Jonah 3:5-9 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶ Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. ⁸ But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

Over the years I have had people come to me asking how they can get God to answer their prayers. Now mind you, they are not praying to win the lottery, have a bigger house, or nice car. No, they are praying for things that God really does want to respond to. But there’s a process. Typically I ask them, How bad do you want your prayer to be answered? After hearing their reply I have them read the following passage: Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”²⁵ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” ²⁶ Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.²⁸ And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”²⁹ So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:23-29)

The Disciples asked Jesus why they didn’t have the power or authority to cast the demon out? His answer implied that there was a price to “pay” for that kind of power and authority. What was the price? Prayer and fasting. Some scholars say that Jesus’ statement is even more profound than this. They teach that the implications behind what Jesus is saying refers to a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. From this account we could also surmise that an additional ingredient needed for prayer to be answered is a faith that moves you. It can be a faith that moves you to tears, or some action. But action is involved.

Paradoxically the pagans of Nineveh had more faith than the prophet of God. They took action. How can it be that the pagans had more faith than Jonah? It’s not like he lacked examples from the Old Testament. His ancestor Abraham heard of God’s plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and lost no time in praying and pleading for God to spare the lives of the people. Not Jonah. In Jonah 4 he builds a shelter in the shade to watch and see if God would destroy the people of Nineveh. He doesn’t intercede. He doesn’t ask God for mercy. He watches, waits, and longs for their destruction.

For those seeking God through this time on god’s Calendar called Elul or faith moves us to reconnect to God. To draw near to Him through repentance. We have been confessing our sins, and repenting. But the question remains: Do the pagans, lost people, witches, satanists, new agers, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Jews, Buddhist, or Hindus – have more faith than you? Is there more demonstrable action regarding their faith in comparison to yours? Has your faith moved you to pray with tears like the father with the demonized son, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Romans 10:17 states Faith comes by hearing. Do you need to repent of having your ears closed to the Word of the Lord?