PRAYING IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE

Proclamation:

“Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm ... The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. From inside the fish Jonah prayed to The Lord his God. He said: ‘In my distress I called to The Lord, and he answered me ... I called for help, and you listened to my cry.’ ” Jonah 1:15-2:2 (NIV)

Explanation:

The prophet Jonah did not do what The Lord wanted him to do and The Lord caused him to be caught up in a great storm while at sea. (Jonah 1:1-4)  Jonah told the men on the ship that he was the cause of the storm. He also told them that they could calm the seas, save the ship, and save themselves if they threw him overboard. (Jonah 1:11-12)  Reluctantly, they threw him overboard, the sea became calm, and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. (Jonah 1:15-17)  From inside the belly of the great fish, Jonah prayed. (Jonah 2:1-2)  Jonah did not pray until his situation seemed hopeless.

Application:

Like Jonah, we are frequently disobedient to The Word of God.  We make bad choices, get in trouble, and our problems go from bad to worse.  Like Jonah, we want to do things our way and not God’s way.  Even when we get in trouble, in the midst of a storm, we persist.  Only when our situation seems hopeless do we turn to God in prayer.  We would do better if we prayed more often and followed His Word instead of doing what we see as right in our own minds.  God is always with us, even when we are in the midst of a storm He protects us. (Psalms 138:7)  We just need to pray, confess our sins, ask to be forgiven, and ask for His help, and He will help us. (1 John 1:9) He said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  If we spent more time reading The Word of God and praying, we would probably not be in the midst of trouble so often.