(b.) _The principles of God’s spiritual administration_ of grace to his people in connection with prayer. (a) As to the circumstances of the present case:――The covenant of God with Jacob is very definite. Jacob understands and manifestly pleads it, as we see in this chapter. These are his words as recorded: “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac”――the Lord [the _Jehovah_, signifying the faithful God of his people] “who saidst to me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of all thy truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. 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. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea which can not be numbered for multitude.”――――It should be noted that the promise in this covenant precisely meets Jacob’s present emergency――“Return and I will deal well with thee: thou saidst, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea.” These points fully covered his present danger. Jacob doubtless had in mind the very explicit terms of this covenant as announced to him at Bethel: “I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest and _will bring thee again to this land_; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” There is therefore no room for mistake on this point. The Lord’s promise to Jacob is explicit, and in its terms guarantees perfect protection in his present peril. Why, then, it will be asked, was this night-long struggle?