Finding Hope in Uncertain TimesSample

When Hope Starts Fading, Start Praying

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.” Jonah 2:1 (NIV)

Have you ever felt swallowed up by life? Maybe you were surrounded by depression, conflict, worry, or guilt—and you started to feel hopeless.

I hope you’re not feeling that way right now, but at some point, you will. We all will! You might lose a loved one, a job, or your health.

When you’re faced with a hopeless situation, think about what Jonah did.

Jonah received a mission from God, but he chose to run away from it. So God stopped him by sending a great fish to swallow him up. And as Jonah sat in that great fish, he finally looked up to God.

In fact, the entire second chapter of Jonah is about him praying while he sinks into the ocean and gets swallowed by a giant fish: “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God” (Jonah 2:1 NIV).

It’s a lesson for us when we’re feeling overwhelmed when we’re feeling swallowed by life’s problems. That’s the time we need to look up to God in prayer.

There are problems in life so difficult that they can only be overcome through prayer. In Mark 9, some of Jesus’ followers had been trying to drive a demon out of someone, but they couldn’t. They asked Jesus why.

Jesus responded, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:29 NIV).

Some problems are so deeply rooted that only persistent prayer will solve them. That means you don’t just pray about them one time and then expect God to answer. If you only care about something enough to pray about it once, then you don’t really care about it. If you truly want to see something happen in your life, then you will pray about it over and over.

Never give up! God wants to build your faith through your persistent prayer.

If you’re feeling hopeless today, look up to God and keep praying, knowing that he hears you and will answer in his time.

This devotional © 2024 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.