Friday – Prophets

Reading – Jonah 1-2

Highlight Verses:

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!”
‭‭Jonah‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Thanks to Veggie Tales, Jonah is probably everyone’s favorite Old Testament prophet.

That might also be because of its honesty.

Jonah really messed up.

I love his prayer when he repents.

It’s so awkward and authentic.

Granted, I think any prayer from inside a fish would be awkward.

It almost seems as if he stumbles over his words at first, starting the prayer in the third person (he) and correcting into the second person (you).

To me, that makes it seem more authentic.

And, yes, I believe this was a true story. I don’t know how he survived three days inside a huge fish or what kind of fish it was, but I believe that God could make a way for it to happen.

Because it happened, the people of Ninevah were more likely to believe him.

I’ll admit the awkwardness of his prayer comforts me.

Our pastor has a habit of calling on random people to pray at the close of serving team huddles.

It’s awkward.

I love that.

Because those are the genuine kinds of prayers.

Pre-written, practiced prayers may be honest, but they don’t seem as genuine in the moment.

It’s when we stumble over our words that our true selves come out.

I’m pretty sure God would rather hear two genuine sentences come from us than 30 minutes of polished religiosity.

Which reminds me, if you are saying grace for 10 minutes before a meal, stop! I’m too hungry for that. 😉

Have you ever had to come up with a prayer on the spot?
Was it awkward? Was it genuine?