Scripture: Jonah 2

One tremendous lesson of Scripture is that God is interested in second chances. In Jonah we see a prophet who ran from God, then after his encounter with a fish, ran back to God. From his prayer in the belly of a fish to his subsequent response to God's call, we learn that God often uses our circumstances to teach us His will, and that coming to that will is often as simple as just giving up to him. In that case--when we've run far away from God--we find in that surrender that God is much closer than we think.

"There is only one thing that will stop God from hearing your prayers no matter what you have done or where you are. It is not location since God can hear your prayer anywhere. It is not distance since you are never so far from God that He can’t hear you. The only thing that will stop God from hearing your prayer is sin." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: Jonah, Nineveh, prophet, Old Testament, fish, whale, sea, boat, storm, WITSEC, alcohol, addiction, powerless, freedom, imprisoned