Jonah 2:1-10 ESV
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6 at the roots of the mountains.I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit,O Lord my God. 7 When my life was fainting away,I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
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Principles of Prayer:
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1. Honesty
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Jonah 2:1-3 ESV
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.
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Psalm 18:6 ESV
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help.From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
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2. Confession
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Jonah 2:4-7 ESV
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6 at the roots of the mountains.I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit,O Lord my God. 7 When my life was fainting away,I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
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1 John 1:9 ESV
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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3. Thanksgiving
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Jonah 2:8-9ESV
8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgivingwill sacrifice to you;what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
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4. Proclamation
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Jonah 2:9-10 ESV
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
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Ephesians 2:8-9ESV
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
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Application:
Grace that transforms understands how costly the salvation is that God provides.
