2022.11.06 - A Desperate Man's Desperate Prayer

A Desperate Man’s Desperate Prayer | Text: Jonah 2:1-10 Opening Statement: When last we left Jonah, he was in the belly of the great fish. He was in a bad fix and a bad way. As Jonah drops down into the belly of this fish, feels the great heat perhaps, and breathes the putrid air, he realizes where he is, even though he is in the dark, and further recognizes that he is without hope and beyond help. God is allowing Jonah to experience a taste of what the Ninevites will experience in judgment – hopelessness and helplessness if no one goes to them. Today we are going to discuss “A Desperate Man’s Desperate Prayer.” I) God Teaches Us When to Pray (2:1-3) I suspect that the most fervent and powerful prayer Jonah ever prayed was from the belly of a fish. The first ingredient of Jonah’s prayer is admission. Now, notice that Jonah admits this is God’s hand of discipline in verse 3. At this point Jonah is no longer resisting the will of God; he is no longer rejecting the word of God – he is about to re-enlist in the work of God. However, first, there is admission of his wrongdoing and the right of God to discipline. Now he is on his way to restoration. II) God Teaches Us What to Pray (2:4-7) The second ingredient of Jonah’s prayer is restoration. Notice verse 4. Up to this point, everything about the life of Jonah has been in the opposite direction of God’s authority. Now, Jonah is admitting his sin and turning back to the temple of God – a statement of recommitment for the Old Testament saint. Did you catch this? Jonah would not pray before – he wanted to run from God; he did not want to speak for God. He would not even pray to God for the sake of these frantic sailors who were afraid of drowning, “I’m not on speaking terms with God.” Now, however, Jonah says, yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. Sinclair Ferguson writes, “Isn’t it marvelous that God has mercy upon His servant Jonah before Jonah will preach that God will have mercy on Nineveh.” III) God Teaches Us Why We Should