Elijah. Many awesome story's are told of this prophet. One of my favorites, is when it rains.
In 1 Kings 17 it tells of a severely drought that Israel was plagued with due to their disobedience to the Lord. Elijah predicted the drought and because of it, his was was in danger. At that time king Ahab was ruling. Ahab is described as the most evil king of Israel, and for just reason, too.
In chapter 18 of 1 Kings we come to see the Lord perform awesome wonders in front of His people, and Elijah is used mightily by the Lord. Verses 41-46 leave me in awe.
In these verses we find Elijah declaring that rain will be coming. The land has been barren and without rain for a long time now, so this proclamation seemed absolutely absurd.
Yet Elijah speaks with such conviction as he shouts to Ahab, "Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!"
Scene change, Elijah is now on top of a mountain where he has the best view of any impending rainclouds. You can almost picture him kneeling on the floor, with his face bowed low to his lap and his hands prostrated before the Lord as he prayed.
And he prayed,
and prayed,
and prayed some more..
In 1 Kings 17 it tells of a severely drought that Israel was plagued with due to their disobedience to the Lord. Elijah predicted the drought and because of it, his was was in danger. At that time king Ahab was ruling. Ahab is described as the most evil king of Israel, and for just reason, too.
In chapter 18 of 1 Kings we come to see the Lord perform awesome wonders in front of His people, and Elijah is used mightily by the Lord. Verses 41-46 leave me in awe.
In these verses we find Elijah declaring that rain will be coming. The land has been barren and without rain for a long time now, so this proclamation seemed absolutely absurd.
Yet Elijah speaks with such conviction as he shouts to Ahab, "Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!"
Scene change, Elijah is now on top of a mountain where he has the best view of any impending rainclouds. You can almost picture him kneeling on the floor, with his face bowed low to his lap and his hands prostrated before the Lord as he prayed.
And he prayed,
and prayed,
and prayed some more..
"Go see if any rain clouds are coming, yet," he tells his assistant, as if Elijah already knew his prayer had been answered and it was only a matter of time. "Nope, nada, nothing, zippo!" was his servants reply.
Back down on his knees Elijah went. And he prayed.
and he prayed,
and he prayed some more.
Elijah told his servant to look six more times (Seven times in all-- coincidence that this is also the number that is symbolic for completion in the Bible? I think NOT!) seven times Elijah's servant responded with, "I see nothing," and thus Elijah went back on his knees, and began to pray more.
You can picture this man, hot, sweaty, maybe even a little sunburnt on this hill. He gets up in anticipation of an answered prayer. He is praying so hard his back hurts and he is exhausted. Each time he stands up he is exasperated , yet he patiently awaits his answer. The servant by this time may have even lost interest. He may have even lost hope.
And finally, the seventh time. Elijah stands up and tells his servant to look out towards the sea. The servant comes back and responds, "I see a cloud, super tiny, about as small as my fist, nothing too impressive to cause a storm.'
Elijah's spirits are renewed. "RUN AND TELL AHAB TO GO HOME, OR THE RAIN WILL SOON STOP HIM!"
If I were the servant, I would have started running with a baffled look on my face. I would have wondered why Elijah had so much faith in a raincloud that was so small.
Elijah remembered something that we often forget, the Lord is FAITHFUL to His people. The Lord answers in His own time. Just because we do not get an answer right away, does not mean we will not get one at all.
Within moments it says that, "And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm."
Back down on his knees Elijah went. And he prayed.
and he prayed,
and he prayed some more.
Elijah told his servant to look six more times (Seven times in all-- coincidence that this is also the number that is symbolic for completion in the Bible? I think NOT!) seven times Elijah's servant responded with, "I see nothing," and thus Elijah went back on his knees, and began to pray more.
You can picture this man, hot, sweaty, maybe even a little sunburnt on this hill. He gets up in anticipation of an answered prayer. He is praying so hard his back hurts and he is exhausted. Each time he stands up he is exasperated , yet he patiently awaits his answer. The servant by this time may have even lost interest. He may have even lost hope.
And finally, the seventh time. Elijah stands up and tells his servant to look out towards the sea. The servant comes back and responds, "I see a cloud, super tiny, about as small as my fist, nothing too impressive to cause a storm.'
Elijah's spirits are renewed. "RUN AND TELL AHAB TO GO HOME, OR THE RAIN WILL SOON STOP HIM!"
If I were the servant, I would have started running with a baffled look on my face. I would have wondered why Elijah had so much faith in a raincloud that was so small.
Elijah remembered something that we often forget, the Lord is FAITHFUL to His people. The Lord answers in His own time. Just because we do not get an answer right away, does not mean we will not get one at all.
Within moments it says that, "And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm."
"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
James 5:16
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