The Prayer Home

The Prayer Home
Words of Faith 9-29-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Jonah 2:1-9
[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. [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."

It is hard to imagine what this ride home must have been like spiritually, emotionally, or physically. For three days, Jonah had to deal with the Lord facing his own rebellion and the knowledge that God had intervened miraculously to save him. It was not your typical weekend retreat.
Jonah prayed in the darkness surrounded by the diet of the fish as he dealt with claustrophobia, motion sickness, and the unknown. We are privileged, through the revelation of the Word of God, to listen in on those prayers. They are amazing.
First, Jonah uttered a prayer of PRAISE that God had heard his cry: "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." It may be difficult to pray in that situation where we are facing the consequence of rebellion but realizing that God has heard us is the beginning of the journey home. Knowing that God has heard us makes all the difference in the world. Declaring that truth moves us closer to God.
Next, there was the discovery of HOPE in the DARKNESS: 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. I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' Having faced the truth of his rebellion, Jonah declared the one singular hope that he would once again worship in the Temple restored to God. There is hope even when things are the very darkest.
Jonah entered into a prayer of THANKSGIVING for being lifted from the pit: The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 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. This was a prayer of faith because Jonah was not out of the fish yet! Jonah gave thanks for what he knew God was going to do, raise his life up from the dark pit.
He prayed the REMEMBRANCE of the LORD at the edge of DEATH: "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Perhaps Jonah was reminding himself to remember the Lord in the darkest of hours. As he felt the very life within him ebbing away, he remembered the Lord and that his prayer was rising to the Lord.
It may have been near the end of this wild ride that Jonah came to the REALIZATION that idolatry forfeits grace that is available to ALL: "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." Jonah despised the Ninevites for their idolatry but he now came face to face with his own idolatry. He had nearly forfeited the mercy and grace of the Lord so that he could cling to the idol of self-determination.
Jonah prayed a prayer of COMMITMENT to future OBEDIENCE to the LORD:
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. This may sound a little like a "foxhole prayer" but repentance always involves a change of direction. Jonah would offer a song of thanksgiving and sacrifice only to the altar of the Lord, not the altar of self.
Finally, Jonah made an ABSOLUTE DECLARATION: "Salvation comes from the Lord." There is no other. Jonah could not save himself. His plans were worthless in the face of God's sovereign design. His journey was one of discovering this truth. Salvation is from the Lord and any other path will lead to darkness.

Lord, I give thanks to You for hearing my cry in my times of distress. I give thanks that You have raised me up from the pit. I give thanks for Your grace that is available to all. I commit myself to obey You when You call upon me. I give thanks for the blessed gift of Your salvation available to all people. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.