What An Understatement !
Then, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly.(Jonah 2:1) Do ya think? Really? Let's see: Jonah was thrown into the turbulent sea waters, he sunk to the bottom where seaweed wrapped around his head, then, a large fish prepared by God swallowed him, and he stayed in the fish's belly 3 days and 3 nights. I would say he prayed to the Lord his God, don't you think? I believe he prayed more fervently and earnestly than he had ever prayed before. To say simply that "he prayed" is a great understatement. He cried out to God sincerely, and God answered his prayer which came from the depths of his being.
The thought that came to my mind as I read Jonah's story this time was, "Why does it take so much to get us to pray fervently and to do God's will?" Why do we not pray that way every day? I think these are fair questions, and they tell us a lot about ourselves. If we only pray fervently when things are bad, does that mean we are trying to manipulate God to help us, or is it just that is what it takes for us to really get serious about praying and doing God's will? Of course, we can't manipulate God, so that is wrong to think that way. If it takes that much for us to get serious, we need to increase our commitment to God. In fact, I would say that we need to begin to pray like we are in the belly of a fish every morning. We need to pray that way because we love the Lord and others, not because we have a need. We ought to pray all the more fervently for others than we do for ourselves, especially for those who are on the way to Hell.
I hope we will stop to ask ourselves these questions as often as is necessary to get us to be mighty in prayer all of the time. Then, we could see some amazing answers to our prayers for the glory of God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jonah 3-4 and Micah 1.
The thought that came to my mind as I read Jonah's story this time was, "Why does it take so much to get us to pray fervently and to do God's will?" Why do we not pray that way every day? I think these are fair questions, and they tell us a lot about ourselves. If we only pray fervently when things are bad, does that mean we are trying to manipulate God to help us, or is it just that is what it takes for us to really get serious about praying and doing God's will? Of course, we can't manipulate God, so that is wrong to think that way. If it takes that much for us to get serious, we need to increase our commitment to God. In fact, I would say that we need to begin to pray like we are in the belly of a fish every morning. We need to pray that way because we love the Lord and others, not because we have a need. We ought to pray all the more fervently for others than we do for ourselves, especially for those who are on the way to Hell.
I hope we will stop to ask ourselves these questions as often as is necessary to get us to be mighty in prayer all of the time. Then, we could see some amazing answers to our prayers for the glory of God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jonah 3-4 and Micah 1.