THE POWER OF PRAYER
Jonah 2:1-10
WHEN IN TROUBLE CALL ON GOD
V:1-2. \”From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
2 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. \”
A. Prayer is the only way to communicate with God.
1. Jonah spent three days and three nights inside the body of a large fish
because of his disobedience to God.
2. Instead of death, God gave Jonah mercy.
3. Our God is all merciful, who chastises those He loves.
B. God gave Jonah time to think about the value of his relationship with Him.
1. God gave Jonah time to reflect and repent.
2. Even in our sin, God take care of those He loves.
3. The great fish prepared by God was just a holding tank for Jonah\’s
prayer of repentance.
C. God, sometimes will put us in a state of distress to bring us to Him in
prayer.
1. God made Jonah realize his state of helplessness and his need for prayer.
2. God is always available to hear our prayers.
3. The prerequisite to getting our prayers answered is repentance
followed by a request for forgiveness.
SUFFERING THE CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE
V:3-4. \” You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.
4 I said, \’I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.\”
A. It is good for us to recognize the chastisement of the Lord when it occurs in our lives.
1. It is important that we don\’t blame anyone for our circumstances.
2. It is also important that we give God praise for correcting us.
B. We must recognize that sin breaks our fellowship with Lord.
1. Jonah was separated from the Lord in the belly of the fish.
2. Although separated from the Lord, he was still under God\’s care.
3. Although separated from the Lord, he remembered the Lord\’s goodness.
4. Jonah called on the Lord with a repentant heart.
5. Jonah acknowledged the holiness of God could only be approached through an
act of forgiveness.
IN OUR DARKEST TIMES, GOD DOES NOT ABANDON US
V:5-6. \” The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.\”
A. Sin is a downward spiral toward hell.
1. Sin puts us in a state of hopelessness and helplessness.
2. Sin puts us in a state of darkness separated from the light of the Father.
B. Even in our sins, God want let us forget that He exist.
1. Even in our worst situation, God gives us the will to call on Him.
2. Even in our worst situations, God gives us the present of mind to know that He is
our help.
3. Jonah was the cause of God\’s wrath toward Him, but God was also His deliverance.
ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF THE LORD
V:7-8 \”When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.\”
V:8. \”Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.\”
A. The blessing of God always abound in the lives of God\’s elect.
1. It is a blessing to know your sins and then know you can call on God for help.
2. The Lord\’s help is just a prayer away.
3. Even in our worst condition, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
4. A believer is never out of options.
5. There is no end to what God will do for those who are part of the household
of faith.
B. Since the world don\’t know God, they are in a state of hopelessness when all
their efforts fail.
1. The world depends on their strength and their resources to solve problems.
2. The world ignores the power and the authority of the almighty God.
3. The world, in their ignorance refuses the grace of God which could be
theirs by faith in Him.
PRAISE THE LORD IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD TIMES
V:9. \” But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.\”
A. When Jonah came to his right mind, he recognized God in the midst of his
sorrowful situation.
1. He admitted his sins with a prayer of repentance.
2. I imagined, Jonah in the darkness of the fish, saw God in all His glories.
B. Jonah offered to God a song of thanksgiving.
1. Jonah promise to make sacrifices to the Lord.
2. He made a vow to God, to do the right thing.
3. He recognized that his salvation came from the Lord.
C. It is good for us to remember that God loves us enough to forgive.
1. God wants us to be in fellowship with Him.
2. We should always be thankful that God is always mindful of us.
GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU
V:10. \” And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.\”
A. Once Jonah made peace with Lord, he was delivered from His situation.
1. God prepare the fish as a holding tank, until Jonah change his mind and
decided to follow God.
2. Our disobedience does not please God.
3. God has a way of getting our attention.
B. God is in control of us and the situation we are in.
1. God caused the waves around the ship to be violent enough for
the men on the ship to throw Jonah over board.
2. God commanded the fish to stand by the ship and swallow Jonah as he was thrown
over board.
3. God stopped the digestive process of the fish long enough for Jonah
to get right with Him.
4. God commanded the fish to come close to land spit Jonah out unharmed.
C. What we can learn from this text is that God knows what is best for us.
1. We must conclude that we cannot fight against the will of God.
2. We must conclude that it is the will of God for us to proclaim the Word
of God to others.
3. We must conclude that our dislike for someone is not an excuse to disobey God.
4. We all part of one big family God puts together as He please.
5. God uses our testimony of Him to bring the family together,
THANK GOD FOR BEING IN CONTROL OF US.
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