Back to Jonah …
From the belly of the fish, Jonah did the only thing he could – he cried out to the Lord.
“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me.” (Jonah 2:1-2, NASB)
Jonah is in great distress, probably panicking or feeling hopeless. He called out to God and Jonah tells us something so important – “You heard my voice.”
And this is the assurance we gain – when we cry out to God, He is full of mercy, and He will respond to our prayers.
Interesting to me is that the cross reference in my Bible is from Habakkuk. Remember our recent friend Habakkuk? He too prayed when there was no other answer to be found.
Today may we be assured that we can call out to God. He will not turn a deaf to us.
What prevents you from calling out to God in your own desperation?
Looking at the question for a bit, I realized how there are times I question if God gets tired of hearing me call out with the same request.
These Old Testament prophets bring assurance – God never tires of hearing us.
Call upon the Lord.
He hears and He answers!
“Something happens in our minds and hearts when we scoop up all our fears and concerns and start handing them over to Him, one sorry bit at a time.” In her post, How to Find Peace When You Feel Inadequate (here), Lois Flowers encourages us to lay down every “what if” and “how am I going to do that” at God’s feet.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Photo by Giga Khurtsilava on Unsplash
God does indeed hear & answers us Joanne! It is reassuring to know that He never gets tired of our prayers & requests.
Blessings, Jennifer
God does hear our voices and I am so grateful! I need to be equally mindful and open to hearing his voice speaking to me – sometimes it comes as whisper and other times more urgently and sometimes I find myself distracted or “too busy” to truly listen! My daily prayer is to keep my eyes – and my ears – focused on Him!
So grateful He loves us enough to be listening for our cries.
Joanne such precious words here today. Our good Father always hears our cries, no matter when, where or how often we cry out with the same request! I know I have experienced His gentle comfort for the “umpteenth” time over the same unchanged situation or painful consequence of my own sin.
How precious to know we will always be heard by our Heavenly Father.
The OT prophets exemplify for us the practice of calling out to God, persevering in faithfulness in a context in which there was very little evidence that their prayers were doing anything! I am so grateful for their dogged determination to follow God in spite of everything.
Joanne,
Thank you for this light of God’s word, which you have shed across my path today. This morning I read:
“O Lord I have longed for your rescue, and your instructions are my delight.” Psalm119:174
Last weekend I attended a conference called Feast with Kristi McClelland. The point that resonated with me is what I read in your message today. Lost sheep don’t try to find their way home. They hunker down and cry out. It is the Good Shepherd who hears and comes to find the lost sheep. When He finds him or her He joyfully places them upon His shoulder and carries them home. (Luke15)
Joanne, I’m so thankful that He answers us when we call out to Him. He promises us in Psalm 91:15, “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” [NASB]
Joanne, I feel like I have been asking the Lord for some of the same things for a very long time. I know He hears, but I wonder about His timing in answering, or if the answer will be what I hope for. I suppose if He doesn’t tire of hearing us call us, that should encourage us not to tire of waiting for His answer, right? Thanks for sharing my post, friend.
Thank you, Joanne. Such a comforting message that the Lord heard Jonah and He hears us. And He wants us to call out to Him-for He is our only certain hop. Love this, “may we be assured that we can call out to God. He will not turn a deaf to us.”
It’s encouraging to know that God always listens,. bears with us, and answers our prayers in the best way and time possible–even when it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
Joanne, this was perfect timing with what I wrote. Thank you for being obedient to share this. I too have wondered if He tires, but I should know better. In our humanness we still are prone wonder so staying in His promises is vital!
I’m so grateful God hears and responds.