Yesterday we continued our sermon series in the book of Jonah. Chapter two records Jonah's prayer from inside "the belly of the fish," (Jonah 2:1). Of all the times Jonah could have prayed, it wasn't until he was thrown overboard and swallowed by the fish that he "prayed to the Lord his God". He could have prayed when the Lord SPOKE to him or he certainly could have prayed in the midst of the STORM; but he didn't. He also failed to pray when the SAILORS asked him to. Being tossed into the SEA would have been a good time to pray. None of these events served to rouse him to pray. But when he was swallowed by the fish he "called out to the Lord, out of my distress," (Jonah 2:2). Distressing times can be a call to prayer. Jonah teaches us that we can pray to God anytime and anywhere!
Are you in a distressing situation? Do your problems seem to engulf you? Do you feel as if your trials and troubles are about to pull you under? Then...PRAY!
Like Jonah you too can pray to the God who is SOVEREIGN. He controls the wind, the waves and the great fish. He is control of the circumstances you are in at this moment and He is the one you can call out to and He will hear your voice (Jonah 2:2). He is also the STRONG one. He can do far more than you can ask or think. Above all else He is the SAVING one. I sense a confident assurance in the voice of Jonah as he declares, "Salvation belongs to the Lord!" (Jonah 2:9). Salvation still belongs to the Lord and He alone can save you if you will but call out to Him.
We also learn from Jonah, as we consider "how" he prayed. First, his prayer was BIBLICAL. Look at the many quotes from the Psalms in Jonah 2. His prayer was filled with God's Word. We would be wise to do the same when we pray. I also believe his prayer was very PERSONAL. He called out to "the Lord his God" and Scripture records "he answered me". You get the idea that God and Jonah knew each other. How well do you know the God to whom you pray? Thankfully we can and should know Him well. HOPEFUL is another word that describes how Jonah prayed. He had the confident assurance that God heard him and that he would "again look upon your holy temple" (Jonah 2:4). Being hopeful is not a "cross your fingers" and hope this works out attitude. No, it is a calm and confident assurance in the power, ability and might of God to hear and respond to our prayers. Finally, we sense that even in the belly of the fish Jonah was GRATEFUL. He said "But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;" It is as if Jonah was thanking God for the deliverance even before the deliverance came. That is praying in faith and trusting God to accomplish His will for His glory and our good.
Take a few minutes today to thoughtfully read over Jonah chapter two. As you do, you too will discover that no matter how deep you are or how distant you may feel from God that gap can be bridged by a simple prayer. It is true you can pray Anytime, Anywhere and about Anything. And you don't have to be in the belly of a big fish to learn that. You can learn from Jonah.
May we with Jonah declare "I called out to the Lord...and he answered me;"
Pastor Mike
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