Streaks: Prayerনমুনা

Weird question: if you found yourself alive inside of a giant fish, what kind of prayer would you pray? I know, it sounds random, but if you have never read the story of Jonah, it’s worth your time. You could knock the whole thing out in 15 minutes, and it’s just a cool Old Testament story. But, in the middle of it, we get this glimpse into exactly what Jonah said to God while trapped in the belly of a giant sea monster. And while you might expect the prayer to just be “GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!” over and over again, it is actually much deeper and more inspiring than that. The tone of Jonah’s prayer is not panicked, and it’s not even focused on his current circumstances. In fact, Jonah never once asks God to fix his fish problem – he is too busy praising God for how good, powerful and amazing He is. 

Second question: when you face a tough situation in life, what are your prayers like? Do they focus on how awesome God is and how He has taken care of you in the past, or are they a lot more about begging God to fix your current circumstances? If we’re all honest, we tend to be a lot more focused on God solving our problems, don’t we? And let’s face it, most of us face problems far less distressing than being swallowed by a giant fish! Today, let’s focus our prayers on just how good God is. Whether you’re having a great day or the worst week of your life, set aside all the pleading and begging and just spend some time telling God all the reasons you are thankful for Him. You’ll be amazed at how that actually starts to bring relief to the stuff that’s bothering you anyway. 

Read today’s Scripture, and then pray for at least two minutes.