The Belly of the Beast: Praying from the darkest place

Peter Gowesky

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” —Jonah 1:1-2

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. —Jonah 1:4

17 But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. —Jonah 1:17

1 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. 3 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.’ 5 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. —Jonah 2:1-6

DISTRESS DOESN’T GET TO SILENCE YOU.

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. —Jonah 2:2

Prayer should not be about getting God to do what we want. Instead, effective prayer is agreeing with what He wants.

7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 8 “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. 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.” —Jonah 2:7-9

God answers an S.O.S by changing the heart of the one in distress.

Don’t miss out on what God wants to do inside of you because you’re focused on what’s going on around you.