Rain

"Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!".

1 Kings 18:41

Have you ever felt like you are on the cusp of something? It’s like you’ve been in a desert waiting for the drink of water to renew your soul.

Sometimes life hands us desert times - times we are in the holding ground. Times that we feel without hope, answers, calling, or movement. Sometimes we seem to be in a torrid of movement only to realize we’ve not quite arrived.

I love the stories of Elijah. He was a man of God. A prophet taken up in a windstorm. He defeated the priests of baal and outran a horse.

Elijah means ‘Yaweh is my God.’ This says to me, that the one true God of the Hebrews, yaweh, is the one who he relies on, trusts and believes in. He couldn’t have had a better name.

But did you know that even Elijah was afraid…of a woman? (But that’s a story for another time -1 Kings 19.)

One of my favorite verses is James 5:17 ‘Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!’ (NET)

Let’s break this apart.

1.       Elijah was human. (The obvious is stated here.)

2.       Elijah was just like us.

a.       Ok – what can this mean? Is he better than us? No. Does he stumble like us? Yes. Does he fear like us? Yes.

3.       What did he do? He prayed earnestly.

a.       Earnestly means: with sincere and intense conviction; seriously.

b.       The definition of earnest – the root word – is: serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous.

c.       He sincerely, with intent, purpose and effort, zealously prayed for it not to rain for 3 ½ years.

4.       And it did not rain for 31/2 years.

Now that we know he is not different from us, or greater than us, I believe the key to the answered prayer is that it was earnestly – sincerely – with intent and purpose – prayed.

                He was praying God’s will.

As a prophet, Elijah was called to speak God’s word to his people, and to those in charge of his people. We find this particular story of Elijah beginning in 1 Kings 17. Ahab is ruling over Israel, God’s people. He marries Jezebel, and together they bow down in worship of Baal and build a temple to Baal. As verse 33 states, he did more to provoke the anger of the Lord than any other king of Israel.

We pick up here with Elijah’s words. 1Kings 17:1 ‘Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!” (There are incredible miracles in chapter 17, but we are going to skip on over the chapter 18 to continue.) Basically, fast forward 3 years to the end of a horrific drought. Chapter 18:1 ‘Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” ² So Elijah went to appear before Ahab.’

Elijah goes and encounters Ahab in chapter 18, which presents another incredible miracle – where there is no question of who God is… and then we move to verse 41.

Two things to look at now…

1.       God sends Elijah – as we are told very plainly in 1 Kings Chapter 18, verse 1.

2.       Elijah goes.

So let’s read the rest of the story together picking up at verse 41.

1 Kings 18: ⁴¹ Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”

⁴² So Ahab went to eat and drink.’

Let’s stop here a second. Ahab was evil in the Lord’s eyes, but at this moment he knows that it’s time to listen to God’s prophet. We need to keep and ear open to when God uses people to speak into our lives. Pray for discernment.

Now I honestly have an excitement in my soul reading this entire passage.

The very next part of verse 42 says….’But Elijah…’ Let’s look.

 ‘But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.

⁴³ Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”

The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.”

Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. ⁴⁴ Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”

⁴⁵ And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel.⁴⁶ Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt^[g] and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.

Ok. I have chills. Here is the truth of the matter. God performed a HUGE miracle right before this. I bet Elijah could be walking in confidence that God listened and came through. But what did Elijah do after he delivered his message to Ahab?

He prayed. He bent down into a humble posture and went to the Lord praying for the very thing God told him was about to happen. He prayed with expectancy and confidence – so much so he sent his servant to look for what he was expecting. And all it took to know the answer was a tiny cloud the size of a fist.

With that, he announced the rain, and ran really fast – back (I’m picturing how fast Edward Cullen ran…)

There is so much for us to model in our walk.

1.       Obedience.

2.       Confidence God will do what he says.

3.       Praying God’s will. This takes faith. This also takes spending regular time with God by getting in his word, prayer and fellowshipping with those trusted friends who walk with God.

4.       Praying for God to bring it to pass and keeping your eyes open to the signs that ‘its’ coming. If he calls you to something, he will open doors. He will set up divine appointments. He will provide what you need or who you need to accomplish the task. Your job is to bathe it in prayer and stay in the word.

As he starts moving you toward the task, start praying for everything you can think of. Pray for vision. Pray for strategies to implement. Pray for the people he will add to the equation to help you accomplish the task. Pray for funds. Pray for support. Pray for godly friends. Pray whatever comes to mind.

I just read several verses that reminded me of the importance of prayer for the vision he gives you. Even as the vision or task approaches, don’t get so caught up in the details that you forget to put God at the helm… He is the one who told you what to do.

Elijah got down on his knees and prayed till he knew it was time to run!  (Imagine what kind of power the holy spirit could give you to ‘run’ with his task in his timing.)

The important thing to remember is that it is his task. God visioned, God given and God implemented.

Keep your focus on the creator and stay teachable and humble. It’s time to see God do great things!

Scripture:

James 4:2 ‘You do not have because you do not ask.’

Matthew 7:7 ‘Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.’

Acts 10:2 ‘And he prayed to God regularly.’