Jonah didn’t run toward God’s calling—he ran the other way. Sent to Nineveh, he fled to Joppa, boarded a ship for Tarshish, and ended up in the last place he expected: the belly of a great fish. Yet in that dark, desperate place, Jonah did one thing right—he prayed with everything he had.
In today’s episode of the MY Devotional Podcast, Dr. Michael Youssef invites you into Jonah 2:1–6, a prayer for anyone who feels trapped by a storm—whether that storm was caused by disobedience or came through no fault of your own. Dr. Youssef highlights a crucial detail: Jonah didn’t improvise empty words—he prayed the Scriptures back to God, echoing God’s promises (especially from the Psalms) when he didn’t know how, when, or even if deliverance would come.
This devotional will encourage you to:
- pray God’s promises when your emotions are overwhelming,
- trust God’s sovereign rescue even when you can’t see a way out, and
- remember this hope-filled Truth: even if we forsake God, He never forsakes His people.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your steadfast love and forgiveness. Because of Your grace and mercy, I can face any storm, for I know You are with me. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Scripture Focus: “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit” (Jonah 2:6).
*This devotional adapted from Life-Changing Prayers by Michael Youssef © 2018. Published by Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI. Used by permission.
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon Biblical Compassion, Part 3: LISTEN NOW
The voice you hear on the MY Devotional podcast is digitally generated with Dr. Youssef's permission. If today’s devotional stirred a question, burden, or need for prayer, you don’t have to walk through it alone.
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