Chapter One
The Most Reluctant
Pray-ers in the BibleHave you ever felt reluctant to do something you knew would bring
you satisfaction or even downright joy? It seems silly at first glance,
but we could be talking here about eating a pear rather than a candy bar.
Or sitting on the porch swing rather than scrubbing the floor. Or trying out
for that part in the local theater rather than watching summer reruns. Or
praying rather than wrestling with a gorilla of a problem by ourselves. What
makes us slow to do what we know we really want to do?
In the book of Jonah, we encounter a passel of reluctant pray-ers.
These people would rather suffer than pray! They're as silly as . well, as
we are. But once they turned their hearts to God, God did some heart-turning
of his own.
In this lesson you'll have a chance to think about what causes you
to be a reluctant pray-er and what can happen when you overcome that reticence.
Like the characters in Jonah, you'll discover God is merciful, loving,
and a discerner of hearts who is eager to hear from you.
A Moment
for Quiet Reflection
1. Find your way to a porch swing, an overstuffed bedroom
chair, or another spot sheltered from the noise of your
world. Spend several minutes considering what makes you
reluctant to pray. What in your heart keeps you from praying? What in your present circumstances? What in your
past experiences? Read over "Uttered from the Edge" at
the beginning of this book if you need some ideas to stimulate
your personal examination.
2. Ask God to bring healing to past wounds, to clean the
rooms of your heart in preparation for regular prayer, and
to remind you to pray when you become too frenzied to
remember.
Knowing God's Heart
The book of Jonah may be the "prayingest" book in the
Bible. It contains more prayers in its few pages than most of the
larger books do in their many. But the pray-ers here are not eager.
The book starts out with the Lord communicating with
Jonah. But Jonah is more than reluctant to respond-he is ready
to disobey. Plugging his ears, he dons his Nikes and boards a boat
destined for a distant land, far from Nineveh, the city the Lord commanded
Jonah to preach repentance to.
So the Lord sends a violent storm after the ship with Jonah
aboard sets sail. The first prayer we encounter is the sailors'. Once
they had determined Jonah's disobedience had caused the storm
that threatened their lives, they were reluctant to follow Jonah's
advice to pitch him overboard and save themselves.
1. Take a minute to read Jonah 1:4-13 together. What are five
ways the sailors displayed their reluctance to turn to God?
2. Which of their solutions are ones you've tried in a crisis? Share one personal example with the group.
3. Read verses 14-16. What actions and heart responses
finally brought an end to the storm?
4. Why do you think none of the sailors' previous actions had
helped the situation?
5. Jonah, the next reluctant pray-er, finally speaks to God
from a rather uncomfortable prayer chamber. Read Jonah
1:17-2:10. What emotions do you think Jonah felt as he
prayed?
6. What does the prayer tell you about Jonah's relationship
with God?
7. What price does he recognize he paid for his reluctance to
respond?
8. Jonah obeys God, travels to Nineveh, and proclaims repentance.
This was no small task since Nineveh was so large it
took three days to walk across it. And, as Jonah knew
before he went there, the citizens of Nineveh certainly did
not live prayer-oriented lives. When they got up that morning, they had no idea prayer would play a central role. Yet
read about their prayer in Jonah 3:4-10. Why do you think
they responded as they did?
9. Think of a situation in your life, now or in the past, that felt
or feels disastrous. What does the Ninevites' reaction suggest
about how you could have handled or could handle
your situation better?
10. Read Jonah's next prayer in Jonah 4:1-4. Now, this is a
prayer Jonah should have been reluctant to pray! (Can't
this guy get it right?!) What has he forgotten about himself?
11. What can we learn and apply to our own lives from God's
reply to Jonah?
12. What do we learn about reluctance and the heart as we
look at all these prayers?
Friendship Boosters
1. While the book of Jonah has a serious message to give us
about seeking God, it also has a humorous side. Part of
that humor is recognizing our own ungainly responses to
God reflected in some of this book's characters. Tell the
group which part of the book tickles your funny bone and
why. Or mention some part of the book that you especially
related to.
2. Exchange phone numbers (or e-mail addresses) with each
other. This week give someone in the group a call or send
her a message with a prayer request or praise report the
two of you can pray about together.
Just for Fun
During the week ahead, treat yourself to something (harmless!)
you've been reluctant to indulge in-take a few extra minutes
to sleep in the morning, give a smile to someone who doesn't
seem to have one, buy that home decorating magazine you've been
eyeing. Then call a woman in the group and tell her what you
indulged in and what happened as a result.
Praying Together
Share something you've been reluctant to pray about. It
could be something so small you didn't think it was worth mentioning,
or something you have been avoiding discussing with God.
If you don't feel comfortable discussing what you need to pray
about, perhaps you can tell the group why you've been reluctant.
Pray for one another that in the upcoming week you'll overcome
your reluctance.
Making It Real
in Your Own Life
1. Begin each day this week by praying, "Lord, help me to be
quick to pray today and slow to resist you."
2. Try to find time (even a few minutes) at the end of each
day to examine the times you were reluctant to pray. Ask
yourself how you can overcome that reluctance tomorrow.
Write down any thoughts you have.
I have been driven many times to my knees by the
overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. Abraham Lincoln
You'll never know Jesus is all you need
till he's all you've got. Ron Dunn
Give yourself a day off from worrying. You deserve it. Barbara Johnson
Help us, Lord, to turn toward you, and in our turning, find that you have been turned toward us all along. Timothy Jones
(Continues.)
