Jonah 2.1-Jonah Prays To The Lord His God From The Stomach Of The Fish (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday January 25, 2026

Jonah Series: Jonah 2:1-Jonah Prays To The Lord His God From The Stomach Of The Fish

Lesson # 20

Jonah 2:1 records Jonah praying to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish.

Jonah 2:1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. 3 You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. 4 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ 5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 8 “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. 9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.” 10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (NIV84)

Jonah 2:1 records the next sequential event that took place after the great fish swallowed Jonah and the prophet found himself alive in the stomach of this fish.

“Prayed” is the verb pā∙lǎl (פָּלַל), which does not give any indication as to what type of prayer but Jonah 2:2-9 indicates that the prayer that Jonah offered to the Lord from the stomach of the great fish is a prayer of thanksgiving and not of deliverance which is indicated by the fact that there are no petitions in it.

The prayer is a psalm of thanksgiving as indicated by Jonah 2:9 and was made while in the stomach of the great fish according to Jonah 2:1.

It of course was written after Jonah was vomited onto dry land by the great fish.

There is a five part structure for this thanksgiving psalm: (1) Introduction (2:2) (2) Jonah’s description of drowning (2:3-6a) (3) Reference to God delivering Jonah (2:6b, 7b). (4) Jonah’s appeal to God for help (2:7a). (5) Vow and public declaration of praise of the Lord (2:9-10).

Therefore, the verb pā∙lǎl (פָּלַל) does not denote a prayer of deliverance but rather thanksgiving since the word does not denote this and Jonah 2:2-9 indicates that this prayer was a prayer of thanksgiving and that the prayer of deliverance took place immediately after Jonah was thrown into the sea by the crew and was drowning.

So the verb refers to the general concept of prayer without reference to the content of the prayer, which will be indicated by the context.

Lessing writes, “There are seven references to prayer in the four chapters of Jonah. On three occasions, distinct actions of praying are reported, but the body of the prayer is left unrecorded: (1) the sailors’ prayers in 1:5; (2) Jonah’s references in 2:3, 8 (ET 2:2, 7) to his prior prayer; and (3) the Ninevites’ praying to God in 3:8. There is one unheeded request for prayer: the captain asks Jonah to call on his God (1:6). Three verbal formulations of prayer are recorded after they are introduced in different ways (1:14; 2:3–10 [ET 2:2–9]; and 4:2–3).” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; pages 208-209)

Prayer is the means by which the believer can approach the Father face-to-face in dependence of His sufficiency and submitting to His will.

All prayer must be addressed to God the Father (John 14:13-14; 16:23-27; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 2:18; 3:14; 5:20; Col. 1:3, 12; 3:17; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 1:6).

It must be offered in the name or Person of or through intermediate agency of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:13-14; 16:23-24; Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17).

Prayer must be offered up to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by means of the power of the Spirit (Eph. 2:18; 6:18; Jude 20).

Not only is thanksgiving a characteristic of a productive prayer life, but it is also an essential element of a prayer.

Thanking the Father in prayer means that we express gratitude towards Him for revealing His perfect character and integrity, His will, provisions to execute His will, His grace policy, and for bringing other believers into our lives (John 6:11; Rom. 1:8; 6:17; 7:25; 1 Cor. 1:4; 11:24; 15:57; 2 Co 2:14; 4:15; 8:16; 9:11; Eph. 1:15-16; 5:4; 5:20; Phlp. 1:3; 4:6; Col. 2:7; 3:15; 4:2; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13; 5:18 2 Thess. 1:3; 2:13; Phlm. 4).

Thanksgiving to God is the response in the believer’s soul, which expresses itself in love and appreciation for who and what God is, what He has done for us, and what He has done for others.

It is the direct result of the believer’s obedience to the Word of God, which permits the Holy Spirit to produce an attitude of gratitude in the believer.

A Danish proverb states, “A thankless person never does a thankful deed.”

Likewise, a Jewish proverb says, “If men thanked God for good things, they wouldn’t have time to complain about the bad.”

Worshipping God leads to thanking God.

A perfect example, for us, on how we can thank God in prayer is illustrated in Psalm 136, which starts with, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” and goes on, in a beautiful rendition of gratitude to God.

To summarize, this verse refers to Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving to the Father from the stomach of the great fish for the Father delivering him from death by drowning.

It is not a prayer of deliverance as indicated by the content of the prayer in verses 2-9.

It was written down after being vomited by the fish onto dry land and marks the turning point of the narrative.

While in the stomach of this great fish, he realized that the Lord had saved him from drowning by using this great fish and then offered up this prayer of thanksgiving while still in the stomach of this great fish.

So in Jonah 2:2-9, the prophet is reflecting back upon his near death experience in the Mediterranean Sea and how the Lord delivered him from certain death.