IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

A Prayer from the Deep

Date: Oct. 29, 2026

Passage

Jonah 1:17-2:10

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah’s Prayer

2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

  “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
  out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.
3   For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
  all your breakers and your waves
    passed over me.
4   Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
  yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
5   The waters closed in over me to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
  weeds were wrapped about my head.
6   To the roots of the mountains I went down,
    to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.
  Yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    O LORD my God.
7   When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the LORD,
  and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
8   Those who pay regard to vain idols
    forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9   But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
  what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

10 And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: Jonah 1:2:9

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

This passage reveals Jonah’s prayer while he was inside the big fish. Jonah tried to run away from God, but, in his love, God did not let him escape. After 3 days and 3 nights inside the belly of the fish, Jonah decided to cry out to God. God heard his cry and commanded the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land.

Throughout the book of Jonah, we see that God saves those who humbly call on Him. We also see that God holds people accountable for their actions. God sometimes works in unusual ways to draw us to repentance and find salvation.

Prayer: Lord, from the depths of despair, hear our cry. Save us from ourselves and from going down the wrong paths in life. Lead us to salvation and light.

One Word: Salvation comes from the Lord

Daily Bread

The Lord Judges the Proud

Psalm 75:1-10

Key Verse: 75:2

“At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.

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