The Life of Elijah #5: Rain
CCEA
School of Discipleship
October
12, 2025
Introduction
Have all the men go to one side of the room, women to the other. Meet one
person you don’t know. Guys with guys,
gals with gals. Share one thing you could pray for each other.
Homework
How many of you read your Swindoll reading for today?
Chapter 6: A Man of God … A Promise of God
Can one person share with us one thing you were encouraged by?
How are you doing with your Bible memory verses? Anyone want to show off
and recite it?
(James 5:16–17
NKJV) —16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much. 17 Elijah was a
man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain;
and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
Just in case you forgot, the “final” for our class is all about your Bible
memory verses, so don’t put them off.
I’m going to ask each of you to recite your verses to someone outside
of our class and have them sign an affidavit stating they heard you recite
them. I’ve got the forms ready to go.
We’ve got printed copies for the class, and I will also attach a pdf of the
final on my next email.
And just to get you fired up, I have already received my first “final”,
from Gwen Davis who is taking the class remotely from Texas. As some of you
know, I don’t care if she used the “form”, I just love that she did it. She’s already got her “final” points – which
is 50 points, enough to tank your grade if you don’t do it.
If you want, you can do it one verse at a time. Recite a verse, have them sign. Do the next verse another week and have them
sign.
You can turn in your final paper in class or take a picture and email it to
me.
Just in case you forgot, to help you with your memory verses, I’ve been
doing a short exegesis of each the
verses.
Reviewing the short study on each verse can help you memorize it. Go to my YouTube channel and…
Verse 16 is at the beginning of class #2 (it’s on the YouTube video).
Verse 17 is at the beginning of class #3.
Today we’ll look at verse 18 …
James 5:18
(James 5:18 NKJV) And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth
produced its fruit.
:18 he prayed again
prayed – proseuchomai – to petition
deity, to pray
again – palin – repetition in the
same manner
Do you remember the phrase from verse 17
(James 5:17 NKJV) … and he
prayed earnestly that it would not rain…
That phrase “he prayed earnestly” could be translated literally, “he prayed
with prayer”.
He didn’t pray with magic beads. He didn’t pray while cutting himself.
He prayed with prayer. No secrets here. Just praying.
And now in verse 18, he simply prays again.
The verb (he prayed) is an aorist tense, a simple past tense.
When I first learned Greek fifty years ago, we were taught that an aorist
tense meant that something happened in a “point in time”.
But a few years ago as I was teaching a Greek
class with a more up-to-date Greek grammar, I found that koine Greek,
the type of Greek used in the New Testament, has changed. Or rather, our understanding of it has
changed.
You might ask, “how can a 2,000 year old
dead language change? The Bible’s manuscripts haven’t changed, but
archaeologists have now found other ancient manuscripts written in koine
Greek. These aren’t Biblical texts, but
common ordinary things like letters to loved ones, grocery lists, etc.
Now we know that an aorist tense isn’t a
“point in time”, but a simple past tense that might include a point in time, but could also include a whole variety of events
looked at in a single, simple word.
We’re going to see that Elijah didn’t pray a single prayer
at a point in time, but a series of prayers.
He prayed seven times in fact.
This time when Elijah prays, and God responds.
When God speaks, creation reacts.
(Psalm 29:3–5 NKJV)
—3 The voice of the Lord
is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is
over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord
is powerful; The voice of the Lord
is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
When Jesus and His disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee,
(Mark 4:39 NKJV) Then He
arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the
wind ceased and there was a great calm.
And now, with Elijah’s prayer and God’s response, you could say that
“heaven and earth” reacted in a way that brought the drought to an end.
:18 the heaven gave rain
gave – didomi – to give, to cause
to happen, produce, make
Simple aorist past tense
The drought is starting to end.
:18 the earth produced its fruit
produced – blastano – to cause
something to grow, produce
Simple aorist past tense
The earth didn’t just let the rain run-off into
the sea.
The earth took in the rain and crops began to grow.
This was the true goal, a harvest.
1Kings 18:41-46 Rain
Introduction
So Elijah has had his great confrontation with the
prophets of Baal.
He and the Baal prophets both sacrificed a bull and prayed to their “gods”.
The prophets of Baal went first, chanting, yelling, gashing themselves, all
to no avail. The writer records several times…
(1 Kings
18:29 NKJV) …But there was no voice; no one answered,
no one paid attention.
Then Elijah rebuilt Yahweh’s altar, poured water all over everything, and
uttered a simple 30 word (in Hebrew) prayer.
(1 Kings 18:38–39
NKJV) —38 Then the fire of the Lord
fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the
dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces;
and they said, “The Lord, He is
God! The Lord, He is God!”
Elijah then commanded the people to take the prophets of Baal down the
mountain to the Brook Kishon, where they were all executed.
Droughts and Rain
We talked several weeks back about how God would use droughts to get the
people’s attention. We used this as an example of how we pray “according to the
will of God”.
Moses gave the warning that if the nation ever strays from Yahweh and
serves other gods, then Yahweh might shut off the rain in
order to get their attention (Deut. 11:16-17)
Moses recorded God saying this:
(Deuteronomy
11:16–17 NKJV) —16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your
heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them,
17 lest the Lord’s anger
be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain,
and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which
the Lord is giving you.
This is one of the reasons why Elijah could be asking God
with confidence to shut off the rain.
But now the people have repented.
They have turned back to God. It’s time for rain.
So Elijah’s prayers are going to change as well.
400 years after Moses, when Solomon dedicated the Temple, he prayed…
(2 Chronicles
6:26–27 NKJV) —26 “When the heavens are shut up and
there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward
this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict
them, 27 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants,
Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should
walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an
inheritance.
This will be the new basis for Elijah’s prayers in our
passage.
God would respond to Solomon with these words,
(2 Chronicles
7:13–14 NKJV) —13 When I shut up heaven and there is
no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My
people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
:41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound
of abundance of rain.”
:41 Go up, eat and drink
Play Kishon map video
Remember that Elijah and the people are all down at the Brook Kishon (the
blue line on the map) where they’ve just slaughtered the prophets of Baal.
Elijah tells Ahab and the people to go back up to the top of Carmel again
where the sacrifice had been made.
It could be that some type of “feast” had been prepared for the occasion of
this great “challenge”.
This wasn’t a feast based on the “burnt offering”. A “burnt offering”
wasn’t one that was eaten by the worshippers – and this burnt offering was
completely toasted.
Think of this as the “tailgate party” that had been planned for the grand
confrontation.
Elijah tells Ahab to get something to eat.
One author (A.W.Pink)
suggested that Ahab might have felt relief when Elijah tells him to go back to
the “feast”, perhaps he might have wondered if he too would be put to death
like these prophets of Baal.
I wonder if there’s a bit of sarcasm in Elijah’s voice as well–
Ahab can go ahead and celebrate with a feast, but Elijah has some serious
work to do, like praying for rain.
:41 the sound of abundance of rain
There has been no rain for 3 ½ years.
Elijah doesn’t see anything, but he says he “hears” something.
We’ll see that there still isn’t any rain in sight.
Perhaps Elijah is stating this by faith that God is going to answer his
prayer.
God had already spoken to Elijah while he was still in Zarephath
(1 Kings
18:1 NKJV) …“Go, present
yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
God had spoken, Elijah had believed.
And now, even though there’s no evidence that anyone else “heard” the rain,
Elijah declared it. He knew it was
coming.
:42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of
Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
:42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink
A bit of a contrast in Ahab after all he’s seen.
Remember when Ahab met Elijah earlier,
(1 Kings
18:17 NKJV) Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that
Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
Now Ahab seems to be willing to listening
to Elijah, so he goes to eat and drink.
But Elijah does not.
He has more important things to do.
A.W. Pink writes around 1941,
“We have read of Belshazzar and his nobles feasting at the very hour that
the deadly Persians were entering the gates of Babylon. We have
heard of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning, and even of the royal
apartment at Whitehall being filled with a giddy crowd that gave itself up to
frivolity while William of Orange was landing at Tor Bay. And we have lived to
behold the pleasure-intoxicated masses dancing and carousing while enemy planes
are raining death and destruction upon them. Such is fallen human nature in
every age: if only they can eat and drink, people are indifferent of the
judgments of God and their eternal destiny.”[1]
“Every day we live,” wrote missionary Amy Carmichael, “we have to choose
whether we should follow in the way of Ahab or of Elijah.”[2]
Ahab chooses the feast. Elijah
chooses to pray.
:42 Elijah went up to the top of Carmel
Elijah is going to go further up the mountain than Ahab. Apparently, there was a spot higher in
elevation than where Ahab’s feast is.
Elijah needs to pray.
Quiz Alert
Lesson
1. Withdrawal in Prayer
Sometimes we need to “get away” from the noise and craziness when we pray.
Moses was up on Mount Sinai by himself for forty days at a time. Twice.
Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus needed to separate from the rest to
pray.
(Luke 22:41–42
NKJV) —41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying,
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless
not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Jesus established a practice from the very beginning of His ministry.
(Mark 1:35–38 NKJV)
—35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He
went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for
You.” 38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may
preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
Jesus got His directions each day from God, not the
pressure of the crowds.
You can see Jesus doing this over and over.
(Luke 5:16 NKJV) So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
(Mark 6:46 NKJV) And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to
pray.
I think there is great value in the discipline we call “Quiet Time”, or
daily devotions.
I think there needs to be two elements in our “Quiet Time” - Prayer and the
Bible
I think there is value in making a prayer list – having a
list of people and concerns that you commit to praying for every day.
I think there is value in reading your Bible and listening
for God’s voice every day.
I think it’s best to read through entire books of the
Bible and not just your favorite passages.
This is from the movie “War Room”
Play: War Room – Miss Clara’s Closet
And I think for these things to have the greatest influence on our lives,
we need to somehow learn to “withdraw”, to find a quiet place to read and pray.
It can be a literal closet. A kitchen table (early in the
morning). Your bed. For me it’s when I walk each day.
Or … I try to walk every morning. I have my prayer list on
my phone so I pray when I walk.
I will read my Bible on my phone while usually listening
to the audio portion as well, trying to get both audio and visual inputs into
my brain and heart.
:42 he bowed down on the ground
It is not uncommon in the Bible to see individuals fall on their face when
they are in the presence of God.
When Isaiah had a vision of God on His throne, he responded in horror…
(Isaiah 6:5 NKJV) So I said: “Woe is
me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes
have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
I think that when we are truly in God’s presence, we sense
our unworthiness and one of the first things to happen is we fall on our face
and ask for mercy.
When Ezekiel had his vision of God’s glory,
(Ezekiel
1:28 NKJV) …So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and
I heard a voice of One speaking.
Daniel had a vision of Jesus…
(Daniel 10:8-9 NKJV) —8 Therefore I was left alone when I
saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned
to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard
the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to
the ground.
Paul tells us that in the end, every knee shall bow before Jesus.
(Philippians 2:9–11
NKJV) —9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What’s interesting about Elijah, is that we aren’t told he’s seen a vision
of God, but we do know he’s aware of God’s presence when he prays.
Remember how Elijah first introduced himself to Ahab
(1 Kings
17:1 NKJV) …“As the Lord God of Israel lives, before
whom I stand…
Elijah prayed with his face to the ground.
Quiz Alert
Lesson
2. Cultivate Humility
Sometimes our pride can make us look pretty silly.
We think we know everything and then the truth comes out…
Play Video: Do You Know How To Use Your Inhaler
Humility doesn’t mind looking like an idiot.
Humility understands that I do need help.
The prayer that moves God is a prayer that comes from humility.
Jesus told a parable about two men praying in the Temple. One came from a place of pride, the other
from humility.
(Luke 18:9–14 NKJV)
—9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that
they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men
went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You
that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes
of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing
afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat
his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you,
this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted.”
Which man’s prayer did God pay attention to? The humble
man.
Peter wrote,
(1 Peter 5:5–7
NKJV) —5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your
elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed
with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
It’s not an easy thing for a younger person to “submit” to
an older person.
We are all supposed to learn to submit to one another (no,
not just wives towards husbands)
We are to be “clothed with humility”.
Why? Because if you are in the camp of the “proud”, you
will find that God is fighting against you.
God is “resisting” you.
The word “resists” is kind of an opposite to “submit” in
the Greek.
“Submit” (hupotasso)
means to line up under like an army lining up in ranks.
“Resist” (antitasso)
means to line up against, like an enemy does in battle.
But God gives “grace” to the humble.
I don’t think true humility comes naturally to us.
It’s not something that happens in an instant.
It’s something that needs tending or to be cultivated. Constantly.
It’s like a garden that needs to be watered, fed, and
weeded.
Paul wrote,
(Philippians
2:3–7 NKJV) —3 Let nothing be
done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of
you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of
others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did
not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made
Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming
in the likeness of men.
I think one of the best pictures of humility is seen in what Jesus did at
the Last Supper.
(John
13:3–5 NKJV) —3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had
given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to
God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and
girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a
basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the
towel with which He was girded.
Jesus took on the chore that a lowly servant should have already
done. Yet at the last supper, no one else had done it before supper. So Jesus does it.
(John
13:12–17 NKJV) —12 So when He had washed their feet,
taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I
have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and
you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and
Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done
to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his
master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
I think that one of the best ways to cultivate humility is
by serving others.
It’s something we all need to do on a regular basis.
(Isaiah 66:1–2
NKJV) —1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is
My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is
the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand
has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I
look: On him
who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.
Humility takes work. It needs to be cultivated.
:42 put his face between his knees
Quiz Alert
Lesson
3. Postures in Prayer
Illustration
Three Calvary Chapel pastors were discussing the best positions for prayer
while a telephone repairman worked nearby. “Kneeling is definitely best,”
claimed one pastor. “No,” another contended. “I get the best results standing
with my hands outstretched to Heaven.” “You’re both wrong,” the third insisted.
“The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate, face down on the floor.”
The repairman could contain himself no longer. “Hey, fellas,” he
interrupted, “the best prayin’ I ever did was hangin’ upside down from a telephone pole.”
As you’re going to see, the Bible gives us examples of lots of different
postures in prayer.
Standing
Jesus said,
(Mark 11:25 NKJV) “And whenever you stand
praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in
heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Sitting
We read about David,
(1 Chronicles 17:16 NKJV) Then King David went in and sat
before the Lord; and he said:
“Who am I, O Lord God? And
what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
Kneeling
When the Temple was dedicated, Solomon …
(2
Chronicles 6:13 NKJV) …knelt down on his
knees before all the assembly of Israel…
Paul with the Ephesian elders…
(Acts 20:36 NKJV) And when he had
said these things, he knelt down and prayed
with them all.
James, the half-brother of Jesus was known in the early church as “Old
Camel Knees” because his knees were so hard and calloused from spending so much
time in prayer on his knees.
Elijah had his face between his knees.
Prostrate (face down)
In the Garden of Gethsemane …
(Matthew 26:39 NKJV) He went a little farther and fell
on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this
cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
David wrote,
(Psalm 6:6 NKJV) I am weary with my groaning; All night I
make my bed swim;
I
drench my couch with my tears.
Hands up
Paul wrote,
(1 Timothy 2:8 NKJV) I desire therefore that the men pray
everywhere, lifting up holy hands,
without wrath and doubting;
Walking
When Elisha raised the Shunammite’s son from the dead he alternated between
laying on the child …
(2
Kings 4:35 NKJV) He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him;
then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
Noticed he walked back and forth in the house. I think he was praying.
Bishop Handley Moule (1841-1920) writes,
I very seldom venture to kneel at prayer in secret. At
night it leads almost invariably, and very speedily, to sleeping on my knees,
and even in the morning hour, I know not how, recollectedness
and concentration of heart and mind are usually quickened in my case by a
reverent standing attitude as before the visible Master and Lord, or by
walking up and down, either in-doors or, as I love to do when possible, in
the open air. A garden may prove a very truly hallowed oratory.[3]
I remember Pastor Chuck talking about praying. He used to say things similar to Bishop Moule about walking and praying.
My regular prayer time generally takes place in the morning on my walk.
I’ve got my prayer list on my phone
and I work through it as I walk.
To be honest, I don’t see any one “posture” in
prayer recommended over another in the Bible.
The point in prayer is to talk to God.
Some postures (like bowing) reflect our awe at His
presence.
Others are simple ways that we talk with Him. Some are
meant to keep us awake.
But however you do it … pray.
:43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And
seven times he said, “Go again.”
:43 his servant
Alfred Edersheim tells us that in Jewish tradition, this was the son of the
widow of Zarephath, who had been raised from the dead. He is now Elijah’s
servant.
:43 look toward the sea
We talked last week that Mount Carmel has views to the east and the west.
The servant would be able to see the Mediterranean Sea west from Mount
Carmel.
:43 seven times
Elijah prays and the servant looks, then they repeat that process. Seven times.
Quiz Alert
Lesson
4. Perseverance in Prayer
Our English word “perseverance” is defined as: Persistence in doing
something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
Illustration
Two guys came into the retirement home cafeteria whooping and hollering;
excitedly slapping each other on the back as they were getting their food. The attendant asked what they were
celebrating and they announced, “We finished a puzzle in only four
months!” The attendant was confused and
said, “What’s the big deal?” One of the
men joyfully answered, “The box top said ‘2 to 4
years’!”
You or I might not have been impressed, but at least the
old fellows kept at it!
Jesus taught on perseverance in prayer with a parable.
(Luke 18:1–8 NKJV)
—1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and
not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city
a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there
was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from
my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but
afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her
continual coming she weary me.’ ” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the
unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own
elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when
the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
God is not an “unjust judge”. But if the unjust judge paid
attention to someone coming to him day after day, how much more will God.
Some people will say that it’s a lack of faith to pray for
the same thing more than once. They will
say that if you truly believe, pray once and God will answer your prayer.
Yet Jesus didn’t seem to teach that at all.
And Jesus is saying that He wants to find “faith on the
earth”, He wants to see people who do not stop praying.
Sometimes God answers a simple, short prayer.
Like the fire from heaven.
Sometimes God answers after lots of prayer.
Like asking for rain.
Side Note: The servant was asked to keep checking. It’s okay when
you’ve asked God for something to “check” and see if it’s happened yet. It’s
okay to have a doctor “check” you after you’ve been prayed over. After Jesus
healed a blind man (Mark 8:22-26), he asked if he saw anything. When the man said “I see men like trees walking”, Jesus put His hands on
him again, and then the man was fully healed.
Illustration
George Muller was famous in his time as a man who built five orphanages in
his lifetime starting in 1836. At one point there were 1700 orphans being cared
for at once. More than 10,000 were cared for by the time he died.
But George Muller was also a man of prayer. His orphan work was started as
a proof to others that God answered prayer.
“In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of
five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether
sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my
engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was
converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others.
Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I
thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the
other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed
before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three,
and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.”
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons
of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in
God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not
converted yet, but they will be.”
In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray
daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but
after he died!
Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a
parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, “Then Jesus
told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not
give up” (Luke 18:1).
So Elijah’s servant is reporting on the weather
conditions…
:44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud,
as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So
he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the
rain stops you.’ ”
:44 Prepare your chariot
Things are going to get wet and muddy quick.
If Ahab wants to get home in his chariot, he better get moving. Chariots
aren’t going to do well on muddy roads.
Modern Israel has been in the middle of a severe drought.
A week ago, September 25, things changed.
Play rain video
On September 12, there was a record rainfall in
the north. They had 4 inches of rain in
90 minutes.
:45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds
and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
:46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins
and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
:45 to Jezreel
Jezreel was sort of a “winter capital” for the northern kingdom.
The main government headquarters were in Samaria, but Ahab had a winter
palace in Jezreel as well.
It’s about 15 miles as the raven flies from Mount Carmel to Jezreel.
Probably closer to 20 miles when you count getting down the mountain.
:46 ran ahead of Ahab
There are two ways to take this.
1. It may mean that Elijah “raced” Ahab back to Jezreel, and Elijah outran
the chariot. The NASB says he “outran Ahab to Jezebel” (with a footnote that he
“ran ahead” of Ahab)
The commentaries attribute this run of Elijah’s to the power of the Holy
Spirit helping him (the “hand of the LORD”).
In this sense, it’s likely he wants to get to Jezreel to deliver the news
about what happened before Ahab gets a chance to tell his version and twist
things.
2. It may mean that Elijah is acting as a sort of “escort” for Ahab, almost
as if he’s leading Ahab back to Jezreel.
The Hebrew text says he ran “in the face” or “before” Ahab.
He will still need God’s hand on him to do this, it’s 20
miles.
The same phrase in Hebrew is used to describe what the treacherous Absalom
did as he tried to show everyone he was worthy of
replacing his dad David.
(2 Samuel 15:1 NKJV) After this it happened that Absalom
provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
In this sense, it’s a demonstration that Elijah is no longer the “one who
troubles Israel”, but he’s the one who now escorts the king, like the secret
service is for the president.
I kind of like this latter idea.
Quiz
From the lecture (10pts):
1. Withdrawal in Prayer
2. Cultivate Humility
3. Postures in Prayer
4. Perseverance in Prayer
Homework
Read Swindoll: Chapter 7: Sure Cure for the
Blues
Memorize/review James 5:16-18
If you want and you can, do your final.
Pray
Blessing