February 16, 2020 - Sermon Notes

[안윤혜]

Jonah 2: 3-9

Restoration Begins With Prayer

1.)    What is prayer?

i.)             It is fellowship with God (2:1)

l  Jonah had rebelled against God’s command. He wanted to avoid God. But when Jonah was trapped inside the large fish, he called on the name of God and started to pray.

l  To pray is to meet with God.

l  If we love God, we will want to know Him better through prayer.

l  We need to meet with God frequently.

l  Both the amount of time in prayer and the frequency are important.

ii.)            Prayer is getting to know God’s will (2: 3-6)

l  Jonah came to know the will of God through prayer. He came to know that God had prepared the large fish in order to save Jonah, not to kill him.

l  Without prayer we tend to complain against God. But through prayer, we come to know His will.

l  Prayer begins with our wants and thoughts, but ends with the purpose of God.

2.)    God’s response to prayer.

i.)             Yes

l  When we pray, God sometimes answers with a definitive ‘yes’.

ii.)            No

l  Other times when we pray, God answers with a ‘no’. These are times when what we ask for isn’t the best for us. Often these are our own desires.

iii.)           Wait

l  Sometimes God tells us to wait. The time is not yet right.

l  In prayer, what is most important is the will of God, not ourselves.

3.)    Prayer of restoration (7-9)

l  Jonah looks to God again through repentance. And after repentance, he begins to worship God through his words.

l  When we humble ourselves, we’re able to praise and worship the almighty God.

l  Prayer is the beginning of restoration.

l  Prayer must be at the forefront of our lives.

l  God leads us through prayer.

l  Our lives of faith need to be driven by prayer. Our spiritual condition should be our main concern. Therefore, we need to distance ourselves from anything that interferes with prayer.