Focal Passage:
“Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, (Jonah), “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.”
“Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.“
Jonah 1:10, 14-16
This is perhaps the most instantaneously answered prayer in the Bible. The scripture surrounding this prayer is packed with meaning. First, it makes clear that God will pursue His objective whether it be a nation, a person, a result, or a result that is dependent upon a person, such as Jonah. If you’re that person, the worst thing you can do is run away from your assignment. God will pursue you, and if He has to baptize you, as He did Jonah, or blind you, as He did the Apostle Paul, then you can be assured that He will do whatever is necessary to get your attention.
Secondly, the storm that rages around Jonah’s reluctance to obey God has a collateral impact on the lives of seemingly innocent people. Innocent or not, Jonah’s disobedience introduces a group of Pagans to the knowledge of the Lord, the One, True God. They, believing Jonah, and seeing the power of Almighty God, “feared the Lord exceedingly”. In their fear, they prayed to the Lord for salvation and, though it troubled them to do so, they obediently made the required sacrifice by throwing Jonah into the stormy sea, “…and the sea ceased from its raging,” and the men took vows before the Lord. A miracle wrapped within a miracle on the same day and a group of pagans were converted to faith by what they witnessed.
So it is that whatever the Lord wants, the Lord gets. He is sovereign over all of His creation, and beyond. Though most of the world lives in His permissive will, God has a specific will for those who choose to believe. That specific will is His desire that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. (ref. 1 Tim. 2:4)
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”
1 Tim. 2:1-3
When we, the Church, fail to carry out this simple command, to pray regularly for those who are given authority over us, the world falls under the influence of demonic powers, as we see it today.
Castaways Point 