Great Prayers of the Bible: Jonah Prays from the Fish
16 July 2025 · 1 min read · Prayer
Jonah prayed from the least promising address in Scripture: the fish's belly, at the bottoms of the mountains, weeds wrapped about his head — a runaway prophet in the consequences of his own rebellion. And the prayer begins: I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me.
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
Praying borrowed words
Read closely, Jonah's prayer is stitched from the Psalms — lines he had known since childhood, surfacing when his own words drowned. Scripture memorised in the sunshine becomes the vocabulary of the deep. That alone is reason to keep verses in the heart.
Remarkably, the prayer is mostly thanksgiving — offered inside the fish, before the beach. I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving... salvation is of the LORD. Faith gives thanks in the belly, not just on the shore.
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
No depth out of range
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee. From the sea's bottom, through the fish, past the weeds — the prayer arrived. And the LORD spake unto the fish; deliverance followed.
Whatever you have run from, and however deep the consequence: prayer from the belly still gets through. Salvation is of the LORD — Jonah's four words hold the whole Bible, and they work at any depth.
