Focal Passage:
“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said:
“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
“When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
“Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own Mercy.
But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.”“
Jonah 2:1-9
This is a very special prayer for me, as Jonah is a very special prophet in my eyes. A reluctant prophet, a testimony to the intimacy of God’s knowledge of my own heart. You see, this was the scripture that I was reading on the morning and in the moment that God first revealed Himself to me. This is the scripture that came alive on the page and convicted me of my sin. It is the scripture that informed me of my condition, that I was dead in my sins. And, “When my soul fainted within me,” the miracle came, The Lord breathed His love and forgiveness into me, giving me new life.
He testified to me that morning of the truth of His sacrifice of love, and He reached down into the pit where I was living at the time and lifted me up. He changed the whole direction of my life. He pointed me to the light and to a new life, and I thank Almighty God that my life has been forever changed. I thank Him that I have a King, a Lord, and a Savior that I can serve on earth, and a Kingdom of Light where I will spend eternity. And though He has made me very aware of the spiritual warfare that surrounds us, I have no fear for no weapon forged against me can prosper, and no power on earth can snatch me from His hand. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Castaways Point 