“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” (Jonah 2:1-2 NLT).
Jonah chapter two records the prayer of God’s runaway prophet. Jonah’s prayer took place from inside the belly of a great fish, which God had sent to rescue him from drowning. When he was convinced of his imminent death and felt his life slipping away, he finally remembered the Lord.
Not many have found themselves in the belly of a fish, but most can relate to Jonah’s predicament. He had tried to run away from God’s calling in his life, but instead found himself sinking deeper and deeper into discouragement and trouble. Running from God, he went down to Joppa, then down to the lower decks of a ship headed West, then he had himself thrown overboard to sink down into the Mediterranean’s depths, and finally down into a fish’s belly. Down, down, down Jonah went before he finally looked up. When he cried out in prayer from the belly of the fish, the Lord answered him and set him back on shore to obey his calling to preach to Nineveh.
How far down do you have to go before looking up?
PRAYER: Dear Father, forgive us for trying to run away from Your calling for our lives. We all have our reasons for running away, but You never give up on us. You pursue us. Help us to live for You today in everything we do. In Jesus’ name, amen.