Useful Bible Studies > Jonah Commentary > chapter 2

Hope and faith in Jonah’s prayer

Jonah 2:2

Jonah expected, of course, to die when the men threw him into the sea. However, that did not happen. In the darkness, inside the great fish, Jonah realised that he was still alive. Jonah felt a sense of hope; in other words, he began to expect that God would do good things for him. That hope soon became faith – that is, belief and trust in God. The God who rescued him from the waves and the sea, could bring Jonah to a place of safety (compare Philippians 1:6).

Soon, Jonah believed that this really would happen. God does nothing in vain or without a proper purpose. If God had prepared a fish to rescue Jonah, then God would complete his rescue.

Jonah was deep inside the great fish. However, in his prayer, he expresses his troubles differently. It was as if death itself had swallowed him. Now, he felt deep inside his grave or even deep inside hell. However, the grave and death and hell had been unable to destroy the life that God had given to him. Jonah was still able to call for God’s help.

God, whose honour and joy is to save or rescue his people, heard Jonah’s desperate prayer. For God to hear prayer, means that he answers that prayer (1 John 5:14-15). In other words, he does what we have requested. So, for God to answer our prayers, we must request what he desires.

Of course God wanted Jonah to turn back to him. Jonah was asking God to save him so that he could turn back to God. So Jonah was requesting what God desired – and God answered Jonah’s prayer.

Next part: Troubles like waves (Jonah 2:3)

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