Jonah 2:7 “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.”

Jonah is honest. He had tried to forget God. He had tried to get as far away as possible from God. He didn’t need God and he didn’t want God to need him either. He knew about God, indeed he knew a lot about God and what God would do in a given situation. Jonah didn’t want any part of it. Like many of us, Jonah thought he knew what was right and what was wrong as far as the world was concerned. Jonah did not need God and so he abandoned the idea of prayer. Like so many in our world today, Jonah thought he could make it without God. In the end he found that was a false hope.

Why do we wait until we are in trouble to call on God? Do we view Him as a safety line, a glass door to be broken only in an emergency? We eat, drink, work, travel and play without Him. But when trouble comes we suddenly remember who He is. Then, we are disappointed if things don’t go as we asked.

Task for Today. Maybe a little honesty of our own is needed. Today would be a good time to make an assessment of our own prayer life and make changes. I’m not talking about meal times or “Now I lay me down to sleep.” There’s plenty to be thankful for all day long as well as much to ask God’s favor on others about. Don’t forget God in prayer today.