Crying Out From the Depths (Jonah 2)

Bible Passage: Jonah 2

In this chapter, we have an account of Jonah’s prayer from within the fish. It was doubtless a terrifying and bleak experience being within the fish for three days, but he understood that it was a mercy of God because otherwise he would have drown in the ocean. Jonah’s prayer recounts his cry to God for deliverance and how God answered, and his renewed desire to be in God’s presence and to live for him.

A Desperate Cry For Rescue (v1-3): Jonah’s prayer highlights how desperate his situation was. He described his plight in verse 2 as “deep in the realm of the dead” and gave a vivid description of what his experience in the storm was like. A bit later in the passage he also described it as sinking down to the roots of the mountains and being barred in by the earth (verse 6). He was utterly helpless and hopeless, but it is from this situation that he called out to God and found that God listened to his cry and rescued him from his impending death. Throughout Scripture, we see a pattern of those in hopeless circumstances who call out to God find that God hears their cries and responds to their pleas. Though we are unlikely to find ourselves in the exact situation that Jonah was, we do encounter difficult and desperate situations, and when we do we can have confidence in crying out to God that he will hear our cries and that he is mighty to save, even from the deepest and most overwhelming of depths.

A Heartfelt Cry for God (v4-7): Jonah’s prayer went a step further than ‘please get me out of this mess’. In verse 4 he expressed his confidence that he will look again towards God’s holy temple. The temple was the place of God’s presence, and as Jonah mentioned this he was expressing a desire not only to be on dry land and out of trouble but to be in the presence of God himself. In a similar way, in verse 7 he talks about remembering God and his prayer rising to the temple. Prayers of deliverance are not bad things in themselves, but we should not stop there. God is not only a means to an end in our lives but is the one we are made for relationship with, and our greatest desire should be to draw close to him and enjoy his presence. Jonah’s prayer leads us to think about our own prayers, and what is the balance between prayers for improvements in our circumstances and prayers for God himself.

A Repentant Heart Turned Back (v8-10): Jonah’s prayer recognises that they way he had been living when he was on the run from God was not right, and he made commitments to live a different way. This included a recognition that God alone is to be worshipped, and that idols get in the way of us receiving God’s love. Whatever the things are that have a higher place in our hearts than God’s love are problems and we need to turn away from those things. Jonah also committed himself to shout God’s praise and make sacrifice to God. As well as turning away from other things he will give his heart to God fully in worship. Finally, he will tell others the good news of God’s salvation. When we turn back to God, it is not only that we ask God to rescue us from the mess we have found ourselves in (although that is an important part of it) but also that we commit ourselves to him and live our lives for him above all else.

After Jonah turned back to God, the Lord commanded the fish to spit Jonah out onto the dry land. His heart has been changed and he had a second chance to step into the calling that God had for him.

Potential Applications:

• Ask people to think about situations God has delivered them from. Invite them to respond in thanks and praise for those times (and perhaps there may be some who wish to share testimonies).
• Perhaps some people are in situations right now that feel hopeless. Offer space to cry out in prayer for God’s deliverance with them.
• There may be some who have been on the run from God. Invite them to turn back to God and make a prayer of recommitment similar to Jonah’s prayer from verses 7-10 of this passage.