"Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly, 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.'" Jonah 2:1-2 Jonah had really blown it this time. And he knew it. After all, he was in the belly of a stinky fish. First of all, try to imagine how terrifying that must have been to be swallowed by a fish alive. Second, try to imagine the smell. For three days. Poor Jonah would have been in desperate need of a shower by the time he showed up on dry land again. I wonder on what day Jonah prayed his prayer in chapter two. I wonder if he pouted in that fish's belly for a little bit and maybe even felt angry at God before finally going to Him in prayer. I wonder if he was scared and begged God for mercy right away. And so here he is. Possibly in the darkest moment of his life. Alone. Stinky. Frightened. Hungry. Maybe wondering if God was even listening to him anymore. After all, he had turned his back on God and got himself in this situation to begin with. But even so, he opens his mouth and he prays. And the Lord heard his voice. Because the truth is that even when we sin and turn our backs on God, He doesn't turn His back on us. We've all had our moments where we've played "Jonah." Trying to run from what God called us to. Getting ourselves in even more trouble by disobeying direct commands from our Heavenly Father. Getting into stinky situations that there is no way we can get out of on our own. And in our darkest moments of sin, where we feel like we're stuck in the stomach of a giant fish, the Lord hears our prayers. If there is anything this beautiful prayer in the book of Jonah teaches us it is just that: God hears your prayers. No matter where you are when you are praying them. No matter what you've done. No matter how far you've tried to run from God. Jonah was in the bottom of the ocean in the belly of a fish. You can't get much darker and lower than that. There weren't lights in the belly of the fish like in VeggieTales Jonah. You may not be in the belly of a fish in the ocean, but your situation may feel really dark and lonely. Maybe you tried to do things your own way and ended up messing things up really bad. Go to God. Pray to Him. He hears your every word. And the beautiful thing is that while it may seem dark in the belly of the fish, He's using the darkness to prepare you for what's coming next. For God doesn't let anything go to waste--not even our mistakes. Oh, and the best part? God is the God of second chances. But we'll talk about that more next week. For now, just let yourself be caught up in the mercy of God as you pray to Him and know that He hears every word you speak. <3 What did you learn from chapter two of Jonah? Can you remember a time in your life where God reminded you that He hears every prayer you pray? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
8 Comments
Grace F.
3/1/2018 11:12:08 am
I think it's great how you mentioned that there weren't any lights in the fish's belly, unlike in the VeggieTales Jonah xD I've thought a lot about how scary, gross, and stinky it must've been, but in all honesty, I haven't thought much about how dark it would have been! I probably would have passed out from fear.
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Bella Morganthal
3/5/2018 11:28:09 pm
Literally same, Grace! Thanks for reading :)
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Jeanette
3/1/2018 11:47:09 pm
"If there is anything this beautiful prayer in the book of Jonah teaches us it is just that: God hears your prayers. No matter where you are when you are praying them. No matter what you've done. No matter how far you've tried to run from God." - That's grace! And, yes, Jonah shows how we can never outrun it or use it up. Thank you, Bella, for this beautiful reminder of God's mercy and a (much needed) glimpse into His character of love <3
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Bella Morganthal
3/5/2018 11:28:43 pm
Thank you so much for reading and encouraging me, Nettie! <3
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3/3/2018 06:00:18 pm
I loved this, Bella! You are so right, God always hears our prayers - always. It reminds me of how so many times in the Old Testament we read about the Israelite's abandoning God and every time God said that if they would turn to Him He would help them - and they did, so many times they turned from Him, and then when they turned back God was waiting to help them! I love prayer, it is so special to me and it means so much because I know it is so powerful and that it changes lives!
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Bella Morganthal
3/5/2018 11:29:33 pm
Amen! So true! Love those examples too <3 Thank you so much for sharing friend!
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Anna
3/5/2018 06:21:58 pm
This was such a wonderful reminder of how prayer is just so important! And it's so good to know that God is always ready to listen to our prayers, ready to comfort us in any time! Thank you for doing this Bible study! I have really enjoyed reading this!!
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Bella Morganthal
3/5/2018 11:30:05 pm
Thank you so much, Anna! Amen <3
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