Episode 103: Jonah 2:8
Dear friends, welcome to Peace Prayers. My name is Juli, the creator and host of the podcast, and I would love to be able to spend some time with you today. Our goal is to take a few moments and dive deep into God’s word before meditating on it ourselves. I’ll read a scripture from the Bible, and then we’ll pray it together over our lives. Invite a friend to listen in and let’s start our day with God’s peace. I am so excited to get started; thank you for joining me today.
You are listening to Episode 103 and today’s verse is Jonah 2:8
“Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”
Let’s pray together.
Today I pray that You search my heart, O God. What is to be found there? Where do my priorities lie? Is it myself, my own pride and need for control? Is it my relationships, my worth to be found in what others think of me? Is it the trappings and dressing of my life, and the security they bring? Is it an image of You I have created, one more suited to my preferences of how I think You should be?
God, I know we all have idols in our lives. Maybe they’re not graven images or physical objects, although they could be. And they’re probably not something we deliberately set aside time for thinking of it as worship. But it is so easy to create them and hold on to them. In the end, they’re all worthless, but what we prioritize is what we worship. What we hold as more valuable than anything else by our time, actions, words, money, and thoughts, that’s what truly is god to us.
I know I am guilty of this. I think I too often elevate others or myself above You. I’m concerned with how this life is for me on a tangible level. I want what I want, what I think I need, what makes me happy on a purely emotional or physical level. What I need is some emotional resilience, knowing that they do not control me. What I need is discipline, knowing that enough is better than more. What I need to realize on a bone-deep level is that my worth comes from You. What I need is for my soul to let go of the reins it grasps with fingers death-gripped tight and relinquish control of my life to You.
In that is freedom. In that is grace. And I want Your grace. I know this is what You have been teaching me. That grace is never earned, but given freely. Grace is abundant and never runs dry. Grace is to be the lens that truth and love pour through. And grace is not just for myself and what I need, but for others and for what they need. Indeed, grace held just to oneself is only a way to distort the essence of this powerful and gracious gift.
So, today, I pray for grace. I pray that I will not forfeit it. I pray I will seek it out and then send it out to everyone I meet. I pray I will never be fearful it will be lost to me. I pray I will not try to earn it, but instead live my life according to your will in gratitude and faith. I pray that nothing and no one will hold Your place on the throne of my heart, including myself. I pray that all distractions and deceptions will be swept away by the power of grace and the sacrifice it represents. May I trust You fully and completely and never try to control or fix anything on my own, but surrender to Your will and Your path.
I praise this in the giving and worthy name of Jesus. Amen.
That is the end of our collective prayer, but don’t forget that you can keep praying and meditating on this on your own. Thank you so much for joining me and I hope you have a peaceful rest of your day. I’d love to ask you a favor before we go and that is to please subscribe and leave a review for the podcast if you haven’t already. That is the best way to invite other people to join us in our prayers and it helps me more than you can know.
And let’s get to know each other better. Follow me over on Instagram at thejulihernandez where you can DM me prayer requests or suggestions on verses you’d like me to pray on the podcast or just let me know what’s going on in your life. Another way to get in touch with what I’m up to is on my website at www.thejulihernandez.com. My website hosts a transcription of each prayer so that you can pray them whenever you like. You’ll also see monthly blog posts that detail my next writing project and I can’t wait to engage with you on that as well. Let’s connect, but for now, Shalom.
