Monday 19 Aug 2013

Monday Reading: Jonah 2:1-3

Key Verse: Jonah 2:1
1  Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

Devotion:
Jonah was a prophet but he had a bit of an issue with God. God was telling him to go to the city of Nineveh and tell them of the things they were doing wrong and against God; but Jonah thought that those people were too far gone and that they would never repent of their ways. He was not interested in even trying to teach them anything but just wanted God to be done with them!

But when God tells us that we need to be doing something, the last thing we should ever think of is going against that wish because one way or another God is going to remind us that He is in charge and that His will is more important than our ways. We are the ones who cannot see past our own noses whereas God is the one who sees everything from start to finish. God got Jonah’s attention by making bad things happen to many more people than just him; Jonah’s attitude problem was affecting everyone around him!

When Jonah was put in his place by God allowing the big fish to swallow him whole, Jonah had no more issues about seeing that God was in control! He was more than willing now to lift up his prayers to God and ask for forgiveness. He was more than willing to put his own desires aside and take on God’s will once again. Do we really want to have to get God to do something drastic in our lives before we start listening to Him? God will do what it takes to get our undivided attention!

When we put aside our prayers and try to go our own way, we find out quite quickly that God is still in control and that He will try to set us back in the right direction. When we stop praying and asking direction from God we can be sure that He will allow a few changes into our life so that we get the hint! God wants us to be constant in prayer, meaning that He wants us to lift up our prayers to Him always and to wait patiently for an answer from Him too. Just because we say some prayers does not mean that we are off the hook – He wants us to listen out for the answers that He will send our way. We may not get them that minute or even that day, but we can rest assured that He will send us the answer and we will marvel when we get that answer! Somehow we always seem to be surprised when God answers prayers! Why not expect an answer for every single prayer!

Points to Ponder:
Do you listen out to God?

Are you patient in your expectations?