The prayer of Jonah from the belly of the great fish demonstrates that even in extreme distress, one can offer a prayer of thanksgiving, contrition, and rededication to God. The sermon highlights that Jonah's preservation was a divine miracle, confirmed by Jesus Christ, and that his prayer, found in Jonah chapter 2, was not a cry for deliverance but an expression of confident faith. The core lesson is that God's love and faithfulness remain constant, even during chastening, and that believers can always call upon Him in trouble, assured of His answer. For the unsaved, the sermon concludes by urging them to pray for mercy and salvation through Jesus Christ.
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Beloved radio friends, we greet you in the ever-precious and the worthy name of our beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus. Today we would like to consider and study, in detail, the prayer of the prophet Jonah from the second chapter of his book, a prayer that he made when he was in the belly of the great fish. He was imprisoned under the chastening hand of God for three days and three nights. First we must acknowledge that Jonas' preservation while in the fish was a divine miracle, contrary to what the modern critics and skeptics may claim in ridicule as being an impossibility.
The strongest claim to it to be this miracle, we base upon the immutable and the faithful words of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. When the Lord Jesus was upon the earth, he confirmed this miracle, as it is well recorded in Matthew chapter twelve. We read the fortieth verse. The Lord Jesus saying, For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now whatever other evidence may be produced, that's the truth about Jonah the prophet, and there are other evidences, the words of Christ coming from its sinless lips assures every believer that the story of Jonah was a living experience.
But now let us return and consider the prayer of Jonah, as we find it in chapter two from verses two through verse nine. Now note the following points about his prayer. from the inside of the great fish. It was not a cry for deliverance, for Jonah must have known that he was being delivered. Had not God miraculously saved him from perishing in the depths of the stormy sea, and though finding himself in what probably was the first submarine ride in human history, nevertheless he was conscious of his surroundings sufficiently to call upon God in a most intelligent manner, using words that contain thanksgiving and contrition as well as repentance, and also words of rededicating himself to the work of God.
Now, if you ever see Jonah, and I hope you do, my friend, in eternity, you'll be sure and ask him if he realized in a very special way The wonderful love and the wonderful care of God while he was inside that fish. I fully believe that when the redeemed and the glorified saints in the new creation of eternal fellowship, one with another, will listen to the personal testimonies of God's wonderful love and care, Jonah will have something to say about that. And a story that will differ from many of us, if not all of us, in connection with his unique experience.
But let me divide the prayer into three sections and consider them separately with you. The first section, from verses two through six, consists of thanksgiving, the second, verses seven and eight, of contrition, and the third section, which is verse nine, the closing of his prayer, of rededication or consecration. We now read verses two through six. Jonah declares, I cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me out of the belly of hell, cried I, and thou hearest my voice.
For thou didst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas, and the floods compassed me about, and all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then said I, I am cast out of thy sight. Yet will I look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul. The depth closed me round about. The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth with her bars was about me forever. Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption Oh, Lord, my God.
We again repeat, His prayer was one of praise for a deliverance already assured. For the word prayer does not necessarily imply petition or supplication. It can also refer to thanksgiving and praise as well. It has been suggested that throughout the prayer, Jonah wavers between despair and faith, which leads them to hope in God's sure deliverance. But on the contrary, instead of wavering, the entire prayer breathes the atmosphere of confident deliverance, in spite of the recital of the gloomy circumstances in which the prophet of God found himself.
First note in verse one of chapter two, that Jonah prayed under the Lord, his God. And in verse six, Jonah calls him, O Lord, my God. Now these expressions, his God, my God, they indicate his personal faith in his God. Yes, it is true he had tried to flee from his God, but he knew positively that God had not forsaken him, and still would be trustworthy. For God never changes.
He would be trustworthy and could be trusted as ever before. My beloved radio listener, and particularly you and I who are believers, how much truth there is in this fact that should give encouragement and strength to you as well as to me in our faith and to every child of God. My fellow believer, may I ask the question, are you, and perhaps am I, permitting difficult, despairing, and gloomy circumstances to overcome us? It may be that we are going through some chastening from our Heavenly Father in experience, but may I state this fact, as in the case of Jonah, The experience of the chastening never changed.
The heart of God, his love, and also his faithfulness. May I repeat that? My fellow believer, may I state, Whom the Lord loveth he chastenedeth, writes the Holy Scripture, and what a joy to realize that, though we may be passing through chastening, the heart of God never changes in his love. and the attitude of God will never change in his faithfulness toward his own. I often wonder how many Psalms in that great book of Psalms that Jonah knew from memory when he was inside the great fish.
For many of the words that he used in his prayer indicate that he was well acquainted with the Holy Scriptures and particularly the book of Psalms. As he called upon his God, I wonder if the words of Psalm chapter fifty and verse fifteen flooded into his heart and mind with divine encouragement. For God said through the psalmist, Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will answer thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Was Jonah in trouble? Indeed he was.
But can God hear his prayer from the inside of the great fish, way down at the bottom of the ocean, and flowing and swimming through the water so deep? Positively, absolutely, God can hear, as well as God is able to answer the prayer of his servant. Though he was down at the ocean bottom, as well as being imprisoned, in the bowels of the great fish. We again answer a resounding emphatic affirmation. Yes, God can and He does here. Can He deliver that man out of His trouble from these extenuating circumstances?
Again the reply has to be in a positive manner. Jonah called upon his God. Jonah said, O Lord, thou art my God. And with all the faith and hope that was within his soul, he prayed. Tis well been stated that man's extremity is God's opportunity. And this is what every child of God should know. It matters not the extreme situation that may be upon us in whatever form, whatever character it may take. My fellow believer, may I say, to you as well as to my known heart, the believer can always be assured that he or she can lift his and her heart and form their petition and minister that petition and speak that petition of words to the heart of God.
Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will answer thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But then I would like to speak a word faithfully to those of you, my friends, who may not be Christians, who are unsaved. My beloved friend, you need God. And my sinner friend, There is a prayer that you can make to God if it comes from your heart, in genuine contrition, in repentance, and in sinful faith you can call upon God. You say, what for? You can call upon God to save you.
In Luke chapter eighteen, a sinner came into the presence of God and prayed this prayer, which every sinner may pray if he or she will. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. That was the prayer of the publican. You can make that your prayer, my beloved unsaved friend. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. And may I suggest adding these words, and save me for Jesus' sake. My beloved, there's one thing God will never do. He'll never save you until you call upon him.
call upon me in the day of trouble. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. And my sinner friend, wherever you are, whatever your condition, please turn in heart with all your need and say, God, be merciful to me, the sinner man, save me. For Jesus' sake, amen. Father, bless thy holy word. To saint and sinner alike, for thy glory, amen.