In chapter 2 of the book of Jonah. We will see that a prayer that transformed the life of Jonah and the same thing can happen in your life:
"There from within the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord, to his God." In my despair I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me, from the womb of death I cried out for help, and heard my cry, threw me into the depths, in the heart of the seas, the currents formed a whirlwind around me, and the waves passed over me, I said: "I was expelled from your presence, but I looked again at your holy temple, the rough waters enveloped me, the abyss He surrounded me, the seaweed rolled in my head, the foundations of the mountains, the earth whose locks were imprisoning me forever, but you brought my life back from the cave, oh Lord my God! "When my life it was extinguished, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer went up to you, to your holy temple. "Those who believe in useless idols despise mercy, but I, with a song of gratitude, will offer sacrifice to you." What I promised I will fulfill fully, "Salvation comes from the Lord." And the Lord gave orders to the fish, and he vomited Jonah on the mainland "(Jonah 2: 1-10 NIV).
When God commanded Jonah to preach against the sins of the city of Nineveh, he tried to flee and embarked on a ship that was following towards Tarshish, in the opposite direction from the city to which the Lord had commanded. Because of that disobedience, God sent a huge storm and the situation inside the boat was so desperate that Jonas himself asked to be thrown into the sea, because he knew that the storm had begun for him.
Imagine only the situation of Jonah. This caused problems for him and he was thrown into the deep sea, which surely must be a lot worse than being on the floor. Perhaps you are going through a very difficult situation because you have strayed from the ways of God and now you think that you will never be able to get out of this situation again. But, as God acted in the life of Jonah with mercy in the midst of a desperate situation, He also changed His history.
The Bible tells that Jonah, after being thrown into the sea, was swallowed by a large fish and stayed there for three days. His life, however, began to be transformed when, inside the belly of the fish, he decided to make a prayer. In the same way, God can also change his life through prayer. You are never so lost that you can not find it! God can take you from the worst depths if you cry out to him. However, to transform a life, your prayer needs to have some marks. Consider the following:
- Prayer needs recognition
The prayer that God is pleased to hear is a prayer in which we repent and recognize that, if it were not for the grace and mercy of God, we would be lost. Jonas recognized his disobedience that made him arrive in that difficult situation:
. Jonas admitted that he was distressed by the situation: "You cast me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, currents formed swirling around me, all its waves and waves passed over me" (Jonah 2: 3).
. Jonas acknowledged that she must return her heart to God: "I told him that he was expelled from his presence, yet he will be seen again towards your holy temple" (v.4)
. Jonas acknowledged being stuck and could not get out of that situation on his own: "... seaweed curled up in my head" (v.5)
. Jonas acknowledged that before all this happened, the world that held him, "I sank to the bottom of the mountains, the land whose bars were always trapping me ..". (V.6a)
. Jonas admitted that before he was dead and now God had awakened: "But my life brought you from the grave, O LORD my God!" (V.6b). The Bible says that all of us were lost before we knew Christ:
"They were dead in their transgressions and sins, in which they are used to live another time, following the ways of this world and the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now operates in the children of disobedience. we also lived like them, which satisfies the wills of our flesh, following their desires and thoughts.As the others, we were naturally deserving of wrath.However, God, who is rich in mercy, by the great love with which we loved, gave us life together with Christ, even when we were dead in sins - by grace you have been saved "(Ephesians 2: 1-5).
"That is what was said: 'Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light'" (Ephesians 5:14).
. Jonas recognized that he was like the others who had despised God: "Those who believe in idols despise mercy" (verse 8)
Jonas then came to himself: "But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you what I promised you to fully fulfill the salvation comes from the Lord ..." (verse 9).
First of all, I ask you: "How long does it take your" record to fall "? What is it that God needs to recognize that we must seek and obey Him? Turn your heart to God today through a sincere prayer!
- Prayer needs to be intense
For prayer to change our lives, she needs intensity. It can not be a superficial prayer, like those that many of us do before eating or sleeping, only by discharging conscience. watch:
"From the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God." He said: "In my anguish I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me. From the womb of death and mourned, and heard my cry "(Jonah 2: 1,2)
Forgive that Jonah cried out to the Lord. "Cry" means insistently imploring a high tone of voice. It is to claim the fulfillment of a promise with great intensity and certainty that God is hearing. I imagine that the fish must not have enjoyed having a man screaming inside his stomach, but Jonah was not even there. He wanted to be saved and released from that prison anyway! The prayer that transforms is a prayer that comes from the bottom of the heart. Jonas was not inside a temple, he was in the wrong place, a place of disobedience, but even so, his prayer went up to heaven! (V.7).
- Prayer needs to have faith and works
We saw that Jonah was very distressed, he found himself trapped, now, however, the moment came when he stopped whining: He said: "But, with a song of thanksgiving, he will sacrifice to you what I promised him to fulfill fully. Salvation belongs to the Lord "(Jonah 2: 9). Jonas placed his faith in action! He began to thank God for everything and decided to obey him. This teaches us that the prayer that transforms can even begin in the soul, but it needs to end in FAITH!
"My brothers, who needs a man, says he has faith, and has no works, can faith save him?" (James 2:14)
The change in Jonah's life was so great that he did not want to leave the belly of the fish, that is, get out of the problem. He wanted to change his life and get closer to God! It is that desire for obedience that the Lord expects from us. Therefore, I want to leave a question for your reflection: "What do you want to change your life, really walk with the Lord or just get rid of the problems?" Think about that.