Bible Lesson: Answered Prayer: Jonah
Prayed For Deliverance From Death.
Subject Of Prayer: Deliverance From
The Great Fish Which Had Swallowed Jonah.
Bible Text:
Jonah 2:1-10 NLT
1 Then Jonah
prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.
2 He said, “I
cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and He answered me. I
called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!
3 You threw me
into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The
mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy
waves.
4 Then I said,
‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look
once more toward your holy Temple.’
5 “I sank
beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped
itself around my head.
6 I sank down
to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth,
whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me
from the jaws of death!
7 As my life
was slipping away, I remembered The Lord. And my earnest prayer
went out to you in your holy Temple.
8 Those who
worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
9 But I will
offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all
my vows.
For my
salvation comes from The Lord alone.”
10 Then The
Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.
Jonah, was an 8
century B.C. Prophet of God. The Lord had called Jonah to bring
Nineveh (The capital of Assyria.) to repentance.
Jonah 1:2 NLT
“Get up and go to the great city
of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how
wicked its people are.”
So what did Jonah
do?
Jonah 1:3 NLT
But Jonah got up and went in the
opposite direction to get away from The Lord. He went down to the
port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought
a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from The Lord by sailing
to Tarshish.
Why would this
prophet of God do that?
Jonah 4:1-3 NLT
1 This change of plans greatly upset
Jonah, and he became very angry.
2 So he complained to The Lord about
it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this,
Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a
merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and
filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from
destroying people.
3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d
rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
Jonah ran away
because he knew The Great Loving God, would forgive Nineveh in their
repentance, and that judgment would not fall upon them.
"Well isn't that
good news Jonah?" No, he thought, for when he entered the city (called
of God) to proclaim judgment, and when the judgment would never come,
he would be thought of as a “false prophet.”
So rather than to
be so thought of, he took the ship at Joppa and headed for Tarshish,
his honor being more important to him than the souls of Nineveh.
But the Great
Living God, had another idea, an idea to save Ninevah yes, but to
restore His prophet as well.
Our Great Living
God, never casts off His people, He saves them until the very end,
how unlike men!
Most men, do not know of “unfailing
love,” and that is because they are not God-like.
Jonah 1:4 NLT
But The Lord hurled a powerful wind
over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the
ship apart.
It wasn't long
until Jonah's shipmates realized that he was the cause of the great
storm, and reluctantly they threw him into the raging sea, and it
became calm.
In the belly of the
great fish, Jonah realized that one must never run from God, but
always to Him.
Running away from
Him, leads to judgment and death, running to Him, is life and
salvation.
Jonah 2:10 NLT
Then The Lord ordered the fish to
spit Jonah out onto the beach.
Jonah 3:1-3 NLT
1 Then The Lord spoke to Jonah a
second time:
2 “Get up and go to the great city
of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
3 This time Jonah obeyed The Lord’s
command and went to Nineveh..."
Jonah 3:6-10 NLT
6 When the king of Nineveh heard
what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off
his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of
ashes.
7 Then the king and his nobles sent
this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from
your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all.
8 People and animals alike must wear
garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They
must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.
9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God
will change His mind and hold back His fierce anger from destroying
us.”
10 When God saw what they had done
and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, He changed His mind
and did not carry out the destruction He had threatened.
The thing to notice in this story
is that The Great Living, Loving God, heard Jonah's prayer from of
all places, the fishes belly
Jonah 2:2 NLT
"...I called to you from the
land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!..."
Jonah 2:2 KJV
"...He heard me; out of the
belly of hell cried I..."
Dear friend, where
does life find you today? Are you running to, or away from, this
Loving Heavenly Father?
Wherever you are,
certainly could be no worse than the prayer room, Jonah found himself
in.
Do what Jonah did!
Stop running away, and instead, for life, peace, and our Living God's
salvation, run to Him!
Jonah lived to warn
Ninevah, and to realize that our God, whose love is beyond human
understanding, never stops caring and loving every dear soul, until
their last breath. And if in this life, one decides for The Lord, His
love will be forever without end.
The
Living God Will Hear Your Prayer!
Joshua 10:13,14
KJV
13 And the sun
stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of
Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not
to go down about a whole day.
14 And there
was no day like that before it or after it, that The Lord hearkened
unto the voice of a man: for The Lord fought for Israel.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
I Chronicles
16:11 KJV
Seek The Lord
and His strength, seek His face continually.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
Job 22:27 KJV
Thou shalt make
thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee..."
Psalm 6:9 KJV
The Lord hath
heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.
Psalm 55:17 KJV
Evening, and
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear
my voice.
Psalm 65:2 KJV
O thou that
hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Psalm 66:19 KJV
But verily God
hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 88:1,2 KJV
1 O lord God of
my Salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer
come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
Psalm 91:15 KJV
He shall call
upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will
deliver him, and honor him.
Psalm 99:6,8 KJV
6 "...they
called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
8 Thou
answeredst them, O Lord our God: thou wast a God that forgavest
them..."
Psalm 102:17 KJV
He will regard
the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
Psalm 122:6 KJV
Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Proverbs 15:8,29
KJV
8 The sacrifice
of the wicked is an abomination to The Lord: but the prayer of the
upright is His delight.
29 The Lord is
far from the wicked: but He heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Isaiah 38:5 KJV
“...I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears...”
Isaiah 56:7 KJV
"... for
Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 58:9 KJV
Then shalt thou
call, and The Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say,
Here I am...:"
Isaiah 65;24 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they
are yet speaking, I will hear.
Jeremiah 29:13
KJV
And ye shall
seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your
heart.
Jeremiah 33:3
KJV
Call unto Me,
and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which
thou knowest not.
Zechariah 13:9
KJV
And I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver
is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they
shall say, The Lord is my God.
Joel 2:32 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of The Lord shall
be delivered..."
Matthew 5:44 KJV
But I say unto
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;
Matthew 6:6 KJV
But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 7:7,8
KJV
7 Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you:
8 For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 18:19,20
KJV
19 Again I say
unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father
which is in heaven.
20 For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the
midst of them.
Matthew 21:22
KJV
And all things,
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 26:41
KJV
Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak.
Mark 11:24,25
KJV
24 Therefore I
say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye
stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your
Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Luke 11:9,10 KJV
9 And I say
unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every
one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luke 18:1,7,8
KJV
1 And He spake
a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and
not to faint;
7 "...don’t
you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry
out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?
8 I tell you,
He will grant justice to them quickly! But when The Son Of Man
returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”
Luke 21:36 KJV
Watch ye
therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before The Son
Of Man.
John 14:13,14
KJV
13 And
whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that The Father
may be glorified in The Son.
14 If ye shall
ask any thing in My name, I will do it.
John 15:7,16 KJV
7 If ye abide
in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.
16 Ye have not
chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of The Father in My name, He may give it you.
John 16:23,24
KJV
23 And in that
day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask
The Father in
My name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto
have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that
your joy may be full.
Romans 10:12
KJV
For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all
is rich unto all that call upon Him.
Ephesians 2:18
KJV
For through Him
we both have access by one Spirit unto The Father.
Ephesians 6:18
KJV
Praying always
with all prayer and supplication in The Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Philippians 4:6
NLT
Don’t worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you
need, and thank Him for all He has done.
Colossians 4:2
NLT
Devote
yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
I Thessalonians
5:17 KJV
Pray without
ceasing.
I Timothy 2:8
KJV
I will
therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without
wrath and doubting.
Hebrews 4:16 KJV
Let us
therefore come boldly unto The Throne Of Grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 10:19
KJV
Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by The Blood
Of Jesus,
James 1:6 KJV
But let him ask
in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to
God, and he will draw nigh to you
James
5:13-16 KJV
13 Is any among
you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick
among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of The Lord:
15 And the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and The Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
I Peter 4:7 KJV
But the end of
all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
I John 3:22 KJV
And whatsoever
we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight.
I John 5:14,15
KJV
14 And this is
the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing
according to His will, He heareth us:
15 And if we
know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of Him.
Revelation 8:3-5 NLT (Prayers heard and kept)
3 Then another
angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a
great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of
God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.
4 The smoke of
the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended
up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.
5 Then the
angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar..."
