“Then Jonah prayed… out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heardest my voice” (Jonah 2:1,2).
Here we find Jonah praying for the first time. Before deciding to sail to Tarshish he didn’t pray – though sailing, in those days, was a matter of life and death. When the ship was struck by a “”mighty tempest”" and all the heathen mariners were crying to their gods, their worshipper of Jehovah did not pray; nay, it did not even wake him out of his deep sleep!
Then the mariners began casting lots to catch the culprit. Jonah knew he would be caught and would face terrible consequences. But even this did not move his hardened heart to pray. As expected, “”the lot fell upon Jonah”" and he was caught. Jonah’s heart was harder than rock – he still did not seek God’s face for deliverance.
It seems, despite all this, the Lord, in His mercy, was determined to bring him back to his prayer life that was long lost in his self-will. Jonah was then bound, and was about to be thrown into the raging sea to face a horrible death. But alas, Jonah seemed determined not to pray! This stubborn saint was finally thrown into the sea. Now that all he could expect was a watery grave, did he pray? No, he still did not pray! How stubborn! Even the worst person would have prayed in such a hopeless state!
However, our God did not give up on Jonah – in His effort to make him pray. The Lord prepared a large fish to swallow Jonah. In the belly of the fish, it appears, poor Jonah thought he was already in hell. “”Out of the belly of hell cried I.”" Now he cries and prays!
” Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear -
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer! “
Dear reader, how is your prayer life? If you don’t come back to your first prayer life, God may have to bring you to a hell-like situation, to teach you to cry and pray! Selah.”
Then the mariners began casting lots to catch the culprit. Jonah knew he would be caught and would face terrible consequences. But even this did not move his hardened heart to pray. As expected, “”the lot fell upon Jonah”" and he was caught. Jonah’s heart was harder than rock – he still did not seek God’s face for deliverance.
It seems, despite all this, the Lord, in His mercy, was determined to bring him back to his prayer life that was long lost in his self-will. Jonah was then bound, and was about to be thrown into the raging sea to face a horrible death. But alas, Jonah seemed determined not to pray! This stubborn saint was finally thrown into the sea. Now that all he could expect was a watery grave, did he pray? No, he still did not pray! How stubborn! Even the worst person would have prayed in such a hopeless state!
However, our God did not give up on Jonah – in His effort to make him pray. The Lord prepared a large fish to swallow Jonah. In the belly of the fish, it appears, poor Jonah thought he was already in hell. “”Out of the belly of hell cried I.”" Now he cries and prays!
” Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear -
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer! “
Dear reader, how is your prayer life? If you don’t come back to your first prayer life, God may have to bring you to a hell-like situation, to teach you to cry and pray! Selah.”
– Taken from Morning Manna – Thoughts for Daily Devotion
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