13 September, 1998
INTRODUCTION: You can tell a lot about a person by their attitude toward prayer and the way they pray when the heat is on.
The story is told of a woman on a sinking ocean liner who asked the captain if there anything that could save the ship. "There's nothing left to do but pray," he replied. She exclaimed, "Oh no! Has it come to that?"
And then there is the story of 23 year old Armando Valladares. In the late 1950s, he was thrown into a Cuban prison where he remained for 22 years. Executions were staged each night during his first year in prison. Later, he endured some of the most vile and sadistic tortures imaginable. In his memoirs, Against All Hope, Valladares wrote these words: "I sought God . . . I never asked Him to get me out of there. I didn't think that God should be used for that kind of request. I only asked that He allow me to resist, that He give me the faith and spiritual strength to bear up under those conditions. . . I only prayed for Him to accompany me."
You really can tell a lot about a person by the way they pray in the midst of despair. There are many examples of prayers of desperation recorded for us in the pages of Scriptures - most of which would be found in the Psalms.
The Psalmist David very often found himself in the midst of many trying circumstances - circumstances that moved him to some of the most poignant prayers. His circumstances were often very distressing. But I would go out on a limb to say that maybe his circumstances were not quite as grave as that of the circumstances the Prophet Jonah experienced as he took that ride in the belly of a great fish.
BACKGROUND: Now I know you know the true story of Jonah inside the belly of the great fish. Let's read chapter 1 to give us a backdrop of what brought Jonah to his present circumstances.
Now this would have to be a most distressing situation. And it would be very natural for someone to pray in the midst of these circumstances even though Jonah was there as a result of his own disobedience. And it was in that dark, cold and very wet environment that Jonah uttered the prayer that is recorded in Jonah chapter 2.
It is suggested that the great fish mentioned here was possibly a sperm whale. One commentator notes that "sperm whales have been known to have swallowed unusually large objects including even a 15 foot shark. Others have written that whale sharks have swallowed men who later were found alive in the shark's stomachs." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
Some people like to debate this great fish and whether Jonah was actually swallowed alive. It is pretty clear to me that there is no debate being that Jesus validates Jonah's story in Matthew chapter 12.
But the focus of chapter two is not the fact that Jonah was in the belly of this fish but to me the focus is how he responded to his situation - which can be seen in the prayer that he prayed. And as you read this prayer, it's almost like it is not the same Jonah we read about in chapter 1 where he ran and chapter 4 where he became angry at God.
The prayer that is recorded here was obviously uttered from the belly of the fish but it was written of course after he had been hurled from the fish's stomach. Jonah's prayer, I believe, can show us some things about prayer from the way Jonah did not pray and the way he did pray. When you consider how he did not pray, you can see two major pitfalls in prayer. And when you consider how he did pray, you can see the perspectives we are to have in prayer - especially when it comes to times of distress.
I. PITFALLS IN PRAYER
These pitfalls in prayer can be seen from the vantage point of how Jonah did not pray.
1. Praying with Animosity
It is obvious to me that Jonah did not pray with animosity in his heart. He did not pray like many would in his situation - he did not blame God or curse God. Though he knew that God was very much aware of his situation and even behind his circumstances, Jonah did not put all the blame of God, he did not curse God and he did not harbor a bitterness toward God.
And how about Job? His situation was not much worse than Jonah's and he never once cursed God. Though his wife told him to curse God and die, Job refused. Satan assured God that his servant Job would curse him, but it never happened. Job asked God a lot of hard questions. He expected answers that God never gave him. But he never cursed God. And though Jonah could have easily cursed God and put all the blame on God, I don't see him doing that. Later on in chapter 4 you see another side of Jonah - you can see some of the bitterness and anger that can literally destroy a person, but here it is not a factor. At this point, Jonah prays as we all should - with the absence of bitterness and animosity.
As God's children there are times that we get angry at God. We find ourselves in the midst of circumstances that produces that emotion that needs to be guarded. Anger is a natural emotion. And I personally believe that God can handle us being angry at Him as long as that anger is dealt with in a positive and healthy manner. Paul says in Eph 4:26-27 " 'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Those verses can easily apply to our relationship with God as they do to interpersonal relationships. The problem is when that anger is not dealt with and it turns into bitterness. Bitterness and animosity toward God will eat a person alive. It will drive a person further and further from reaching out to God as Jonah did. We can certainly pray with emotion and with fervency, but I think we need to be careful how we let those emotions turn into a deep seated bitterness and animosity towards God.
2. Having a Sense of Hopelessness
Though Jonah was in distress, and though he had a sense of being banished from the Lord, there was a sense of hope that he clung to. Though he probably realized that his life might be over, there was a hope that aroused him to cry out to the Lord from his watery grave.
Hope is so important as we wait on God to answer our prayers. God's time table is different than ours and you know as well as I that He does not always answer when we want Him to. Hope will keep us from giving into despair as we wait for God to come through. God is certainly faithful and has assured us over and over again that He will not ignore us and will answer our prayers. Hope is that anchor for the soul that keeps us praying and waiting.
While there is little hope offered to us in this world, there is hope for those who wait on the Lord. And if we lost that sense of hope and certainty, I believe our prayer life will be severely effected. Listen to what the Psalmist writes in Psalms 71:5-14.
II. PERSPECTIVES IN PRAYER
The perspectives that are reflected in this prayer come from a man who knew there was only one way out. But these perspectives must not be limited to the prayer of despair but to all of our prayer life. We can draw these perspectives from the way Jonah did pray.
1. With Confidence in God - 2:2,4,7
Though Jonah considered himself having been banished from God's sight, he continued to look to God, which came from the sense of hope that he had. He knew that though he was in such dire circumstances that were the result of his own disobedience, he had the confidence and the hope that God would hear him and deliver him. From the depths of the grave he called for help and was confident that God listened to his cry. When his life was ebbing away, he remembered the Lord and his prayer rose to God's holy temple. He had confidence that God heard him and would deliver him. It was not presumption but a cry of faith and confidence.
I believe that Jonah's prayer reflects one of the truths that is seen in the Book of Jonah as a whole and that is that the faithfulness of God is sure. Though Jonah had really blown it, God had not given up on him, just like He did not give up on Jacob. Though Jonah had been stubborn and rebellious, the Lord was still his God. Jonah was still a prophet of God because God's faithfulness was greater than Jonah's stubbornness.
And consider what Paul wrote in Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:10-13...
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
When we have the confidence that God is faithful to us even when we fail to Him in so many ways, as Jonah did, it will make a difference in our prayer life. His faithfulness is not something to be taken for granted but it certainly should not be forgotten. Jonah didn't and I believe if motivated him to pray as he did.
2. With a Realization of God's Sovereignty 2:3
Jonah's circumstances in the belly of the fish was obviously ordained of God. Though his circumstances were the result of his disobedience, he was there by the hand of God. Though the sailors had thrown Jonah overboard, it was in reality the Lord who hurled Jonah into the deep, into the very heart of the seas and it was the Lord who provided the great fish to swallow Jonah. Matthew Henry comments, "It was of the Lord's will that Jonah was not now consumed. The fish swallowed up Jonah, not to devour him, but to protect him." The fact is that God was in command and control of all that was going on in Jonah's life and this prayer indicates that Jonah was well aware of that fact.
ILLUSTRATION: Newscaster Paul Harvey tell a remarkable story of God's providential care over thousands of allied prisoners during World War II, many of whom were Christians. The story goes that one of America's mighty bombers took off from the island of Guam headed for Kokura, Japan, with a deadly cargo. Because clouds covered the target area, the sleek B-29 circled for nearly an hour until its fuel supply reached the danger point. The captain and his crew, frustrated because they were right over the primary target yet not able to fulfill their mission, finally decided they had better go for the secondary target. Changing course, they found that the sky was clear. The command was given, "Bombs away!" and the B-29 headed for its home base. Some time later an officer received some startling information from military intelligence. Just one week before that bombing mission, the Japanese had transferred one of their largest concentrations of captured Americans to the city of Kokura. Upon reading this, the officer exclaimed, "Thank God for that protecting cloud! If the city hadn't been hidden from the bomber, it would have been destroyed and thousands of American boys would have died."
God's ways are behind the scenes; but He orchestrates all the events which He is behind. And when we pray, we need to pray with that realization that God is sovereign. And when we do we can pray with the attitude that says, "God I have no idea what You're up, why You have led me to this place, or what You purpose is in all of this. But if I am here according to Your will, then that is where I need to be."
3. With Repentance - 2:8
The NASB gives a better translation of verse 8: "Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness." And the RSV translates it even better: "Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true loyalty." Isn't this basically what Israel had done? They had so many times forsaken their loyalty and faithfulness to the God of their fathers and they had forsaken the call to be light among the nations because of their clinging to vain idols. They had bowed down to the gods of so many others rather than being true to Jehovah.
And isn't that what Jonah had done? He had forsaken his true loyalty and faithfulness to God because his heart was focused on things other than God. Jonah's focus was his own comfort and hatred rather than God's plan and will for his life.
And isn't this true of us so many times? We cling to vain idols. We hold on to those things that offer us emptiness and as a result we can easily forsake our loyalty to God and what He has called us to do and we miss out on the manifold grace of God for life and ministry.
I believe that this statement Jonah makes in this prayer gives testimony of a realization of how wrong he was and how repentant he was. In the pit of despair he realizes that he is there because of his own stupidity and stubbornness. And it is sad that it sometimes takes being in the pits before we will realize what got us there.
If we ever come to the Lord in prayer without this perspective I think we are being mighty presumptuous. It is so true that we have been forgiven through our faith in Jesus and by His grace shed on us. But we need to agree with God that we have missed the mark so many times and in so many ways, and ask for His grace and for His strength in turning away from that which is not of His will.
4. With a Renewed Commitment - 2:9
Jonah realized, not only that he had clung to worthless idols but he also realized that salvation and deliverance comes from the Lord. The Lord was his only hope of being rescued from the depths of the sea and the belly of that great fish. And with that realization comes a renewed commitment. With a heart of gratitude for God delivering him and rescuing him from his watery grave, Jonah renews his commitment to God and declares his allegiance to be true to what he has vowed.
We need to be careful how we make a vow to God. So many have made fox-hole commitments only to forget about them when things settle down. But there comes a time when it is good to bring ourselves before the Throne of Grace - to acknowledge where we have fallen short, and bring ourselves back in line with what God has called us to do. That to me, is renewing our commitment. Acknowledging where we have fallen short, where we have gotten off course and recognizing what we need to do to get back in the game.
Jonah seems to have renewed his commitment in this way but later on it does not appear that is lasted. His attitude and his motives are all wrong. He preached the message but all for the wrong reasons. He wanted his will done in God's name. And that's not how it works.
ILLUSTRATION: In Alexander Solzhenitsyn's A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Ivan endures all the horrors of a Soviet prison camp. One day he is praying with his eyes closed when a fellow prisoner notices him and says with ridicule, "Prayers won't help you get out of here any faster." Opening his eyes, Ivan answers, "I do not pray to get out of prison but to do the will of God." (Our Daily Bread, December 29, 1993 )
Doing the will of God is what we are called to do. Doing His will is has called us out of darkness for - that we might glorify Him and be used as kingdom workers. And it is that attitude that we need to have when we come to Him - even in the midst of despair. "God, your will be done" should be our prayer regardless of our circumstances, with the realization that we have a part in His will.
CONCLUSION: Well as you know, God was faithful in answering Jonah's prayer as we see recorded in verse 10 - He commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah up onto dry land. And maybe it was not so much a fact of Jonah's prayer being answered as it was that it was God's will for him to preach at Ninevah. Maybe this was, once again, the sovereignty of God being played out. Let's not forget that God was in control and command of Jonah's life and everything else - including the raging seas and the big fish. God brought the storm and God provided the fish.
The point is that we should never ever ever give up in prayer - even when it seems like we are so deep in our circumstances that there is no way out.