“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,” (Jonah 2:1)
When Jonah was thrown overboard by the sailors, the churning sea immediately pulled the prophet under water. He was struggling to survive. But survival in a stormy, turbulent sea was next to impossible.
Within minutes Jonah would have drowned if the Lord had not saved him. Once he was within the smelly black darkness of the fish’s stomach, however, Jonah could tell where he was. In fact, he said in (v.2) “out of the belly of hell cried I…”
HE PRAYED IN SPITE OF HIS PLACE
It says “Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly…” What a unique place to pray. Many people pray only in the confines of a church or other sacred-feeling place. But Jonah prayed from a fish’s stomach. See, the place of prayer is not important. You can pray anywhere. What is important is the practice of prayer.
HE PRAYED IN SPITE OF HIS PLIGHT
He said, “I am cast out of thy sight…my soul fainted” (2:4,7). Jonah’s plight was bad. His circumstances seemed so dark that he felt even God couldn’t see where he was. That is a bad place to be!
He was in about the worst circumstances a person could find themselves in, yet he prayed. We do not have to feel well to pray. We do not have to be up on the mountaintop to pray. God hears us regardless of our situation. And this should encourage us to pray.
No matter what you are facing, it is always a good time to pray!