"One minute Jacob prayed for God's help, and the next minute he devised some new way to appease his angry brother. He reminded God of His great promises and then acted as though God had never spoken. This is the conduct of a believer who needed to be broken before God. He prayed to be delivered from Esau (v. 11), but his greatest need was to be delivered from himself. Jacob was broken to be healed and weakened to be strengthened. When he surrendered, he won and became a "prince with God. " His limp would be a constant reminder that God would be in control of his life."