“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.”
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly
Now we come to the deliverance of Jonah from the fish’s belly. The experience in the belly of this great fish made a prayer warrior out of Jonah. God put Jonah’s back against the wall before he felt the need to pray. Before he preached to others, he needed to pray. Jonah learned to pray in a different place.
The sailors prayed in 1:6 when Jonah did not pray. It took a harrowing experience to bring Jonah to the point of prayer.
PRINCIPLE:
God uses adversity in our lives to bring us to the point of prayer.
APPLICATION:
Misfortune makes prayer warriors out of us. God allows adversity to come into our lives so that we will trust Him more. Some of us do not pray until there is an emergency – until someone we love is dying, sick, or sued. God has to put our back against the wall before we pray. Before God uses us, we need to pray. He drives us to our knees before He employs us in His service. We must bathe our concern in prayer.
Urgent prayer does not require long-windedness. When Peter walked on water, he did not pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven… blub, blub, blub.” If he had prayed that way, he would have drowned. “Now I lay me down to sleep, blub, blub.” All he said was, “Save me.” All we need to do is send up an urgent prayer, and the Lord hears us.
Instead of fading under pressure, we call on God’s grace.
He 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
