Thursday, February 10, 2011

Prayers near Death’s Door

When was the last time your life flashed before your eyes? When you were certain you were about to see what’s on the other side of the silver door?

The most vivid memory for me was a few years back in South Florida. I was driving with a friend down I-95 on our way to a Panther’s game. We were driving through pouring rain; it felt like buckets of water were coming down (which forced us to slow down to roughly 80mph).

Let me pause for a moment to describe my friend’s automobile. It was a late model sports car which he occasionally used to burn rubber. This was our way to impress the ladies. Let’s just say that he needed new rear tires.

I don’t remember where we were when his car began hydroplaning. It started to SLOWLY rotate around as we continued racing down the interstate. There were cars all around us.

I knew we were dead.

As we sat looking out of our little carousel ride, eyes wide-open in terror as we saw the road, the cars, the guardrail, and more cars, our resulting conversation went something along these lines;

“Joe we’re hit! We’re hit! We’re hit! We’re hit!”
“No we’re not. No we’re not. No we’re not. No we’re not.”

The car continued to slowly pirouette until we had gone a full 360 degrees. The tires found their footing once again, and we were once again safely heading in the right direction (only going about 30mph slower).

As the cold grip of fear left us, we began to laugh hysterically. We were acutely aware of how surreal it all was. We had been going so fast that we essentially floated on top of the road as if it had been coated in bacon fat. Mercifully, we never veered out of our lane because of the Hand of God and the first law of physics (an object in motion will continue in that motion until another force acts upon it). Had our tires began to grip the road at any time around that spin, we would have wrecked.

As it was, we escaped without a scratch.

When we feel like we are about to die (time permitting), sometimes we try to prepare ourselves. We try to get our ducks all in a row.

I also remember the time in college when I was chased for over a block by a very mad pit-bull. I recited the Lord’s Prayer about twenty-seven times during that sprint. I was so scared that all I could do was run and pray.

Why is that? Why does it sometimes take a near-death experience to make us think about God?

Jonah was a prophet sent by God with a message of impending doom for Nineveh, the capital of Assyria (a ruthless empire). Knowing God’s character (His mercy and love), Jonah suspected that the Ninevites might change their ways and that God would forgive them. Jonah did not want that to happen.

So he tried to run away from God.

The first chapter ends with Jonah being swallowed up by a great fish.

Jonah had some time to reflect on his life and his calling. The result was that he decided a life spent with God was better than a life running away from Him.

When are times that we have hit rock bottom in our lives and could only look up?

Joe

Jonah Chapter 2
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O LORD, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’

“I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O LORD my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.

Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone.” Then the LORD ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

NLTse

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