The prayer of Jonah: When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you. Jonah 2:7

The prophet Jonah is frequently mentioned in the gospels, Jesus told us about the "sign of Jonah" when the enemies of our Lord asked about the Kingdom of Heaven, and the story of this prophet is a demonstration of the universal reach of God's mercy (compassion, kindness, gentleness), and that the Lord in his unconditional love (Agape) is always willing to forgive those who repent of their sins. We also see in this story some similarities with the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
Jonah's story is a story that is superficially very picturesque and funny, but it is leaving us a deep message, Nineveh was the capital of the ancient Assyrian empire, and this country was in those times a mortal enemy of the nation of Israel, the assyrians were a very warlike people and feared by all. God sent the prophet to preach in the worst place Jonah could go: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me" Jonah 1:2.
It was logical that in the face of all this that the prophet Jonah did not want to fulfill the mission assigned by God. It was so that Jonah decided to hide from the presence of God and fled from the place where he resided, and decided to leave for Tarshish. But God followed Jonah who had taken a ship to his destination, and during the trip a storm broke out. The crew members of the ship suspected Jonah and after an argument with him, they threw him into the sea and a large fish engulfed the prophet.
In the belly of the fish, Jonah made a prayer to God acknowledging his power and sovereignty, and God forgave Jonah, so were his words:
"When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, LORD,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God's love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ´Salvation comes from the LORD.´" Jonah 2:7-9.
Jonah, and thus the story concludes, finally went to preach in Nineveh, the sinful city was converted, and repented of its sins, and the Lord in his love forgave them.

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