Right at the centre of this reluctant prophet’s story, hidden in the darkness of a fish’s belly, we find one of the most beautiful prayers in all of Scripture.

Passage: Jonah 2:1-9

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.

For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your breakers and your waves
passed over me.

Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’

The waters closed in over me to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head.

To the roots of the mountains I went down,
to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.
Yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.

When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.

Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their hope of steadfast love.

But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

 

Two observations

a/ The fish is never called judgment. It is called God’s provision.

b/ Jonah never actually asks to get out.

1. Fill your heart before you need it
2. Gratitude changes the atmosphere before circumstances change
3. Salvation belongs to the Lord

One final observation:  Throughout the entire prayer… the fish never changes. Jonah does.