I cannot help but wonder what went through God’s “mind” between the time of completing creation and the events of Genesis 6. Even more – what changed from Genesis 6 to Genesis 9? There’s little we can know about it, besides that God set off on a mission – a mission that’s one of a kind.

See, when, let’s say your TV breaks down and you want to continue watching TV – you have two options. Either repair it or get a new one, the latter being the more convenient, easier one. While the flood was God’s way of starting all over again – more convenient and certainly quicker, his covenant with Noah and later on with many others is rather astonishing. He basically said “I won’t get rid of you, but will do whatever it takes to fix you up – make you look good again; as good as you were when I first looked at you.” This might also seem easy until you grasp the scale of the repair that needed to be done. Consequentially, that decision didn’t come at no expense for God. The toll was the death and resurrection of His Son – a rather high price, but as I said – a lot needed fixing.

Today we look at the story and it changes our lives. We get closer to it and realize – we’re invited to participate in it; to fellowship with God, to be part of his repair team. Little do we know about the task ahead of us, but that doesn’t seem to stand on our way of getting matters in our own hands. Yes, Jesus did say to go and teach, disciple and love, but He never said we ought to do it alone. Just because we have the manual doesn’t mean we know how to make everything work again. Neither are we capable of making this even remotely possible… without God’s enduring, faithful and loving leading. Reverse-engineering is not an option here.

We set off building churches and raising communities back on their feet until one day we (as inevitable as it seems) fail. It’s one of those devastating moments when we think “It’s all gone in vain; we messed up so big, there’s no hope of recovery.”

Because we believe we’re the ones who can make things look good again. We seem be deep in the belief that if we don’t do it – it can’t be done. Therefore, when we failed, it all failed.

But not God’s mission – it’s a different kind of a mission. It’s first of all – God’s mission in which we’re just participants. He initiated it, he sustains it, he envisions it, he guides it… he completes it. Period.

Take Jonah for example – God called him to fellowship with him, to participate in making things look good. He ran away. God shook him up on that ship, woke him up to the reality – he did repent and spoke words of hope and thanksgiving. So God thought – I might was well use him anyhow and called him a second time. As hesitant as we often are, Jonah set off to do the work. He didn’t only end up doing 1/3 of what he should have done, but he didn’t even do this right. Yet, this didn’t stop God from bringing the people of Nineveh to repentance.

So could we get it right for once? Can we look at our mission as what it really is – God’s mission? Can we endure the failure while standing on our feet with sheer confidence that what God has started God will finish? We’re not in this to win, it’s not a race. It’s a marathon and we’re in to finish.

Now you are probably asking yourself “But what can this book teach me on prayer?” At first glance soma may say “Little!” A careful reading of the text, however, will reveal to you that nearly half of the time of the story Jonah spends in prayer or talking to God. The second and fourth chapters of the book describe two prayers which are very important to learn from, and at the same time – very different from each other.

Jonah’s first prayer from chapter 2 is filled with praise and thanksgiving to God. It is a prayer which is honest and recognizes God’s might – a prayer that would encourage you and me in difficult times. And, perhaps, if now you are not finding yourself close to God then you probably wish you could have Jonah’s faith so that you can pray in such a way. This prayer is also the praises of a man who has survived because of God’s grace and will alone.

The second prayer, the one from chapter 4 of the book is very different. This prayer is not lifted up to God after a miraculous survival, but after “Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry” (Jonah 4:1, NIV). And what he was displeased and angry about was God’s intervention. This conversation between Jonah and God is actually a superficial attempt to pray. In comparison to the first prayer this one is so much shorter, without any adoration, thanksgiving or praise. This time the prophet does not recognize God’s intervention – he is just displeased and very angry because God has not done what Jonah wanted. And this anger must have been so strong that Jonah did not want to live any longer, which in itself is a very strong contrast to the first prayer where he was thanking God for saving his life.

Now you’re asking “Ok, so what’s the lesson?” The answer of this question lays in the comparison between Jonah and you. Most Christians turn to God when in need or wanting something. For most of us, also, the following statement is true: It is much easier to ask and receive things than it is for us to fulfill our promises and sacrifice for the sake of others. Unfortunately, such an attitude easil becomes a part of our prayers. When we are in a tough situation or need something – we pray honestly, with faith and with hope… And in most cases we do remember to thank God for all he has given us and done for us – hoping that this will also help us to have more faith about the current situation. There actually isn’t much wrong in all of that. After all, Jesus himself said “Ask and it will be given to you… for everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:7,8, NIV). Yet, this is far from the complete Gospel, it’s complete teaching. This isn’t describing quite fully all which Jesus lived out for us to take as an example. Jesus also sacrificed himself so that all people (including these who hate him!) might have access to God’s salvation should they choose it. His Word is also constantly teaching us to not stop giving…

Very often God will place people and situations on our way for whom we ought to sacrifice from what we already have. For some this means giving up financial or other material resources, while for others it concerns pride, selfishness, envy. Often God wold also place in our hearts a prayer for those whom we call “our enemies.” Even in His Word to us he teaches us to love those who hate us (Matthew 5:43-48). Unfortunately, often this call for prayer and action is neglected. Sometimes because of pure hard-headedness, other times because of our own unwillingness to forgive the ones who hurt us. Yet, neither of us has ever had a case of not praying for someone out of love.

So, what is the result of the comparison of you with Jonah? How do you pray when you are in need? Even more important, how do you pray when you see that God’s will is the exact opposite of your own? What do you do when God calls you to help the people whom you actually despise? The lesson one can learn from Jonah’s story is that God will not abandon the people around you just because you don’t find them worthy of His grace for one reason or another. At the same time, your own hard-headedness against God’s will cannot lead you to any better that it did for Jonah – “for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3, NIV).

Do not just pass by God’s Word for you! Maybe before you go on to your regular prayer, next time you ought to first pray that He may help you to pray according to His will, honestly and out of love for all people… Do not let anger lead you just as Jonah did!