Genesis 28:1-5

Genesis 28:1-5

Esau is mad enough to kill Jacob. With their father, Isaac, near death - his plan is to wait until after Isaac's death and kill Jacob when the mourning period is complete.  Since Esau is not a patient man, word of his plan leaks to his mother, Rebekah.  Since Jacob is Rebekah's favorite, she launches her own plan to get Jacob to a safe place and convinces Isaac to get things rolling.

So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and gave him these orders: “Don’t marry a Canaanite woman.   Get up and go to Paddan-aram, to the household of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and once there, marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 

God Almighty will bless you, make you fertile, and give you many descendants so that you will become a large group of peoples. He will give you and your descendants Abraham’s blessing so that you will own the land in which you are now immigrants, the land God gave to Abraham.” 

So Isaac sent Jacob off, and he traveled to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, Jacob and Esau’s mother.

Once again, this reads more like a blessing or prophecy than a prayer.  Maybe a blessing is a prayer for God's involvement in someone's life, or agreement with God about his involvement.

And once again, this prayer/blessing/prophecy is for the benefit of a child by the parent.

There's also a meta-blessing in Isaac's blessing to Jacob.  He claims, "He will give you and your descendant's Abraham's blessing..."   You'll recall this multi-part blessing:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

   “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
     I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
     I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
         and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

And

  The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.”

So the blessing Isaac (inadvertently) earlier gave to Jacob contains echoes of God's blessing to Abraham, and it continues in Isaac's blessing to Jacob as Jacob prepares to depart.