Session 5 Jonah 1:15–2:10

GOD HEARS (JONAH 2:1-4)

Jonah’s plea.

1 Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish:
2 I called to the LORD in my distress, and he answered me.
I cried out for help from deep inside Sheol;
you heard my voice.

3 When you threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas,
the current overcame me. All your breakers and your billows swept over me.
4 And I said, “I have been banished from your sight,
yet I will look once more toward your holy temple.”

HIGHLIGHT:

Jonah did what all people should do who find themselves in a difficult situation—
he prayed. Jonah’s willingness to pray even when under the disciplinary hand of God
reveals his faith.

Though the text doesn’t indicate at what point in his three-day journey he began to pray,
one might imagine that it was immediately after he realized he was not going to die in the water.

ASK:

• Why do we tend to turn to God so quickly when facing a challenge or threat?

GUIDE:

examine verses 3-4
identify God’s response to Jonah’s plea.

One of the worst things that can happen to believers when they refuse to say to God, “Your will be done”
is for the Lord to say to them, “your will be done.”

DISCUSS:

• How do trials tend to bring focus to a person’s prayers? (p. 47)

TRANSITION:

Jonah continued to share the direness of his circumstances,
offering praise to God for His salvation.
He pointed to the uselessness of idols and committed to fulfill his vow to God.