Title: Praying the Future into Existence/Topic: Prayer of Faith

Today’s Reading: Jonah 1; Jonah 2; Jonah 3; Jonah 4; 2 Timothy 2

Scripture: Jonah 2:1,2
1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave [a] I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

Observation: It is fascinating to note that Jonah prays as if God has already delivered him from the belly of the fish while he is still inside the fish! He is praying as if what he wants to happen has already happened. The entire prayer in Chapter 2 is prayed in the past tense with a statement of thanksgiving for deliverance at the end. It is after Jonah finishes praying that God has the fish vomit Jonah out onto the beach.

Application: Jesus tells us in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This prayer of Jonah's is an example of doing just that. It is praying as if the future answer you want has already been received. Can you imagine what our world would be like and what would be accomplished for God if the Church would learn to pray this way? There is one cautionary note which I would like to add. There are times when we do not know what the will of the Lord is. We need to seek his face at those times and not pray presumptuously for what we want. But God does give us the keys of the kingdom and commands us to pray in faith, believing we will receive it.

Prayer: Father, help us to appropriate the power you have given us to establish your kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. May we be bold in our praying, knowing that you are the one who has declared us to be priests and kings with you. Thank you for the trust and power you give us to partnership with you in making things right here on earth through our prayers.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.