“My Prayer Went Up To You”

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me.

“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.

For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me.

Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’

The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head.

I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God.

“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.

“Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy.

But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah 2:1-10

We all need to find the light, no matter how deep in the well we are. We seek that light.

Jonah found his valley, his own depth was in the deep ocean. He rebelled against God and ended up in a fish’s stomach, overcome by his sin. There, Jonah found God’s glory. Despite his situation Jonah remembered God, and he said a prayer to the Lord.

Although sin creates distance between God and us, we can look up from the lowest points in our lives and see Him – His holiness, goodness, and grace. If we turn away from our sin and confess it to God, He will forgive us. God answers prayers from the valley.

The darkness of sin only makes the light of God’s grace shine brighter.

Our Daily Bread – September 30, 2015