The Book of Jonah
Chapter
4
¹ But this was very displeasing to Jonah and he became angry.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 1)
Although the people of Nineveh had reacted positively to the warning given to them by Jonah in the name of God, Jonah became angry. One would question his behavior oh God my Father. We can never deny anybody the opportunity to be given the chance to listen to the Good News of the Bible even though they may be of another religion, for I do not know what plans for their salvation You have in mind. In the situation, I would have felt guilty instead of angry, for if I had not obeyed Your will the conversion of the people of Nineveh would never have taken place in the first place. I thank You, my God and Father, even for those situations when the outcome is not according to my plans Amen, for it is Your will that is of value and not my own Amen. Thank You, Jesus.
² He prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning: for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 2)
Oh God my Father, Jonah teaches me an important lesson, in his anger his prayer was a conversation with You, he did not start praying by chanting the psalms or other prayers. This is how I wish my prayers to You to be. Amen. Even though he was feeling angry he still admitted that You are kind gracious and slow to anger he did not place the blame on You, even though he tried to explain his reasons.
³ And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 3)
Oh God my Father, on feeling the shadow of death near, or on making a direct experience of death or a similar situation, on sensing that there is no way out, we may start accepting this as an undeniable reality that we have to die, so much that we pray for it, however, our natural self, may hinder us from letting go, if we are strongly attached to the ways of the world. Amen. I pray that I am always ready to let go and renounce the world and its ways for You Amen.
⁴ And the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 4)
Oh God, my Father, I do not feel angry but sad, so sad that I feel like giving up on everything and even on my life. Even though I am on medication I am still feeling down. I am placing what is left of my hope in You please take control. Amen.
⁵ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 5)
Oh God, how good it is to take a time out of the situation when we feel that we are becoming angry, in order to calm down and reflect on the situation and even vent out my feelings in prayer or even in talking out the issues with You my God and Father.
⁶ The LORD God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from the discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 6)
Oh God, my Father, I am also like the grumbling Jonah. In my circumstances You provide me according to my needs, I appreciate, however, I do not always thank You for Your providence, my attitude is simply that of being happy, which is not the right attitude at all because even eating a hamburger can make me happy, but my happiness is to be sustained by praise, worship and most of all thanksgiving. Amen.
⁷ But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush so that it withered.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 7)
Oh God, my Father even though Jonah was happy with the bush and the shelter it gave him, he did not give thanks to You for having taken care of his well being and therefore the bush was taken away from him. Oh God, I pray that You give me an attitude of appreciation and thanksgiving even during moments of stress and anger Amen. Please help me to calm down and reflect on the situation and give thanks instead of jumping to hasty conclusions Amen.
⁸ When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to die than to live."
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 8)
Oh God, my beloved Father, even though Jonah was aware that You were with him, he still complained and grumbled instead of giving thanks for all the positive things that You had helped him in such as in bringing to him to Nineveh and not letting him perish at sea. I pray that I be protected from falling into such a trap. I humbly admit that like Jonah in my worst times I preferred to die than to live, however, You, my God and Father always cared for me and showed me how much You love me Amen.
⁹ But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes angry enough to die."
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 9)
Many times oh God my beloved Father, we are mad at You for taking something, or somebody, or a positive situation such as work or marriage, without ever thanking You for giving them to us in the first place. Therefore oh God my Father, I am to learn how to give thanks to You in every situation instead of becoming angry when things do not go my way and behave as an adult instead of letting the child in me have his way Amen.
¹⁰ "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 10)
Oh God You are telling me the same thing about my daughter, You are telling me that I am angry about not having access to my daughter, a creature that You gave me and that You have the right to take away from me and that is not a possession but an individual person with rights and wishes that cannot be denied Amen.
¹¹ And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 11)
Oh God my beloved Father, as humans at times we are selfish and tend to consider only our own ways, however, You see the big picture and consider all our ways and needs. I thank You for also including me in such a wide selection Amen.
Oh God my beloved Father, I would like to end this fourth and final chapter of the book of Jonah with the following prayer.
Oh God my beloved Father, I pray that as in the case of Jonah we learn how to obey Your ways instead of sticking to our ways. Moreover, I also pray that we be grateful for all the works that You perform in our lives, and most of all to accept and be always aware that You are our sole provider and that as You give You also have the right to take away Amen.
In order to move on to the next book that of the Prophet Micah please click on the following link:
The Book of the Prophet Micah
² He prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning: for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 2)
Oh God my Father, Jonah teaches me an important lesson, in his anger his prayer was a conversation with You, he did not start praying by chanting the psalms or other prayers. This is how I wish my prayers to You to be. Amen. Even though he was feeling angry he still admitted that You are kind gracious and slow to anger he did not place the blame on You, even though he tried to explain his reasons.
³ And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 3)
Oh God my Father, on feeling the shadow of death near, or on making a direct experience of death or a similar situation, on sensing that there is no way out, we may start accepting this as an undeniable reality that we have to die, so much that we pray for it, however, our natural self, may hinder us from letting go, if we are strongly attached to the ways of the world. Amen. I pray that I am always ready to let go and renounce the world and its ways for You Amen.
⁴ And the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 4)
Oh God, my Father, I do not feel angry but sad, so sad that I feel like giving up on everything and even on my life. Even though I am on medication I am still feeling down. I am placing what is left of my hope in You please take control. Amen.
⁵ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 5)
Oh God, how good it is to take a time out of the situation when we feel that we are becoming angry, in order to calm down and reflect on the situation and even vent out my feelings in prayer or even in talking out the issues with You my God and Father.
⁶ The LORD God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from the discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 6)
Oh God, my Father, I am also like the grumbling Jonah. In my circumstances You provide me according to my needs, I appreciate, however, I do not always thank You for Your providence, my attitude is simply that of being happy, which is not the right attitude at all because even eating a hamburger can make me happy, but my happiness is to be sustained by praise, worship and most of all thanksgiving. Amen.
⁷ But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush so that it withered.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 7)
Oh God, my Father even though Jonah was happy with the bush and the shelter it gave him, he did not give thanks to You for having taken care of his well being and therefore the bush was taken away from him. Oh God, I pray that You give me an attitude of appreciation and thanksgiving even during moments of stress and anger Amen. Please help me to calm down and reflect on the situation and give thanks instead of jumping to hasty conclusions Amen.
⁸ When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to die than to live."
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 8)
Oh God, my beloved Father, even though Jonah was aware that You were with him, he still complained and grumbled instead of giving thanks for all the positive things that You had helped him in such as in bringing to him to Nineveh and not letting him perish at sea. I pray that I be protected from falling into such a trap. I humbly admit that like Jonah in my worst times I preferred to die than to live, however, You, my God and Father always cared for me and showed me how much You love me Amen.
⁹ But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes angry enough to die."
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 9)
Many times oh God my beloved Father, we are mad at You for taking something, or somebody, or a positive situation such as work or marriage, without ever thanking You for giving them to us in the first place. Therefore oh God my Father, I am to learn how to give thanks to You in every situation instead of becoming angry when things do not go my way and behave as an adult instead of letting the child in me have his way Amen.
¹⁰ "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night.
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 10)
Oh God You are telling me the same thing about my daughter, You are telling me that I am angry about not having access to my daughter, a creature that You gave me and that You have the right to take away from me and that is not a possession but an individual person with rights and wishes that cannot be denied Amen.
¹¹ And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"
(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 11)
Oh God my beloved Father, as humans at times we are selfish and tend to consider only our own ways, however, You see the big picture and consider all our ways and needs. I thank You for also including me in such a wide selection Amen.
Oh God my beloved Father, I would like to end this fourth and final chapter of the book of Jonah with the following prayer.
Oh God my beloved Father, I pray that as in the case of Jonah we learn how to obey Your ways instead of sticking to our ways. Moreover, I also pray that we be grateful for all the works that You perform in our lives, and most of all to accept and be always aware that You are our sole provider and that as You give You also have the right to take away Amen.
In order to move on to the next book that of the Prophet Micah please click on the following link:
The Book of the Prophet Micah
