Jonah is rescued from drowning by a great fish in whose stomach he remained three days and three nights. Here Jonah prayed this prayer recorded for us. He speaks of how when he was drowning in the sea and the weeds were wrapping around him, he cried to the Lord (v2-6).

Jonah had to be brought so low, to the very brink of death, so that he would turn once more back to God. Sheol (v2) is the place of the dead.

Often God has to use trials and suffering to cause us to seek Him and listen to His voice. Trials come to the Christian because God loves us and wants to prepare us to receive His best. As trials come, we mustn’t just desire for them to be removed, we need to seek what it is God wants to achieve through them. (see Hebrews 12:5-8, James 1:2-5)

Jesus used Jonah’s time in the fish as being symbolic of His time in the tomb (see Matthew 12 v40). The difference between Jesus and Jonah was that Jesus was innocent and willingly endured His suffering to save.