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The Prophet Jonah (9)

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The Prophet Jonah (9)

7 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

“And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of heil cried 1, and Thou heardest my voice” (Jonah 2:2).

We read in the verse above that a child of God was crying unto Him. He was crying unto the Lord by reason of affliction. As incense he might lay all his needs upon the altar. What a blessing when a child of God may lie at the bosom of the Lord! What a blessing when he has sunk so deep that he may come into the sanctuary of God! Reverently speaking, all is then quiet in heaven. They are listening because a child of God is praying out of the depths unto the Lord his God. In heaven they love to hear that crying, because it is a cry that has come from heaven.

A way for Jonah had been opened in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why he might come upon this holy ground in prayer.

Notice how Jonah addressed his prayer: "I cried." He did not say that he prayed. There are many prayers, but how many of them are just form and custom? If we are honest, then we must say that we do not have very many true prayers. This man was crying unto the Lord, crying by reason of the affliction. In his crying unto the Lord he said that he had sinned against Him. He had not wanted to go the Lord's way. He had gone in a way that seemed profitable for him. Therefore the Lord brought him into the belly of the great fish, which was a great affliction for him. We then see him crying unto the Lord. This was not easy for his flesh, but it was profitable, because there he was given a true spirit of prayer and of supplication.

Is that what you are looking for? Is that what you desire, that you may cry unto the Lord? Maybe you are afraid because the devil is always telling you that it never was true in your life. Maybe the devil is always saying that it could never be for you. Friends, when God brings you into the depths, the devil will follow you as far as he may. But there comes a time that he has to stay away. He has to stand back, because the Lord gives room for His child, that he may cry unto Him, that his cry may ascend unto heaven and come before Him. He longs to hear the crying of His child.

“Out of the belly of heil cried I.” That is a difficult place, but what wonderful fruit grows in the depths! Oh, may that be our experience during our sojourn here below. There was Another who cried out of the belly of heil, saying, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” It was because of this cry that Jonah, and all of God's children, may cry unto Him.

Sometimes those people think that the Lord can never hear them anymore. Sometimes they think that the Lord has never heard them, that it was always only of themselves. They say, “It is because of my sins that there is such a separation.” I am sure that when Jonah was standing on the deck of the ship, looking over those wild waves and seeing the darkness above, it came to him that his sins had caused such a separation and that God was coming to destroy him. It was at that time in his life, when he was running away from the Lord, that he did not have a cry, a true prayer, unto the Lord.

“And Thou heardest my voice.” Jonah feit deep in his heart that the Lord had heard, that the Lord was accepting his cry. Here, while the fish was still at the bottom of the ocean, the Lord was accepting his prayer. What would Jonah say if you would teil him that he was still at the bottom of the ocean? He would say, “I know how serious it is to lie here at the bottom of the ocean, but here I may come into the courts of my God. Here I may experience that the Lord accepts my prayer. I am still down here in the fish's belly, but the Lord hears my prayer.”

Did the Lord ever hear your prayer when you prayed about your soul? That is a prayer that comes to heaven's throne. Every child of God learns something pertaining to this. The Great Shepherd knows the individual voices. He knows when they are crying. The voice of His child is often silent, but now He hears it once again out of the belly of heil. Is this not a wonder? Why is there a hearing ear? It is because of Jesus, who was once in the belly of heil for His people. There the Lord was silent, and Christ had to suffer alone. He cried, but no one heard Him. That is why Jonah might say, “And Thou heardest my voice.” There are many ways that the Lord can make known that He hears His child when he cries unto Him. I know that we have to be careful with feelings, very careful, because we can deceive ourselves upon the way to eternity. Yet Jonah must have feit in his heart that the Lord had heard his voice.

Has the Lord taught you to cry unto Him? There can never be any grounds in your tears, no, never. The only ground is in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But, yet, outside of those tears you will not enter heaven. There will be tears in the life of the child of God upon the way to heaven. The Bible speaks of a prodigal son who cried because he was so far away from home and missed his father. “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants” (Luke 15:18-19). The Bible speaks of Peter, who “went out, and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). Scripture says that those tears are precious in the sight of God and that He will gather them into His bottle. They are tears that belong to Him. Do you know those tears, that longing after God? Do you know a place, like lonah's prayer chamber in the belly of heil, where you may cry because the Lord has laid afflictions upon you? Has the Lord sanctified those afflictions unto your heart? If they have been sanctified by the Lord, then there will be tears that go out unto Him. Those tears will be gathered by Him. There will come a time that the Lord will wipe away all those tears and say, “Come into the glory that I have prepared for you.” You will never weep anymore, because there will not be weeping in glory. There will be rejoicing in the regions above, rejoicing in the fullness of His salvation and in the fullness of His love.

As God's children become older, the greater wonder it is that the Lord hears their cries. It becomes a great wonder that they may belong to His chosen people. As they get older they realize that the last way is not easier, but it becomes steeper and steeper. It becomes so slippery upon that last way that they come upon their hands and knees as a creeper. As creepers they come to heaven's gate. They will surely arrive there, for He has said, 'T will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I have bought them with the price of My blood.”

— to be continued —

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van donderdag 1 juli 1999

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's

The Prophet Jonah (9)

Bekijk de hele uitgave van donderdag 1 juli 1999

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's