All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. (Jonah 1:5, NIV)
Remember that, at this point, the ship’s crew did not know God. They had their own religion, but they did not know the God of the Bible. So when they found themselves in the storm, they all began to pray. And “each” of them cried out to his own god. So, a lot of “gods” were being asked to help. But it wasn’t making any difference.
Jonah had gone below deck, and he had fallen into a deep sleep. So, the captain went to him and said, “Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish” (1:6). “Our gods haven’t done anything. Why don’t you try yours?”
But Jonah is silent. He cannot pray. How can you pray to God when you are actively disobeying him? Christians who are running from God are of no use to lost people in a storm. R. T. Kendall says: “One of the most embarrassing things that can happen to a backslidden Christian is to have somebody come up to him and say: ‘I want you to pray for me.’”
Maybe you see yourself in Jonah here. Your witness is silent. Your ability to help lost people is compromised because you are locked into an unresolved conflict with God.
Jonah was silent because of his hidden rebellion against God. The life of every person on the ship was on the line, and the one person who knew God had nothing to offer, because he was immobilized by his own sin. Thank God the story doesn’t end there.
Is your ability to help lost people compromised in any way today?
