A prayer for when you need God's grace by Frank Seller.

Jonah prayed to the Lord.

Oh Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home?

That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarsish.

I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a

God who are lengths from sending calamity.

Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.

Jonah 4, 2 through 3.

It has been suggested that in Chapter 1, Jonah runs from God.

In Chapter 2, Jonah runs into God.

In Chapter 3, Jonah runs with God.

And in Chapter 4, Jonah tries to run God.

In this prayer, Jonah was telling the Lord off.

He was saying to the Almighty God,

I knew this was going to happen.

It sounds so astonishing. Could it be that prayers we pray

might also be every bit as absurd? Giving out to God and having the temerity to tell him how he ought to behave?

Prayer can be a funny thing if we are the ones telling God what he really ought to do and

what not to do. Having refused to prey on board ship and then having prayed a prayer of

Thanksgiving in the belly of the fish, now Jonah prays a really selfish, angry prayer.

See how many times I, me, and my appear in this outpouring? Six times. Less than

perfect, Jonah. While Jonah does indeed pray here in Nineveh, it's not in order to develop a relationship of love and

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