When my soul fainted within me

Jonah 2:7

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

Has your soul ever been faint? Have you ever been depleted of energy, emptied of vitality, and made devoid of hope? If ever a soul was faint, it was the soul of Jonah! A man who had run from the presence of the Lord and from His command and call. This in itself is a great weariness. It is a weariness to run from the Lord’s call. But Jonah found himself in his disobedience in a place that no one would ever desire to be. He did not place himself in this place of his own will. God chose that he would be in the belly of the great fish. Jonah thought he would be dead at this time. He had been cast overboard, not expecting to live in the depths of the sea. But God was more merciful that that. The fish swallowed him up, and now his life has been preserved in the bowels of the whale. He was low! He said that the earth with her bars was about him for ever! He had gone to the bottoms of the mountains. Never a man had found himself in such a low spot. But Jonah knew what to do. He already had experience in hard places. When his soul was faint within him, he knew what the next step should be. He said, “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord.” He remembered the Lord! That’s the answer! People only find themselves hopeless and without recourse or action when they forget the Lord.

He remembered the Lord! Let us think on this for a moment. I return to my original question. Has your soul ever been faint? Is it faint right now? If so, what will you do? You must remember the Lord. Do not let the waves and billows of sorrow which are about you overwhelm your memory of the Lord. Do not let the crashing and the thrashing of the storm and whirlwind blow the memory of the Lord from your mind. Remember the Lord! For He is your only salvation! Jonah acknowledged while in the belly of the whale that “salvation is of the Lord.” And when he recognized that, the Lord told the whale to spit him out on dry land.

Remember the Lord! What does this mean? Jonah says here, “My prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.” This means we must pray! Yes, pray! Don’t talk to others; don’t ruminate over your troubles for ever; don’t calculate and devise a plan to escape. No! No! No! Pray instead! Remember the Lord! Because your prayer will come in unto the Lord. In your state of trouble and tribulation, your prayer will be as incense before the Lord. The aromatic fragrance will rise up before the throne of God as the evening sacrifice. This shall be more pleasing to the Lord than thousands of bullocks. Yea, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart He will not despise. But He will certainly accept the sacrifice of praise from our lips, as we give thanks to His name. This is the greatest pleasure to the Lord. Pray! Remember Him! Your prayer will come into His holy temple. He is waiting to inhale the scent of your prayers, if only you will pray. He will savor it, He will love it. Dear friend, when you are faint, there is one thing to do—remember the Lord and pray.

“Father, we thank you that there is never a time that you do not hear and accept our prayers. It is the sweetest sacrifice to you and the most pleasing oblation. In the straits of our souls, may we turn to the Lord as Jonah did. Although Jonah had disobeyed the Lord, He knew how to return to the Lord and receive forgiveness and healing. Oh Lord, may we never cease to remember you! And when we do forget, please forgive us, and may we direct our prayer back up to your throne, that you may receive the calves of our lips graciously. And we shall praise you for this. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”