Sermon Prepared by James McCullen
Email Preach Him with Dr. Jim
HOW JONAH PRAYED
JONAH 2:1-9(NASB)
HOW JONAH PRAYED
JONAH 2:1-9(NASB)
INTRODUCTION:
Do you expect a man of God to pray? Do you think a child of God should
have a regular habit of prayer? In the bible do you expect to read about
the prophets of God and their prayer life? I think the answer to those
questions is yes. But You will not find a reference to Jonah's prayers
until he was in the belly of the prepared fish. We do not find a reference
to Jonah's prayers until the mariners threw him over board. His prayer
can follow the: A C T S formula of :
Adoration,
Confession,
Thanksgiving,
Supplication
I. His Prayer Began In . . Adoration 2:1-4
A. He Adored God for His . . Accessibility." from the stomach of the fish,." v. 1
B. He Adored God for His . . Patience. ". . . Thou didst hear my voice." v. 2
C. He Adored God for His . . Sovereignty. "Thou hadst cast me . . All Thy breakers . . " .v 3
D. He Adored God for His . . Holiness. "Thy holy temple." v 4
ILLUSTRATION:
One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many
physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior.
Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength, failure will
not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation
while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When
his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger,
thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed
the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read,
"I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God." Think of that!
No word of complaint, no childish whining, no grumbling at the circumstances--just
praise for God's goodness.APPLICATION:
We are encouraged from Gods word to give adoration. 15 Through Him then,
let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the
fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (NAS)
13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and
under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
"To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, {be} blessing and honor
and glory and dominion forever and ever." (NAS)
II. His Prayer Continued In . . Confession 2:3, 4, & 7
"And the current engulfed me." v 3
1. What does it take to bring us to agreement with God.
B. His . . Position brought him to confession.
" expelled from Thy sight. " v 4
ILLUSTRATION:
In his book Great Themes of the Bible, Louis Albert Banks told of the
time D. L. Moody visited a prison called "The Tombs" to preach to the inmates.
After he had finished speaking, Moody talked with a number of men in their
cells. He asked each prisoner this question, "What brought you here?" Again
and again he received replies like this: "I don't deserve to be here."
"I was framed." "I was falsely accused." "I was given an unfair trial."
Not one inmate would admit he was guilty.
Finally, Moody found a man with his face buried in his hands, weeping. "And what's wrong, my friend?" he inquired. The prisoner responded, "My sins are more than I can bear." Relieved to find at least one man who would recognize his guilt and his need of forgiveness, the evangelist exclaimed, "Thank God for that!" Moody then had the joy of pointing him to a saving knowledge of Christ - a knowledge that released him from his shackles of sin.
APPLICATION:
We will be blessed as we confess our sins unto the Lord 1 Jn 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NAS)
III. His Prayer Continued In . . Thanksgiving 2:6-9
{6} I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But Thou hast brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. {7} "While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer came to Thee, Into Thy holy temple. (8} "Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness, {9} But I will sacrifice to Thee With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD.
A. Thanks in praise.
"Thou hast brought up my life from the pit," v 6
1. You brought me up.
2. Vows made.- Christa on Roller Coaster. Vowed if you let me off I'll
never get on again.
B. Thanks in Prayer.
"And my prayer came to Thee," v 7
ILLUSTRATION:
"If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles
of iron in it, I might look for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable
to detect them; but let me take a magnet, and sweep through it, and it
would draw to itself the most invisible particles. The unthankful heart,
like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but let the thankful
heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will
find some heavenly blessings."(Henry Ward Beecher)
APPLICATION:
We need to offer the prayer of thanksgiving.
IV. His Prayer Continued In . . Supplication 2:1, 4, 7
B. Supplications are all kinds of request.
ILLUSTRATION:
Bible commentator Matthew Henry, after being robbed, wrote this in
his diary: Let me be thankful:
first because I was never robbed before.
second, because although they took my wallet they did not take my life.
--third, because although they took my all, it was not much.
--fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.
APPLICATION:
The Bible tells us to give thanks in all things.
1Thes 5:18 (NAS)
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ
Jesus.
II Th 2:13
13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved
by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
CONCLUSION.
His Prayer Began In . . . . . Adoration 2:1-4
His Prayer Continued In . . Confession 2:3, 4, & 7
His Prayer Continued In . . Thanksgiving 2:6-9
His Prayer Continued In . . Supplication 2:1, 4, 7
