It wasn’t until he experienced fear and loneliness inside the big fish that Jonah reached out to the Lord through the words found in Psalms. While his prayer expresses the truth about the Lord, Jonah’s hypocritical, self-righteous behavior throughout the book forms a strong contrast to his prayer. It is questionable if Jonah is demonstrating true repentance. Despite this, God continues to deal with Jonah graciously by hearing his prayer, saving him from drowning and a permanent residence in Sheol, and by providing deliverance in the belly of the big fish. God answers us in our guilty distress to help us become merciful like He is