It isn't uncommon that my face to fails to make the appropriate expression as I perceive the world around me. My response to this song was no different. At first I laughed in amusement, then dropped my jaw in surprise, then I grimaced with disdain, and then I laughed with disbelief... and I still don't know whether I find the lyrics to this song funny or disheartening or a bit of both.

"I’m really glad I found my way to church
‘Cause I’m already feelin’ better and I thank God for the words
Yeah I’m goin’to take the high road
And do what the preacher told me to do
You keep messin’ up and I’ll keep prayin’ for you"

And then proceeds to pray for judgement and punishment... I realize that this song is written with some jest and I am not offended by music on the radio.... but the lyrics did make me think because this is sad, but true. How many people convince themselves that they are taking the high road through prayer, when really they are justifying the bitterness and pride in their own hearts through a religious practice?

How often do we pray for God's wrath rather than His love and mercy? Do we pray for our enemies to experience hell or to find the redemption of salvation? Jesus prayed for His enemies to be forgiven, and Paul reminded us to do good to those who harm us because we are "little Christs". Quoting Proverbs, Romans 12:20 reads:

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; 

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Neither suggested that we desire that actual burning coals be heaped on their heads.  It's interesting that Jesus' outline of how to pray in the Lord's prayer is to pray that debts would be forgiven, that temptations would be lifted, and that things would be as they are in heaven (not as they are in God's wrath and the tortures of hell). And, here Paul reminds us that we are supposed to play an active role in bringing a little bit of God's goodness to this world. Through prayer and deed, we are supposed to reflect God's love and mercy. And, it is the very absence of those attributes that comprise God's wrath and judgement; if God wasn't loving and merciful, He couldn't be jealous and just. People either forget that love and service toward those less than likable people in our lives could transform them into our friends, or forget that it is their love and service that may lead people to repentance by showing them the Godly sorrow of true conviction by means of selfless kindness. Either way, the prayer is for reconciliation and redemption, not for destruction.

Jesus begged for those who were persecuting Him, while Jonah wished that people he despised would remain unrepentant and see God's wrath to its fullest extent. Who will we model our prayers after? When we pray for wars and conflicts, do we pray that men like Joseph Kony would repent from his sins or burn in hell for all the children he has corrupted? When we pray for thieves and murders, do we pray that they will experience true liberation or be locked in an eternal prison away from God's presence? When we pray for prostitutes and drug dealers, do we pray that they would enter our services and our homes and become our friends, or do we pray that they would flee from our cities?

Are will praying God's will over the world around us or our idea of what God's will should be? The distinction between obeying the preacher and obeying the High Priest may appear slight, but it really makes all the difference. It is the distinction between praying like Jesus and praying like Jonah.

As C.H. Spurgeon once wisely suggested: "Prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Spirit can teach us. Pray for prayer.  Pray until you can really pray." The Holy Spirit, the spirit that rose Christ from the grave, lives within us and can teach us to pray like Jesus prayed. Instead of Jonah like prayers where I give God suggestions of how to fix this broken world, I pray that Spirit will continue to teach me to pray like Christ, to pray that the Father's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven and that my life could play a little role in actively showing the world His goodness.

And, I'll continue to pray the same for you...