Jonah 2:7 When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. (NIV)
There is a certain shame that I feel, when I go through a day in my life, and realize that I haven’t taken the time to set aside an hour of it to be with my Lord. I don’t know what it is, I mean, I could blame the hustle and bustle of this modern every day life. But the truth is, I don’t allow myself to be caught up in this “zoom zoom” world. I have learned to say No, I can’t do that, No, I don’t want to do that, and No I will not do that. So, I can’t blame life.
So, at the end of the day when I head off for bed, and start to say my prayers, I sometimes have to feel embarrassed that I have spent an entire day without spending “quality” time with the lover of my soul.
On the other hand, give me a good “my life is ebbing away” moment in time, and where am I? Right up in His face, crying and wailing, and begging for His mercy. I’m remembering who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. My prayers rise into His holy temple, and I pray they are as sweet incense to His nostrils.
Sometimes, I wouldn’t blame Him if He told me that my prayers stunk. I wouldn’t blame Him if He’d say, You only pray in earnest when you want something. I wouldn’t blame Him if He ignored me.
But, our God just loves us too much for that. Just like Jonah, there are times when I have to be thrown into a whale’s belly of solitude in my disaster to truly seek God’s face. And, just like Jonah, I have done my share of mumbling and grumbling about God’s plans for my life. Sometimes it irritates me when He won’t let me run the show.
But, praise His mighty name! Our God clothed himself in frail humanity, when He came to earth to share Himself with us. He is sorely aware of our failings. Even Jesus cried out to God in the garden when his life on this earth was ebbing away. Our Father knows only too well how much weaker we are than Christ our King.
So today, I will make an effort to set aside an hour to be in the company of my Lord. I will strive to remember Him in my every waking moment. I know He will be waiting there for me. But, especially when my life is ebbing away, I know He will be waiting to answer to my heart’s cry.
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