24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but 3Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob named the place 4Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
Jacob was persistent. That, and he knew the value of a blessing, especially one from an angel of God. He would not give up this fight until he received something from the angel. He doesn’t get quite what he expects, but he gets something valuable. A new name. Jacob meant ‘heal-grabber’ and that fit Jacob his whole life. But God had other plans for him, to be a mighty man, one who could even strive with God. So he named him Israel, and the nation was born. The Bible says that the prayers of a righteous man ‘avail much’, but the prayers of the persistent will never go unheard.