On rare occasions
(this very month in fact!), we hear of someone who survived being swallowed by
a whale. According to statistics, the likelihood of this is one in a trillion,
but for some people, those odds take the Bible story of Jonah out of the mists
of myth into praise of the power our Almighty God has over odds.
Since our Creator
God is not into performing magic tricks, each miracle fulfills some plan or
purpose. With Jonah, for example, God planned to send the prophet into enemy
territory on what might have been the first missionary trip ever.
And the people
believed.
Jonah 2:2-9 – a prayer of Jonah
paraphrased from many translations
as found on Bible Gateway
I called to You, Lord, in my distress,
and You answered me!
From the belly of death, I cried for help,
and You heard me!
When You tossed me into the depths
of the sea, the waters overcame me.
Billows and breakers swept over me,
and I said, “I’ve been banished
from Your sight!” I wondered if I
would ever see Your holy sanctuary again.
Water engulfed me, and I sank into the sea.
Seaweed wrapped around my head.
I sank to the sea-roots of mountains.
Around me, the earth
closed like prison bars,
but You raised me
from this sinkhole,
O Lord, my God!
As my life faded away,
I remembered You.
My prayer floated up to You,
reaching Your holy presence.
Worshippers of worthless things
forsake Your faithful love, but I
will give You my voice
in a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
I’ll do as I promised, Lord,
for You alone hold my salvation.
From the Book of Bible
Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from
a variety of translations researched on Bible Gateway then
paraphrased into everyday English by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019.
Jonah 2:2-9 – a prayer of Jonah
from the King James Version of
the Bible
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction
the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell
cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst
of the seas; and the floods compassed me about:
all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look
again toward thy holy temple.
The waters compassed me about,
even to the soul: the depth
closed me round about,
the weeds were wrapped about my head.
I went down to
the bottoms of the mountains;
the earth with her bars was about me for ever:
yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption,
O Lord my God.
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord:
and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
From the Book of KJV Prayers - actual prayers from the King
James Version of the Bible (KJV) collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019
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