WEEK 30 PRAYER DEVOTIONAL

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.’” Jonah 2:1-2

Effective prayer is always to a personal God. Jonah’s prayer was directed to the God that he knew personally, as well as the God who personally knew everything about Jonah. His prayer was in contrast to the earlier prayer of the sailors who prayed to gods who did not answer their prayers. Our God is the only God who can and will answer prayer.  The God we pray to is the God who determines the answers to our prayers.

Jonah prayed to a merciful and gracious God, who heard the prayers of His disobedient servant. Jonah prayed from the whale because God, in His mercy, sent Jonah a whale. God provided the “second chance” opportunity of His grace to His servant. 

A cry for help to God is a common theme in the Psalms. It is the prayer of the one who knows there is no other savior or source of help. This same theme and language is used by Jonah, who called out to the Lord for help. God, and God alone, could calm the troubled waters. God, and God alone, could send a whale to be a savior.   In the distresses of our lives, we can sink, or we can call out to the Lord who can still calm waters and send a whale.  Peter, when he began to sink while trying to walk on the water to Jesus, cried out to Him for help, and the Lord reached out His hand to him. The Lord still reaches out His hand to those who call out for help. 

Jonah’s prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His deliverance. He had no right to be listened to, but God still listened to his cry. God sent a whale, not a luxury liner. God’s answers to prayer are not always in the ways we desired. It is doubtful that Jonah prayed for a whale to swallow him and keep him in his stomach for three days.  God’s answers meet the need, but are not always comfortable. It is often in the ‘whale’ of God’s mercy and grace that we truly learn to pray. Thank you, Lord, for the whales of your mercy.