A Prayer From The Deep Series

Some of us need to hear this today. Even if your chains are of your own making, God is still reaching out to you. Even if your storm is a judgment from God because of your disobedience, He still wants to rescue you no matter how far you run or how low you sink.

Remember, the fish wasn’t punishment it was mercy!

You can cry out and repent and He will hear and answer.

There’s a story about a man who fell in a pit:

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A Counselor walked by and said, “I feel your pain. Pits are not good places to be.”

- A politician walked by and promised to put together a committee to study the problem of pits.

- A Pharisee walked by and said to himself, “Only bad people fall in pits.”

- A Newspaper reporter walked by and asked the man for an exclusive story about life in the pit.

- A TV evangelist walked by and yell down that the man was still in the pit because he had spoken words of faith that would remove the pit.

- Jesus walked by, stopped, and reaching down and pulled the man up and gave him a hug.

2. God answers our cries of distress, and delivers us from impossible situations.

The troubles in this life aren’t spread out evenly. They seem to come in waves. Just when we think we can stand, we get knocked down by another wave.

You’ve heard people say that God will never give you more than you can handle. That’s is just not true. He will definitely give us more than we can handle in order to shake us to the core of what we believe and give us an opportunity to trust Him.

Jonah was absolutely helpless to save himself. There seemed to be no hope at all. He could have never imagined how God would rescue him but he knew it was possible.

Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego would not bow down to the idol that Nebekenezer made:

“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18)

God is the God of the impossible. When you are overwhelmed and think there is no way out, cry out to God using Jeremiah’s words:

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

3. God answers our cries of distress, and delivers us just in time.

As Jonah was sinking and losing consciousness, it looked like all was lost. When he regained consciousness, he realized he was still alive and was in the belly of a fish.

The fish swallowed him right before he was going to drown. Sometimes God works in stages. It was the first step toward getting Jonah back on dry land.

God is never late but He is rarely early!

If you remember from our study of Habakkuk, he started the book with the cry, “How long?”

“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen. Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2)