PRAYING IN PAST TENSE 

Micah Smith 

Today's Scripture: "To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God." Jonah 2:6, ESV 

Theme: God meets us in the pit. He has a plan of rescue and salvation for us. 

THE TIGHTEST SQUEEZE 

I haven't been inside a whale (yet...), but I have been in a deep, dark, scary pit. The small church I attended growing up was always interested in sending our youth group on "fun outings", and in 1998 that meant "spelunking" in rural Ohio. For those not familiar, spelunking is the recreational practice of exploring wild, natural underground cave systems... not the "walk through a well-lit cave at a national park" kind, but the "someone at our church knows a guy with a pickup truck and six helmets" kind. Middle-school me, along with our youth leader Steve and about five other kids, met this “guide” and went with him into a cave system with almost no explanation of what we were actually doing... but we had those helmets and head lights, so what’s the worst that could happen? 

About a quarter of the way in, pitch black beyond our head lights and surrounded only by the sounds of our own grunting and breathing, our guide mentioned - a little late - that people had died in this exact cave doing this. Stuck underground, no way to call for help, and no reasonable way for rescuers to reach them even if they could – it was a super fun conversation starter and great detail that could have helped me to make the decision on "Do I actually want to do this?” The path he took us on through the cave narrowed to spaces where you had to suck in and turn sideways, opened up to spots where you could walk around, then to spots where you slid on your stomach under solid rock, inch by inch. There was no going around any of it – the only way was through. 

Our guide led the way, followed by five of my peers, then me, then Steve. About an hour in, we hit the tightest crawl yet. I squeezed through and kept moving, but a few minutes later realized Steve wasn't behind me anymore. He was stuck. Remember, I'm in middle school... I'm not that big. Steve was in his 30s and maybe not in the best shape of his life. I crawled back into that hole to find him wedged tight and starting to panic - so panicked that he was coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to make it through – and as calmly as possible, started asking me to tell his wife and newborn child that he loved them. I’m afraid to talk to girls my own age and now I have to try to explain this guy’s last words to his wife?!? 

A PRAYER FROM THE BOTTOM 

In Jonah 2:6, it sounds like Jonah is already rescued. He isn't—not yet. In Biblical Hebrew poetry and prayer, writers frequently described a hoped-for act of salvation using the past tense. When someone casts themselves so fully on God's mercy, the deliverance is considered certain enough to declare it already accomplished. Jonah is still quite literally in the pit, believing himself as good as dead, yet his prayer isn't one of despair: its recognition. God sent the fish to keep him from drowning, and God would complete the rescue. There's also an honest admission buried there: "I am at the absolute end of my own resources. Submission and repentance are the only options I have left." 

ANOTHER PRAYER FROM THE BOTTOM 

The weight of "tell my wife I love her" is a lot for anyone else – especially a middle schooler to carry – and for that reason, I never go spelunking without my wife so she can hear from me directly if I get stuck (just kidding, I will never spelunk again). But after a lot of yelling and controlled panic, we managed to crawl forward to a spot where the cave opened up enough for our guide to crawl back into that tight passage, coaching and pulling Steve through inch by inch while the rest of us prayed harder than we'd ever prayed in our lives. Eventually, Steve broke free, and we all made it out into the daylight - shaken, but alive. 

Make it Personal: How often are we running from something - accountability, hard conversations, a pattern we keep getting “stuck” in? Do we have the faith to pray in past tense, fully trusting that God can and will deliver us, even before we see the way out? We may never be stuck in a cave or swallowed by a fish, but we've all felt that walls-closing-in moment. What would it look like to bring your bold fears honestly to God today, trusting His rescue even in the middle of the dark? 

Pray: Lord, thank You for meeting us in the pit - not after we've climbed out, but while we're still stuck. Give me the faith to pray with confidence in Your deliverance, even when I can't yet see the way forward. Help me stop running from the things I know I need to face and remind me that submission to You isn't giving up - it's the beginning of rescue. In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

Read: Psalm 27

Weekly Memory Verse: “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.” Jonah 2:7, ESV