Have you ever thought, “If I were to pray right now, it would make God want to vomit. After the mess I have made and the sin I have sought out, if I were to turn around and ask God for help, my hypocrisy would make God want to hurl”?
Are there times when you are hesitant to pray because you are fairly certain God does not want to hear from you after what you have done? If so, you will be helped by a careful reading of the story of Jonah.
A Prophet’s Nauseating Prayer
It is one of the most beloved stories in the Bible. You have a prophet who is saved from drowning when he is swallowed by a great fish in the depths of the sea.
But while the story is beloved for this memorable miracle, we speak far too little about the prophet’s prayer that takes up the second chapter of the book. For Jonah’s prayer in chapter two might be the most pathetic prayer in the Bible.
We know God wasn’t impressed with Jonah’s prayer because, as soon as Jonah finishes praying, we are told in Jonah chapter 2, verse 10, “And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”
Now, there are many different words the writer could have used. He could have said the fish placed Jonah on dry land, returned Jonah to dry land, delivered Jonah to dry land, or put Jonah on dry land. But he did not choose any of those words. He chose the word vomited.
It probably will not shock you to hear that every time the word vomit is used in the Bible, it is a negative term. For example, the Israelites are told repeatedly in Leviticus that if they do not keep God’s commandments, the Promised Land will vomit them out. Or think of Revelation chapter 3, verse 16, where God says to the church at Laodicea, “Because you are lukewarm, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”
By choosing to use the word vomit, the writer is communicating what God thinks of Jonah’s prayer. God hears Jonah’s prayer, and it makes Him want to vomit because Jonah’s prayer is pathetic.
All Doctrine, No Devotion
It is a pathetic prayer, first, because Jonah has the right doctrine but lacks devotion.
Sure, Jonah’s prayer is filled with beautifully rich theological language, which concludes in verse 9 with Jonah declaring, “Salvation belongs to the LORD!”
But by the time the reader reaches chapter two, they have already learned that Jonah’s words cannot be trusted.
In chapter 1, verse 9, Jonah declared, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
While Jonah’s lips say that he fears the LORD, his life tells another story. Jonah is rebelling by running away from the LORD. He says he believes God created the sea, yet somehow he thinks he can escape God by running away on the sea.
The pagan sailors see straight through Jonah’s lies, which is why we are told in verse 10, “Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, ‘What is this that you have done!’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.”
The pagan sailors understand the prophet’s problem: while Jonah honors God with his lips, his heart is far from Him. Jonah has the right doctrine, but he lacks devotion.
Last Resort, Not First Response
Second, it is a pathetic prayer because, for Jonah, prayer is his last resort rather than his first response.
Although God had called Jonah to arise and go to Nineveh, throughout chapter one Jonah is headed down. In verse 3, Jonah goes down to Joppa and then down into the ship. In verse 5, he goes down into the inner part of the ship and lies down to sleep.
Ultimately, Jonah is thrown overboard and goes down to the bottom of the sea, as he declares in chapter 2, verse 6. And it is only at that moment—when Jonah is at his lowest point—that he prays.
In chapter 1, verse 6, the pagan ship captain had called for Jonah to pray to God in the hope that they might be saved. The pagans were all busy praying to their false gods, but Jonah could not be bothered to pray.
It is not until Jonah is at his lowest point, about to drown at the bottom of the sea, that he finally prays. He does not choose to pray until he has exhausted all other options.
A Gracious Answer to a Pathetic Prayer
But do you know what is so amazing about this chapter? Jonah prays perhaps the most pathetic prayer in the Bible—and God answers it anyway.
Throughout the entire story, Jonah has been going down, down, down. At his lowest point, the rebellious prophet finally prays as a last resort. And what happens? Jonah goes up, up, up.
God hears Jonah’s pathetic prayer and saves him.
That is the kind of God we serve—a God so gracious and merciful that He answers even our most pathetic prayers, because prayer is not powered by man’s obedience but by God’s omnipotence.
Praise the Lord that the success of our prayers does not depend on our ability to do what is good, but on God’s power to be gracious to His people.
The hope I have when I pray—the hope you have when you pray—is not in our own righteousness to earn answers to our prayers, but in our God’s predisposition to be gracious to His people.
So the next time you are hesitant to pray because of what you have done, take comfort in this: we have Jesus, our great High Priest in the heavenly places, who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for us.
God is able to answer even your most pathetic prayers, because prayer is not powered by man’s obedience but by God’s omnipotence.
