by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
In Genesis 43:14, Jacob prays, “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man.<\/em>” This is the first time in the Joseph story that Jacob appeals directly to God’s character. The name he uses – El Shaddai – emphasizes God’s power and sufficiency. Jacob is finally entrusting what he fears most to the God who is able.<\/p>\n This moment shows the shift from self-reliance to surrender. Jacob cannot control the outcome. He cannot protect his sons. He cannot guarantee safety. But he can entrust them to the God who governs mercy.<\/p>\n This is a vital truth for us. Faith is not the ability to control circumstances. It is the willingness to release them to God. When we pray for mercy, we acknowledge that God’s compassion is our hope.<\/p>\n If you’re facing something you cannot fix, pray like Jacob. Appeal to God’s character. Entrust the situation to His mercy. He is more than able to carry what you cannot.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Zeke Flores In Genesis 43:14, Jacob prays, “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man.” This is the first time in the Joseph story that Jacob appeals directly to God’s character. The name he uses – El Shaddai – emphasizes God’s power and sufficiency. Jacob is finally entrusting what he fears most to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1510,416],"class_list":["post-94327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-prayers","tag-submission"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26677,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-romans-9-support-calvinism\/","url_meta":{"origin":94327,"position":0},"title":"Does Romans 9 support Calvinism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been worrying over Calvinism. Could you help me understand Romans 9:20-22 and Romans 9:11-16? In verse 13 you can read of Esau being hated which is after verse 12 where you can read about the older will serve the younger. Calvinist may use this to support their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2591,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/predetermined-destiny\/","url_meta":{"origin":94327,"position":1},"title":"Predetermined Destiny","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Many people in this world believe in fate or destiny. They feel there is a specific role chosen for them which they must play, whatever their personal choice. John Calvin taught that God predestines some people to be Christians and, if so chosen by God, there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2959,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-was-the-angel-that-jacob-wrestled-with-at-jabbok\/","url_meta":{"origin":94327,"position":2},"title":"Who was the angel that Jacob wrestled with at Jabbok?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who was the angel that Jacob wrestled with at Jabbok? Answer: \"Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35226,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sovereign-love-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":94327,"position":3},"title":"The Sovereign Love of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"An Examination of Romans 9 by Bruce Reeves Introduction June 23,24,26,27, 2005, Bruce Reeves debated Calvinistic Baptist Gene Cook on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. The first two nights Mr. Cook affirmed, \"The scriptures teach that the alien sinner is forgiven of his past\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94493,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-is-my-shepherd\/","url_meta":{"origin":94327,"position":4},"title":"God Is My Shepherd","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores In Genesis 48:15-16, Jacob blesses Joseph's sons and describes God as the One who has shepherded him all his life. This is the first time God is called a shepherd in Scripture. Jacob looks back and sees that God has guided, protected, and sustained him through every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lamb-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7510,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-pick-jacob-for-salvation-before-or-after-he-was-born\/","url_meta":{"origin":94327,"position":5},"title":"Did God pick Jacob for salvation before or after he was born?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In regards to your article \"Predetermined Destiny\": First, after stating in paragraph five that God's selection of Jacob was made before Jacob was born, you turn right around and say that God's selection of Jacob was not made before he was born. Well, which is it? Did God pick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}