The readings for the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost are taken from Genesis 32:22-30; 2 Timothy 3.14—4:5; and Luke 18:1-8.
Genesis, 2 Timothy, and Luke all talk about our relationship with God by means of His Word to us and our words, in prayer, to Him. God’s Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, so God is always and really present in that Word. God urges us to take hold of His Word and wrestle with it, like Jacob, until we are blessed by it. God’s Word teaches us to pray without losing heart and teaches us how and what to pray. When Jacob first left home, he had a dream about a ladder with messengers of God coming down and going up (Genesis 28:10-12). Jesus referred to that ladder when he told Nathaniel that He, as the Word of God incarnate, is that ladder. Jesus is God’s Word to us and takes our words in prayer back to the Father, interceding for us along with the Holy Spirit (John 1:51).