"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. He said: 'In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me.'" Jonah 2:1-2
This week's Word to Live By is PRAY. Although prayer may already be a familiar habit you employ daily, or even hourly, it's always good to take a fresh look at an old friend.
Let's start with a not-so-fresh look inside the not-so-friendly fish which swallowed Jonah: I can only imagine the dark, the slime, the smell surrounding Jonah as he jostled around in the belly of that fish, still untangling the seaweed from around his head as he hunkered down in his new habitat for three days and nights. Not exactly luxury accommodations, were they?
And yet, God used that period of tremendous discomfort to bring Jonah to his senses: ""When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD." And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land" (Jonah 2: 7-10).
This week as we pray, let's ask the Lord to bring to our attention any situation in which we have not been obedient, any worthless idols we might be clinging to. Pray He will help us "make good" our vows. And pray, thanking Him that in His time, He relieves us from our distress, untangles our anxious thoughts, and puts us back on dry land!
we are loved and chosen by God,
may we live like we believe it,
veneal
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