A Fish Story to Remember Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: A Fish Story to Remember ----------------------- Date: 05/23/1999 Keywords: "fish" "Jonah" "prayer" "regret" "whale" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. The three-minute Bible studies for May 21-24, are all taken from the Old Testament prophecy of Jonah. You can find the book of Jonah in its entirety by going to eXXit’s home page and clicking on "Search Systems." Type in "Jonah" in the "Passage" window and hit ENTER. The book of Jonah will appear. Enjoy! Passage: Jonah 2:1-10* 1. Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, 2. and he said, "I called out of my distress to the LORD, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; Thou didst hear my voice. 3. "For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Thy breakers and billows passed over me. 4. "So I said, 'I have been expelled from Thy sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Thy holy temple.' 5. "Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, Weeds were wrapped around my head. 6. "I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars {was} around me forever, but Thou hast brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. 7. "While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came to Thee, into Thy holy temple. 8. "Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, 9. But I will sacrifice to Thee with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD." 10. Then the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land. Questions 1. Where was Jonah when he prayed this prayer?   2. What brought him to this place (see Jonah chapter 1)?   3. What words would you use to describe how Jonah felt as he prayed?   Practical help As Jonah was disobeying God by trying to get out of going to the city of Nineveh, God "appointed a great fish (probably a whale) to swallow Jonah" (Johah 1:17). As Jonah was praying from the belly of the whale, he realized what a predicament his disobedience had landed him in. Whenever we travel away from God’s intended destination, we land ourselves in trouble. Sometimes the trouble is subtle (and therefore more dangerous, because we don’t perceive we are even in trouble!), and sometimes, as in Jonah’s case, it is pretty obvious that we are in trouble. Involvement with pornography moves us away from purity, which is what God longs to see in His people. That is trouble. The nearer to the Tarshish of disobedience we travel, the greater the trouble. You don’t want to find yourself six months from now in more trouble than you currently are experiencing. The more steps you take toward impurity, the greater the trouble. Reverse the trend now. There are rich rewards to a porn-free life — not the least among them being the fresh air you breathe freely outside the belly of the whale! eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 1999 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."