Jesus. 

Here is what the prophet Hosea says about Jacob:

Hos 12:2 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
Hos 12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Hos 12:4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us;

Jacob was determined and had power with God because he wouldn't give up. He prevailed in prayer and his prayer was answered. Pray until the feeling of assurance is there. 

Gen 32:31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
Gen 32:32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

Jacob's name was changed to Israel and from that name we have today the nation of Israel. Do you think for one moment that God will forget Israel or write Israel off. If we persecute Israel we will bring upon ourselves the wrath of God. God will punish Israel for their sins but we who claim to be God's children by faith in Jesus should never raise a hand against them because it would show that we are not who we say we are. If we kill, persecute or even bad mouth a Jew or a born again believer in Jesus Christ, we do not know Jesus as Lord. In fact Christians should not be doing that to anyone. God told us to preach the gospel, not to harm any person in doing so.

Joh 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Joh 16:3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.


If we show harm to others for religious reasons it shows that we have not known the Father nor the Son.

Genesis 33