Night Prayer
And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Inspiration
Jonah describes the beautiful character of our loving God; he feels God is too merciful in His decision to extend salvation to the people on Ninevah. In Jonah's opinion, they were unworthy; it's our unworthiness that makes the mercy of God so precious. None of us deserve salvation, but God loved us so much, He sent His Son as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. We are blessed to be surrounded by His selfless love.
Prayer
Dearest Lord, You have mercy on us when we do not deserve it. We are so thankful for Your unconditional love and will continue to live our lives according to Your plan. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.