If so, it is OK to pray a prayer that has been already prepared. Jonah knew what it meant to be in the belly of a fish. He knew darkness. He knew the feeling of not being able to get out of whatever he was in. Because he knew, we have this example that we can pray ourselves.
Lord, if you delivered Jonah out of the belly of the whale, you can deliver me out of this darkness that I am in. Everybody doesn’t live on the mountaintop. Everybody is not in a place where they can praise the Lord right now. If you are in this place, start praying Jonah’s prayer.
“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.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Jonah 2
Ask God to vomit you out of this situation. Have you ever thought of that? When we think about the word vomit, we think of the most vile, stinking, stomach ailment. You can’t wait until it is over. You just want all the badness to come out of your stomach so you can feel better. I’m sure when that whale spit Jonah out of his mouth and Jonah landed on the shore, he was ready to do whatever God desired for him to do. He was ready to go forward. He was ready to proclaim the word of God.
He was delivered! Keep praying! Deliverance is coming! Live at peace with everyone
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:17–21 (NIV)
What a verse to wake up to when someone who you thought had your back turn on you. When someone you love, would give your last to, you find out they’ve worn a mask all this time and they don’t love or care for you.
The situation is causing me to have disruptive dreams and bad thoughts, until l can’t sleep because I’m thinking of that person(s), that work issue, that marriage problem, or of what “they” did to put me in these spiraling thoughts.
No, I’m not having all these problems, but that’s what my thoughts can do. Maybe this person is hurt and it’s not really about me.🤷🏾♀️
Then, I turn to my reading in Proverbs and it says,
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”
You mean I can’t block that person so I never have to talk to them again.
I can’t “not” answer a text ….
I can’t unfriend on Facebook …
I can’t look the other way when I see them at the store, at church , or even if they come to my house….
I can’t ….
No, I can’t! And, yes, those thoughts came to my mind. I’m just human…trying to do the right thing.
These are the footholds of the world. If I do the above, I will open the doors to the sin crouching at my door. (Genesis 4:7)
The foothold becomes a stronghold. Only if “I” let it.
Well, I choose to love regardless!
I choose true security: wisdom and prudence (Proverbs 3:21)
I choose wisdom and trusting God in the situation. If I choose this, I’m promised sweet sleep (Proverbs 3:24b)
I choose love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
PS …My son comes into my study and greets me and is surprise I am up this early. I tell him I was having bad dreams, so I thought I would open up my Bible. Then, he said “oh, the Lord is talking to you now isn’t he?” I said, yes, and smiled☺️
I choose love. Ahhhh, I feel better. “It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.” (Proverbs 3:8) Now it’s time to pray and do those things the enemy is trying to interrupt.
I choose to live at peace with everyone!
☺️🙌🏽🛐🕊️
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