UBF Daily Bread

JONAH’S PRAYER

Passage: Jonah 1:17~2:10

Key verse: 2:9

Jonah’s Prayer

¹⁷Now the Lord provided^(A) a huge fish to swallow Jonah,^(B) and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2 ¹^[a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. ²He said:

“In my distress I called^(C) to the Lord,^(D)
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead^(E) I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
³You hurled me into the depths,^(F)
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves^(G) and breakers
    swept over me.^(H)
⁴I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;^(I)
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’^(J)
⁵The engulfing waters threatened me,^[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.^(K)
⁶To the roots of the mountains^(L) I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.^(M)

⁷“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered^(N) you, Lord,
and my prayer^(O) rose to you,
to your holy temple.^(P)

⁸“Those who cling to worthless idols^(Q)
    turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹But I, with shouts of grateful praise,^(R)
    will sacrifice^(S) to you.
What I have vowed^(T) I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation^(U) comes from the Lord.’”

¹⁰And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Footnotes

Jonah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:17, and 2:1-10 is numbered 2:2-11.
Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat

When Jonah ran away from God, God sent a huge fish in the sea to swallow him up. He was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. He was now as good as dead. With a broken heart, he prayed to God. He repented of his sin and finally praised God, proclaiming, “Salvation comes from the Lord.”

When we are disobedient, God gives us hardship to turn our hearts back to him. In those times, all we can do is kneel and repent before God. After three days in the fish’s belly, Jonah came to realize that only God could save him; no one else could save him, neither idols nor human willpower. He only could say, “Salvation comes from the Lord.”

In our hardship, we sometimes argue with God, “Why are you giving me this trouble?” But through hardship, God purifies our heart that we may repent and meet God newly as Jonah did. With a renewed heart and deeper understanding of God, we can serve the purpose that God has for us. Now Jonah was ready to serve his mission, to preach the message of repentance to the city of Nineveh.

Prayer: Lord, please help us to repent and meet you newly through our hardship.

One Word: Salvation comes from the Lord!