REAL PRAYER

There is prayer, and then there is real PRAYER!

Many of my prayers are wimpy, soggy, and spineless. A lot of bed time, meal time, "God bless all of the people in the world" type of prayer. They may sound good, but not necessarily bring a dead man back to life or cause the sun to stand still. Then again, I've heard of Real Prayer. What about Jonah in the belly of the fish? What about Elijah before Ahab's priests of Baal on Mount Carmel? What about blind Saul waiting in Damascus for Ananias? What about Jeremiah sinking in a muddy cistern up to his armpits? What about Peter on the storm tossed Sea of Galilee as he begins to sink?

Yes, there is prayer, and then there is REAL PRAYER! It seems to me that the belly of a fish has got to be one of the all-time horrible places to find yourself praying. It is dark and wet. It must smell to high heaven. Breathing must be almost impossible. The gastric acids, the occasional influx of sea water, the other bits and pieces of oceanic detritus sloshing by your head. I'll tell you, I think Jonah's prayer life went into super high gear about five minutes after he was placed in what I would call "God's pressure cooker." And, Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah and Peter (as well as all saints) periodically find themselves in their own "belly of the fish" circumstances of life. That kind of PRAYER is concentrated desperation focused on the Almighty God and it shakes kingdoms. Look at each of the men mentioned (Jonah, Elijah, Paul, Jeremiah, and Peter); they were chosen by God to accomplish great deeds.

A key ingredient in each of their "belly of the fish" experiences was their subsequent total and complete submission to God. Interestingly, as you follow their lives you will note that they did not retire to a life of ease thereafter. No, they were delivered from serious and immediate danger to do battle for God, and they endured great trial and tribulation after God's deliverance took place. Jonah to Nineveh, Elijah to Ahab, Paul to prison, Jeremiah to captivity, and Peter to martyrdom.

Their PRAYER for deliverance was actually a prayer of submission to the will of God and a prayer of dedication to the service of God, no matter what the outcome! Lets be honest. No one likes to find himself in trouble dark enough to be called a "belly of the fish" experience. But, those experiences "get our attention," and God is suddenly a lot more relevant than he was two days before the event. For instance, your view of God changes when the doctor tells you that your tests are positive for a malignant cancerous tumor. Your vacation to Tarshish will become unimportant as you wrestle with your responsibilities to the people of Nineveh.

Submission to the Will of God is the only logical answer to the prayer of people caught in such circumstances.

Doing the Will of God is the only acceptable response.