Parachute Prayer

When I think of a “parachute prayer”, I’m thinking of a desperate last minutes “hail Mary” sort of prayer. It is a prayer offered out of desperation, not out of a relationship with the ONE Who can answer it.

The Lord had had enough of Judah and her fake faith. The people of Judah were full  of wickedness and it was obvious through their behavior. They were living lives of rebellion and openly doing wicked and detestable things that God hates.  God told Jeremiah that He was through and they would be punished for their wicked behavior. This is their “parachute prayer” – check this out….

 19 Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?


    Do you hate Jerusalem?
Why have you hurt us so badly


    that we cannot be made well again?
We hoped for peace,


    but nothing good has come.
We looked for a time of healing,


    but only terror came.

20 Lord, we admit that we are wicked


    and that our ancestors did evil things.


    We have sinned against you.

21 For your sake, do not hate us.


    Do not take away the honor from your glorious throne.


Remember your agreement with us,


    and do not break it.

22 Do foreign idols have the power to bring rain?


    Does the sky itself have the power to send down showers?


No, it is you, Lord our God.


    You are our only hope,


    because you are the one who made all these things. (Jeremiah 14:19-22 NCV)

I am guilty of praying a parachute prayer. I have been that desperate. I’m learning that the Lord loves to have a relationship with me that is not desperate, but consistent and real. He doesn’t like fake or shallow Christians. I can fool others, but I can’t fool Him.

When I have a close, Father/son relationship with Him; my prayers are not desperate, they are daily conversations.  I want to understand the heart of God and walk with Him daily so that I can heed His warnings about sin and corruption in my heart. I can let Him help me with discernment about the heart of others. At the end of the day, I’m not sure how effective a “parachute prayer” is when there is no relationship behind it.

Pressing On!

Dwayne