20 The Deep Prayer Series

Jonah 2:1-9 - Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice. 3 For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God. 7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. 8 “Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.”

“Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly.”

It’s very interesting that the text says, “Then Jonah prayed…” This gives us an impression that after spending three days and three nights in the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord. One can’t imagine all that Jonah went through during those three days and three nights, alone and in a very strange place. Not only was Jonah conscious physically and mentally, but he was also conscious of the fact that he had been swallowed whole by a big fish. What an eventful few hours Jonah has just had with the tempest, and it then gets even more eventful with a once-in-the-history-of-the-world-incident. Through it all, Jonah seemed quite adamant and rebellious in spirit it appears. Was he hoping he’d get digested and the ordeal with God would be over once and for all? It’s obvious he could not sit, stand, or lie restful while in the belly of the fish, but he remained obstinate for three days and three nights nonetheless.

Then he begins praying to the Lord, from the most amazing of all prayer rooms ever. It’s at a dark constantly changing location and depth, where he’s surrounded by stomach juices and weeds, reaching depths of the earth that no human would ever have been to, which he refers to as the moorings of the mountains. This prayer room is a living submarine as it were, with no windows through which to peek outside though.

“And he said: “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.”

We now get a glimpse of the prayer that Jonah prayed to the Lord. The first thing he says is that he cried out to the Lord because of his affliction. Isn’t that one of the most common reasons why we cry out to the Lord today as well? When things go well, most of us forget about God and live our lives as if we didn’t need Him at all, but when troubles come our way, and after we’ve made futile attempts at rescuing ourselves, we then turn to God for help.

The next thing we hear from Jonah is the fact that when He cried out to the Lord out of his affliction, the Lord answered him. What an assurance we have even today, knowing that when we cry out to the Lord, He answers us and doesn’t keep us guessing or waiting indefinitely for an answer. He says to the Lord, “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.” The Hebrews believed that Sheol was the place the dead go to and he refers to himself as being in Sheol, which means he saw himself as good as dead and must have been wondering what he was doing staying alive. When he cried out to the Lord from a place as good as dead, the Lord heard his voice – what a comforting thought to some of us who might be going through situations right now where we feel we’re as good as dead – the Lord is able to hear us, if only we are willing to cry out to Him.

Even as The Church at large, we could be feeling the same way at present – like we are in a dark place, restless, not knowing what to do with this never disappearing global pandemic. Some people have even come to the point of frustration and desperation and have even lost the will to live. But even in those times, the Lord is able to hear us, if we are willing to cry out to Him.