Foolish Prayers vs. True Prayers

I have had The Minor Prophets by James Boice for quite some time now . It is a shame that it is a 537-page paperback -- it is getting frayed .

In his comments on Jonah , he has some words regarding Jonah's prayer in 2:1-9 . Boice cites four characteristics of all true prayer . I will just go into part of his first principle .

The first is honesty . The prayer is starkly honest . So often Christians are dishonest in their prayers . They come to the Lord trying to overlook some circumstance that He has caused , ignore some sin that He has highlighted , or obtain some request that He has already clearly rejected .
What we do may be illustrated by a story freqently told by Donald Grey Barnhuse . On one occasion his daughter had come to him with a request that he had denied . " Well , then , what do you want me to do ? " She asked . He told her what he wanted and then went on with his work . She remained standing in front of him .
At length Mrs. Barnhouse called to the daughter from another room . " Where are you ? What are you doing ? " she asked .
The daughter replied , " I am waiting for Daddy to tell me what he wants me to do . "
At this point Barnhouse raised his head and said to her , " Whatever you are doing , you are not waiting to find out what I want you to do . I have have told you what I want you to do , but you do not like it . You are actually waiting to see if you can get me to change my mind . "
Any perceptive Christian can see himself in that story , for many of our prayers are attempts to get God to let us do something He has already clearly forbidden . If we go on to reject His will and thus reap the fruits of our disobedience , we frequently try to explain away the results .
Christians ought to be the greatest realists in the world . But they are not , especially when they are disobeying God or running away from Him . Instead of being honest about their trouble , as Jonah was , they find themselves trying to explain their miseries away ...