JONAH called upon God, when he suffered a strange and terrifying experience while in the belly of the whale. GOD heard him and caused the whale to vomit him out on dry land. What possible force could have rescued him from this fearful place? Jonah seemed hopelessly lost, in "the belly of hell" (Jonah 2:2), but he PRAYED - what else could he do? He had been accustomed to doing this when he was in trouble.

Jonah says, "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heard my voice...And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dray land." (Jonah 2:2, 10)

Like others, he joined prayer to a vow he had made, as he says in his prayer, "But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." (Jonah 2:9)

PRAYER was the mighty force which brought Jonah from "the belly of hell." Prayer, mighty prayer, secured the end. Prayer brought God to the rescue of unfaithful Jonah, despite his sin of fleeing from duty. God could not deny his prayer. Nothing is beyond the reach of prayer because no prayer is too hard for God to answer.

The mighty results of Jonah's prayer became an Old Testament type of the miraculous power displayed in the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

(Mat 7:7)

(Taken from the book by E. M. Bounds, "Obtaining answers to Prayer" - pgs 16, 17)