Whale Belly Praying

And what on earth is “whale belly” praying? It is prayers we would not have had to pray if we had done the right thing in the first place. I have done my share of it. It is the right thing to do when you are in trouble. Our Heavenly Father is very familiar with this kind of praying. Like Jonah, who disobeyed, we too, go our own way. Like children, we too often shrug our hearts and do our own thing. There is a big difference with God if we do it the way Jonah did, deliberately, or if we just wonder off the spiritual road because we are not paying attention.

Every road of life brings with it consequences. We can pick the path, but we can’t choose the consequences. Although the consequences can be the same, God knows if we have a rebellious heart. In either case, praying is the right thing to do. “Whale belly” praying is asking God to get us out of the mess, just do something Lord, make this whale sick or have him decide swimming with a rebellious preacher on board is not a good thing. Or how about, “Oh Lord, I know I should have listened to you, and if you will get me out of this mess I will never do it again.” Does God hear these kinds of prayers? He must, we have all prayed them and we are still here.

Wouldn’t it be better if we all prefaced our lives with prayer? Asking our Lord to lead the way is the best way. He knows what is down the road, so letting Him go ahead is the safe thing to do. We all have needed His grace and mercy to pull us out of the ditch, but how about grace and mercy that goes ahead of us to keep us out of the ditch. I choose the latter. Prayer seeking the right thing to do is much better than “whale belly” praying. Jesus never did any “whale belly” praying because he was never out of place. He said, “ I do only what my Father tells me to do.” Maybe if we would take the time to listen and obey we wouldn’t have to deal with so much sea weed. It is worth thinking about. jfs

Jon 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
(KJV)