I started wondering today . . . what did Jonah think about for three days in the belly of the great fish?
So I grabbed my Bible and re-read the story. Jonah got swallowed by the whale, and THEN he prayed. Interesting.
God wanted Jonah to go to Ninevah, but Jonah didn't want to go. So he ran away from God and hopped a ship to Tarshish. I don't know exactly where Ninevah and Tarshish are at, but I'm guessing Tarshish was in the opposite direction.
A great storm came up, and the sailors knew it was not a normal storm. They cast lots--drew straws perhaps--and Jonah drew the short straw. Jonah admitted the storm must have started because of his disobedience. So he tells the sailors to throw him overboard.
The sailors don't want to, but the storm grows so bad that they finally pray for mercy and toss Jonah into the sea. And God sent the great fish to save Jonah, and it is only then that Jonah prays.
Jonah is an interesting character. He has to be one of the most stubborn men in the Bible. He refuses to concede that God might have plans for Ninevah. Jonah didn't want to go to Ninevah, therefore God must be wrong to send him there.
I find it interesting that he was willing to go overboard into the raging waters. Was this because he expected to die? Or did he know God would save him? Perhaps by that point, he didn't care.
In the end, Jonah did go to Ninevah, and the city repented. But Jonah didn't rejoice and praise the Lord over it. Instead he seems just pout, because it turned out God was right and he was wrong.
There are many interpretations of Jonah, and many lessons to be learned from him. But what strikes me tonight is this-- Don't wait til you're in the belly of the fish to start praying.
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