Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
A Belly Prayer
The Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the world of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.” Jonah 1:17–2:1-3
Advertisement
Have you ever prayed a prayer from an emergency room? Have you cried out from a broken relationship or a business failure? If so, you might identify with Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish. Instead of obeying God and warning the people of Ninevah of impending destruction, Jonah had tried to run from the Lord. But God was with Jonah when the crew threw him overboard. He was with Jonah in the belly of the fish he had prepared to swallow him. He was with him in his trouble and that trouble awakened Jonah to repentance and his need of God.
Beneath the waves he lost all hope. But when he cried out in desperation and despair, God heard him and rescued him. There is no place where the Lord cannot hear and respond to us—no pit too deep, no trouble too terrible, no situation too difficult for God. When we cry out to him from whatever “belly” we find ourselves in, he will answer.
Prayers:
LORD, how I thank you that in the deepest trouble when I cry out to you, you hear and answer me just as you did Jonah. I am glad that there is no place so dark or situation so hopeless that you cannot bring deliverance. I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, for my salvation comes from you alone!
Quotes:
Prayer was the mighty force that brought Jonah from “the belly of hell.” Prayer, mighty prayer, secured the end. Prayer brought God to the rescue of unfaithful Jonah, despite his sin of fleeing from duty. God could not deny his prayer. Nothing is beyond the reach of prayer because no prayer is too hard for God to answer.
E. M. Bounds (1835–1913)
The One Year Bible Readings for today are: Jonah 1:1–4:11; Revelation 5:1-14; Psalm 133:1-3 and Proverbs 29:26-27.
Comments are closed.