A Gastric Prayer

"Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish," (Jonah 2:1 NAS95S)

Observation:  How is it, that from such a stubborn and sinful man, comes a prayer which so powerfully portrays the coming and ultimate mission of the Christ?  

"I called out of my distress to the LORD,

And He answered me.

I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;

You heard my voice. 

"For You had cast me into the deep,

Into the heart of the seas,

And the current engulfed me.

All Your breakers and billows passed over me. 

"So I said, 'I have been expelled from Your sight.

Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.' 

"Water encompassed me to the point of death.

The great deep engulfed me,

Weeds were wrapped around my head. 

"I descended to the roots of the mountains.

The earth with its bars was around me forever,

But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. 

"While I was fainting away,

I remembered the LORD,

And my prayer came to You,

Into Your holy temple. 

"Those who regard vain idols

Forsake their faithfulness, 

But I will sacrifice to You

With the voice of thanksgiving.

That which I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation is from the LORD."  (Jonah 2:2-9).

Yea, in this prayer we are transported to Calvary's Cross; transported to the Hill of the Skull, where our Saviour prayed "into Thy hands I commit my spirit," and then breathed his last.

Jesus even spoke of that moment, of that hour of suffering, of that time of desperate pleading with God when the Pharisees (men not unlike Jonah) asked for a sign:

"Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." (Matthew 12:38-41 NAS95S)

My, o my... How amazing is our God?  That he uses men like Jonah to point to THE MAN, CHRIST.  Men of selfishness to point to the Selfless One.  Men of faithlessness to point to the Faithful One.  Men who run away from God to point to the man who runs to the lost.  Could Jonah not see?  Could He not perceive that in his running, God was running after him?  And in his complaining and critical spirit, the Father was seeking to give Jonah's ornery soul the heart of the Savior?

Application:  Where am I running to?  Selfishness and pride?  My way or the high way?  The highway far from God's call, that is.  Or am I running to the lost with the heart of my Father?  Am I running with a living knowledge that the Lord is a "gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity?" (Jonah 4:2 NAS95S)  Am I glad that He desires to save my enemies and those who have wronged my people?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, give me Your heart.  Forgive me when I have cherished the heart of Jonah.  When I have said with my actions, if not with my words, "let 'em all go to hell."

O please Jesus, change me.  Shape me.  And show me what it means to love the lost.  Bring me back from the dead Jesus.  Bring me back from the belly of the fish.  

And when You raise me up.  Raise me up in the newness of life.  Raise me up with a heart like yours.  Raise me up with a gratitude that will always extend grace to the lost, the broken, and the sinner.  I surrender to You now Jesus.

"I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD."" (Jonah 2:9 NAS95S)