Jonah Prays from the Fish

From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. It was a prayer born of desperation and yet filled with faith—a song of deliverance sung even before deliverance came.

'In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry.'

Jonah described his descent: cast into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, with currents swirling about him and all God's waves sweeping over him. He thought he had been banished from God's sight, yet even then he hoped to look again upon the Lord's holy temple.

The waters had engulfed him to the point of death. Seaweed was wrapped around his head. He sank to the roots of the mountains—the very foundations of the earth. Yet the Lord brought his life up from the pit.

'When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, Lord, and my prayer rose to You, to Your holy temple.'

Jonah contrasted his faith with the idolatry of others: 'Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them.' But he would not make that mistake again. 'But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to You. What I have vowed I will make good.'

Then came the declaration of faith that summarized everything: 'Salvation comes from the Lord.'

Not from running away. Not from self-determination. Not from refusing God's call. Salvation—deliverance, rescue, redemption—belongs to the Lord alone. Jonah had learned this truth in the most unlikely of classrooms: the belly of a great fish in the depths of the sea.

The Lord heard Jonah's prayer. He spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. The prophet emerged, given a second chance to obey, covered in God's mercy despite his rebellion. God's compassion extended even to a disobedient prophet who would rather die than see his enemies saved.