How to Pray When Drowning

Ever feel like you are drowning spiritually or emotionally? Take a lesson from one guy in the Bible who was saved from literally drowning- Jonah. The piece below is from Mike Shreve in Charisma Magazine:

Let's start by focusing on someone who actually did drown—literally—but God rescued him. His name was Jonah, a biblical character known to most people. Few, however, understand the profound depth of what really happened to him.

You might want to grab your Bible and read "The Prayer of Jonah" carefully (Jon. 2:2-9). Most of that pivotal prayer—seven out of eight verses—is actually a psalm of thanksgiving to God for having answered a previous prayer. Even more surprising—that previous prayer was apparently uttered in hell. You are probably squinting your eyes in skepticism at this point, but check it out in the Bible:

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" (Jon. 2:1-2).

Though it can mean just the grave, the Hebrew word Sheol also refers to the underworld: the spiritual realm of departed souls, both the righteous and the wicked. According to Jesus' teaching, in that Old Testament era, Sheol contained two chambers: one of fiery torment for the wicked and then, across an impassable gulf, a pleasant but temporary abode for the righteous called "Abraham's bosom" (see Luke 16:19-31).

So apparently Jonah drowned when he was thrown overboard, and his soul descended into that horrid place reserved for the unrighteous who die in a state of sin. The erring prophet graphically described his plight:

    "I went down to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its bars was around me forever" (Jon. 2:6).

So Jonah was in a spiritual prison in Sheol. Yet amazingly, he made a decision to seek God anyway, saying:

    "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple" (Jon. 2:7).

What unshakable trust! What stubborn faith! His name may have been Jonah (which means dove—a very timid and docile bird). But his parents should have named him Chamor (which means donkey—a very stubborn animal). Because regardless of how terribly he had failed, or how severely he was chastised, Jonah refused to stop looking toward his Maker. It worked. Because at some point (we're not told when) his body was swallowed by a great fish, then his soul re-entered his body and he came back to life.

It was at that point that his heart erupted with gratitude, and he authored a prayer of thanksgiving with three short, concluding statements that captured the heart of the God:

Nothing But Thanksgiving

"The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise." - Richard Sibbes

HT: Dash House (picture and quote)

A Song of Thanksgiving

   David's song of thanksgiving (from 1 Chronicles 16

    Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
        make known his deeds among the peoples!
    Sing to him, sing praises to him;
        tell of all his wondrous works!
    Glory in his holy name;
        let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
    Seek the LORD and his strength;
        seek his presence continually!
    Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
        his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
    O offspring of Israel his servant,
        children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
   

Lord of the Dishes

“Jesus Christ is Lord over my heart, and he is Lord over my hands, and he is Lord over what I do with these hands, and he is Lord over what I say in my heart while I’m doing it. In submitting to the lordship of Christ, then, I do not treat washing dishes as wasting time I could be spending doing something ‘meaningful,’ but rather as a service to those who eat in my home, as a service to those who would have to wash dishes if I did not, and as an offering of thanksgiving to God that I have food to eat, dishes to eat it on, and running water inside my home to clean with.”

— Jared C. Wilson Gospel Wakefulness
(Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2011), page 92

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Thankful for Laughter

Love this little prayer from The Anchoress. As she says, "Laughter is not just good medicine. Sometimes having the opportunity to laugh segues into a prayer of thanksgiving:"

Thank you, God, for the interruption to a hectic day, and the cleansing effect of a laugh. Thank you God that I can hear and see this, in order to so fully enjoy it. Thank you that my lungs work, so I can bark out “HA! That’s funny!” and it heals me more effectively than a thousand sighs. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, who moves on the air I breath, and therefore on all of my tears and laughter and carries them where you will. Thank you for the good friend who sent this to me, and the fact that I have any friends at all. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for my life, I do not appreciate enough.

Thank you, God, that a few minutes spent in frivolity only led me back to you, who — being all good — can only be my joy.

I needed that. Thanks for the laugh, Lord!

Thanks for Following

There are 30 names listed over on the right as following this blog.  Over half of you are not personal friends of mine. I do not know how you found my humble little blog, but I notice and appreciate your attention.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you are finding something here that helps you know and love Jesus more and more.

A Day for Gratitude

“God has two dwellings; one in Heaven and the other in a meek and thankful heart.”
   —Izaak Walton

Hat Tip for the quote to No Sheeples Here