Livin’ On A Prayer

Jonah 2:1-2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said:

“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me.“ Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice. 

Pastor Kyle continued in his Sunday Sermon series on the book of Jonah with the sorry of a night club or bar that opened that open in a small town in the Bible belt of America. The local pastor sowed to shut this drinking establishment down, as it created a sinful vice upon the community, and asked the congregation to pay that God would use His Almighty hand to remove this building of inebriation from their fair city. It came to pass that a bolt of lightning from the next thunderstorm struck the building and burnt it to the ground. The bar owner, after hearing of the pastor request for prayer, filed a law suit against the church. I court the owner explained that the church’s prayer caused God to send the lightning bolt that destroyed his building, but the pastor argued that the lightning bolt was merely an act of nature and bad luck. The Judge then stated that this was the first time that he heard of a non-Believer believing that God answered prayer and a church pastor not believing that God answered prayer.

James 5:16b “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Prayer is the most important part of our day. A few minutes in prayer can change so much, so setting aside a space, a place and time are excellent disciplines. Granted that it is not always practical in our busy lives to make time for prayer; environments are not always ideal, and sometimes inhospitable, but we have to have our priorities straight. Any prayer is better than no prayer. 

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

When you run out of options, from a human perspective, it is hard to think of an Atheist in their final days or hours, that the thought of God and where they will go when they die doesn’t come to mind. Why do men and women not accept God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ and be welcomed into Heaven? Focus shifts back towards God, looking back to His holiness and righteousness in repentance and reconciliation with the Lord. 

1 Peter 3:12“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Pastor Kyle told us three things that make God more receptive to our prayers. (1) Relationship. There is a difference between prayers in distress and prayers in relationship with God. Atheists view no God as a freedom from bondage and oppression. But, the reality is that sin has them in bondage, wide is the road to destruction, and God sets the captive free. Jonah’s deathbed prayer from the belly of that whale was a relational prayer to live for God. “Help” can mean that I want you to do something for me, or that I want to do something with you because I love you. 

1 Samuel 15:22 “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

(2) Obedience. Abandon all forms of worthless idolatry and make a commitment to do things differently with God. Get your heart right and be available to be used by God. There is a connection between our prayers and God’s hearing and acting upon our obedience. If there is a part of our life that we are not giving over to God, then we are not in submission to the Lord and will not connect in relationship. If there is no obedience to God, then there is no relationship with God. 

Psalm 100:4“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”

(3) Praise and thanks before the deliverance. Have an attitude of gratitude, no matter the circumstance. All of us are praying for something. Sometimes, we have things in our life that are blocking our prayers. But, God has the ability to remove obstacles if we come with open hands and heart to receive. Make His desires, your desires. Lay your situations which are in your hands into His hands and start livin’ on a prayer.

In Christ, Brian