Elijah - Effective Prayer

 

Have you ever prayed for something only to see it never happen?  Most of us have.  Fathers, maybe you prayed for a stronger marriage only to find things falling apart around you, or maybe you prayed for your children to grow in their faith only to see them turn away saying that they aren’t sure they believe in God anymore.  Maybe you have prayed for a job that will provide for your family, or for the health of your children or parents, and you haven’t seen any positive results.  

Obviously, I’m not just talking to fathers today, all of us have prayed for things that never seemed to happen, and at times we are left asking ourselves, does prayer really work?  Can prayer help me overcome an addiction?  Can prayer reduce my stress and anxiety? Can prayer help me overcome fear and stop worrying?  Can prayer really give me peace?   

It can.  Prayer can do all of this and more.  Prayer can be effective and powerful and not only transform our lives but touch the lives of others.  Today we are going to learn 4 key elements of effective prayer by looking at a prayer from the prophet Elijah.  All this month we have been learning from Elijah how to be the people of faith God wants us to be and Elijah shows us that prayer is a key to it all and that our prayers can be effective.

In case you haven’t been with us, Elijah had been called by God to point out the sin of King Ahab and the people of God.  As the worst king in the history of Israel, Ahab had drawn the people away from God and encouraged them to worship false gods.  One of those gods was Baal, a god the people thought brought the rain.  To show that there is only one God, Elijah told the people that it would not rain until he said it would.  Elijah’s prayer closed the heavens and shut off the rain.  His prayer was powerful and effective and ours can be as well because we are just like Elijah.  The Bible says,

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  James 5:17

Elijah was a human being just as we are.  He didn’t have any extraordinary powers, he was simply called by God, and he listened to what God asked him to do.  Then Elijah prayed.  Elijah’s prayer shut the heavens for three years.   The drought was to get the attention of the people and draw them back to God, but it also showed them that Baal was not the god that brought the rain. Baal can’t provide anything; everything comes from God because there is only one God.  

After 3 years of no rain, God said that it was now time for rain to come so he sent Elijah off to pray again.  

Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.  “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.  “There is nothing there,” he said.  Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”  So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”  1 Kings 18:42b-44.

When he goes off to pray, the first thing Elijah does is kneel on the ground and put his face between his knees.  Even though God had called Elijah for this task, and God had already done some powerful miracles through him, like bringing a young boy back to life and calling down fire from heaven, Elijah still knew the holiness and power of God.  In the presence of God, Elijah knew he was nothing. 

Elijah humbles himself before God.

Effective prayer is HUMBLE prayer.

Elijah had learned that while God used him to do some great miracles, the power always came from God.  Elijah knew that if it was going to start raining, it wasn't going to be by his word or his power.  Elijah didn’t stop the rain so he knew he wouldn’t be the one to start it up again.  God alone had that power and Elijah acknowledges the power of God by bending his knee and bowing his head.  He takes a physical posture of humility that reflects a heart that is humble before Almighty God.   

In our desire to show that God is approachable and loving, we sometimes forget the sheer power and majesty of God.  The Bible says we are to fear the Lord.  That doesn’t mean we are to be afraid of God, but it does mean we need to always stand in awe and of who God is.  It means to see the power and holiness of God, a power and holiness that at times drives us to our knees.  

While Jesus said we can come to God as our father, actually He used the word “abba” which means “daddy”, and while we often talk about God as the good shepherd who loves and cares for His sheep, we can never forget that God is also The Almighty One.  God is the Holy and Righteous One.  God is the One who is so big and powerful that if we were to really see ourselves in His presence we would fall to the ground.  Instead of being forced to the ground, can we choose to kneel?  Can we humble ourselves?  

James 4:10, Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.   Proverbs 3:34, God shows favor to the humble.  

Through difficult seasons and powerful miracles, Elijah learned humility.  Nothing was going to happen because his hand was powerful, it would happen because God’s hand was powerful.  If we really want to get God’s attention in prayer, we need to find a quiet place and humble ourselves.  God will take notice.  God will grant us favor and lift us up.  

From his knees, Elijah told his servant to go and look to the west to see if the rain was coming because that was what he prayed for.  Elijah prayed for rain.  The second thing we learn about prayer from Elijah is this: 

Effective prayer is SPECIFIC prayer.

Elijah wasn’t asking God to help them, or be with them in some generic way, he was asking God to stir up a rain cloud far off in the west to bring rain to the land of Israel.  He was asking for something specific, which means that we can also ask God for the specific things we need.  It’s ok to ask God for the miracle of healing we are looking for.  It’s ok to ask God to mend a broken relationship or provide us with the job we need.  While we always need to allow room for God’s will, it’s ok to be clear and specific with God about what we need.  

When I was debating whether or not to return to college, I was pretty specific with God in prayer.  I told God that I needed to get readmitted to the university and that I wanted an apartment in a specific student housing development.  God knew what I needed to take that step of faith and return to school so He got me back into the university and into an apartment in Spartan Village.  

We need to make sure our prayers aren’t arrogant or selfish, humility has to be the foundation of our prayers, but God honors us when we are honest and clear with Him about what we need and even what we want.  It might be that we need to hear the specifics of our prayers so we can evaluate them and see if they are in line with God’s will.  So, pray boldly and clearly.  Tell God clearly what you need and what you are looking for.  Again, the book of James says, you do not have because you do not ask.  James 4:2b

Elijah was specific.  God, send rain.  Stir up a cloud over the sea that will bring rain to the land of Israel.  Elijah sent his servant up to see if any rain was coming and he returned and said there was nothing there.  Right here, Elijah could have given up.  He could have cried out and asked why nothing was happening or why God had abandoned him.  When things didn’t happen quickly and with his first prayer, Elijah could have given in or given up, but he didn’t.  Elijah kept praying.  

Elijah told his servant to go and look again for a rain cloud while he prayed.  Again, the servant saw nothing, so Elijah kept praying.  Five more times Elijah told his servant to go see if any rain was coming and it was after the seventh time that the servant finally said, I see a cloud about as big as a man's hand on the horizon.  

Effective prayer is PERSISTENT prayer.  

After one prayer, Elijah didn’t give up.  He didn’t quit and go home.  He didn’t even doubt God’s power or ability to make it rain, he just kept praying.  Again and again, Elijah humbled himself before God and asked for a rain cloud to form and come their way. Elijah didn’t let his outward circumstances determine his inner confidence.  Can I say that again, Elijah didn’t let his outward circumstances determine his inner confidence.  

Just because we don’t see God moving or working or providing for us right now doesn’t mean God isn’t at work in answering our prayer.  When we don’t see any answers, when we aren’t sure of the outcome, we need to keep praying.  Is there something that you have stopped praying for?  A relationship, a job, a future with hope, the healing of someone you love, healing in your own life.  Is there something you have stopped praying for because you never saw God move?  Maybe God is asking you to pick it up again and keep praying.  In humility, knowing that it will only be by the power of God that things will change, start praying again and keep going.  

Elijah prayed seven times before a small cloud appeared way off on the horizon.  As soon as he saw it, Elijah told his servant to go tell King Ahab to prepare his horses and descend the mountain before the rain would be so strong that it would stop him.  There was no question in Elijah’s mind that it was going to rain.  In fact, he knew there would be so much rain that travel would be dangerous. 

Effective prayer is EXPECTANT prayer.  

Elijah didn’t just expect the rain to come when he saw the cloud, he knew it was going to come long before he saw the cloud.  Before Elijah even went up to Mt Carmel to pray, he told Ahab that he heard the sound of heavy rain.  Before he prayed, Elijah expected God to provide because God said He was going to send rain. 

Even knowing that God said it was going to rain, if I was in Elijah’s situation, I would have waited a while to see if this cloud amounted to anything.  Was this the cloud that was going to bring rain?  Maybe it was going to be another cloud, or the next storm front?  Elijah didn’t wait for confirmation from accu-weather before he acted, he sent his servant at the first sign of a cloud.  He trusted God so completely that he knew God was at work in that first cloud.  

There is a fine line between moving forward in faith and being brash and arrogant.  To make sure that we aren’t acting in arrogance and pride, we need to make sure that we are still on our knees and bowing our hearts before God.  That’s where Elijah was when he told his servant to go to Ahab.  We begin to see the importance of humility in our prayer life and in our relationship with God.  Without humility, things can get twisted and ugly.  Proverbs says, pride comes before a fall, so we have to keep our hearts humble, but if we are humble and faithful, we can pray with the expectation that God will provide.  

When I was a student pastor in seminary, I spent a year working at a church in Graham, NC.  There was a woman of great faith there who had been diagnosed with cancer and she wanted us to pray for her healing.  One Sunday evening we had an amazing prayer service for her and others and we all prayed with boldness and the expectation that she would be healed.  And she was.  The tumors shrank, the cancer went into remission, and we praised God.  Our expectation when we prayed was that God was going to heal her and He did.

A year after I left the church, I heard that the cancer had returned and I visited the woman again.  I asked if we could pray and she said, yes, let’s pray for healing, so we did, but this time our expectation was that God was going to bring her eternal healing.  And He did.  A few weeks later she died, and we celebrated because we knew she got the healing we had prayed for.  

Twice we prayed for healing and our expectations was that God would heal, and both times He did.  It just looked different each time. 

It takes boldness to pray expecting God to move.  You probably have heard the story of the town that was experiencing a drought, so they set up a prayer service for rain.  When the day came, all the church leaders showed up, and the congregation was all there, but there was only one girl who showed up expecting God to move because she was the only one who brought an umbrella.  This is the kind of prayer God desires.  A prayer so steeped in faith and trust that we know God will move.  A prayer so humble and powerful that we trust God will be true to His word and provide. 

Elijah was an ordinary person.  He was just like us.  What made him so powerful was that he knew how to pray.  He was humble, specific, persistent and he expected God to provide.  To grow in our faith, to become the people and servants God wants us to be, and to experience the full power of the Almighty God at work in us and through us, we need to pray like Elijah.  So… let’s pray.  

 

Next Steps

The Prayer of Elijah

What do we learn about prayer from Elijah in 1 Kings 18:41-46?  

Effective prayer is:

Humble

● Explore different physical postures of humility in prayer.  Examples: Kneeling. Head bowed. Palms up.  

● What does it mean for your heart to be bowed before God in prayer?  

Specific

● Take your general prayers of “God help me” and “God be with me” and make them specific.

● How did Jesus teach us to be specific when he gave us the Lord’s prayer?  What did He tell us to pray for?  

Persistent

● Why is it difficult to pray for the same thing over and over?  How does this make you feel about yourself?  How does this make you feel about God?

● What have you stopped praying for that God is asking you to start praying for again?  

Expectant

● What prayer do you keep praying but have given up hope of God answering?  

● What would a prayer of faith and expectation look like in this situation?  

Read James 4 & 5. What does this teach us about prayer?

Sign up for the Rhythm Workshop on Prayer to be held Sunday, July 16 at 2:00 PM.  Sign up online or in the lobby.

Elijah - Which God will you serve?

 

Today we are going to continue in our series on the prophet Elijah and look at one of the most spectacular miracles recorded in the Bible.  As we do, let’s remember where Elijah is and what has been going on.  Elijah was called by God when Ahab was king of Israel.  Ahab was the 19th consecutive bad king in Israel, but he had the distinction of being the worst of all.  

Not only did Ahab and his wife not worship the one true God but they also encouraged others to worship false gods.  The gods they encouraged people to bow down to and worship were Baal and Asherah.  Baal was often depicted as a ram because he was known for his strength and power.  He was also seen as a god of the sun and storms and was the one who brought rain and dew to the land.  Last week we heard Elijah say that God was going to stop the rain throughout all of Israel because of the sin of the people so Elijah had already shown that God has more power than Baal, but this didn’t stop the people from worshiping him.  

Above everything else that Ahab and Jezebel did, it was leading the people to worship Baal that angered God the most.  The very first of the 10 Commandments says, you shall have no other gods before me, and the second commandment said we are not to make or worship any idols.  Above everything else, God wants and commands us to worship Him and Him alone.

When Jesus was asked which of all the commandments was the most important, He said it was to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and ALL your mind, and ALL your soul, and ALL your strength.  God is not interested in part of our heart, or even most of our heart - God wants all our heart and our mind and soul and strength.  God wants all of us.  God is not content with a portion of our lives, and He grieves when we worship any other god.  

While we might say that we don’t bow down and worship any other god, the truth is that we often worship and serve other gods.  Money can be a god.  We trust our money to make us secure and we think our money will make us happy.  But money doesn’t bring us security because all our money could be wiped out in a week if the economy collapsed.  There is no security in our wealth or possessions, and in fact the more possessions we have the more we find they possess us as we live to care for them.  Money is a huge false god in our lives.  We think it will provide us with things that only God can provide like security and peace.  

Fame and recognition is a false god many people worship today.  Becoming a social media sensation, to have our posts go viral so we can finally feel significant is what many people give their lives to, often with tragic results.  Instagram challenges injure and kill people every year because they are looking to become popular or famous.  We think fame will make us happy, that it will make our lives complete, but once again those are things we will only find in a relationship with God.  

Success is another false god.  People will work 80 plus hours a week to climb the ladder, to get the next promotion, to set themselves apart and find true success, but they often do that at the expense of their health and family costing us everything.  As you can see, there are many false gods we might worship today, and in some ways they are more dangerous than Baal and Asherah because we don’t see them as a false god at all, but they are.  

Here is a great way to identify a false god, false gods PROMISE what only God can PROVIDE.  False gods promise security but they can’t provide it.  Lasting and eternal security comes from God alone.  False gods promise happiness, but happiness is fragile and fleeting, but joy comes from the Lord and lasts forever.  Fame and success promise fulfillment and purpose but they only last until someone better comes along, and they always do.  False gods promise what only God can provide.  

With this definition in mind, what false gods do you serve?  What things are you looking to bring you what God alone can provide?  What are you hoping brings you security, happiness, fulfillment?  What are you giving yourself to in order to get the most out of life?   

A false god I have always struggled with is money - specifically I look to money to provide me the financial security I will need in the future.  I worry that I am not going to have enough to live on in my retirement and I have always wanted to be retired.  I don’t always trust God to provide what I need so I constantly look at what I need to do to take care of myself.   The economic downturn these past few years have taught me that all my savings and investments could be gone in an instant.  The security I want my money to provide in my retirement is something that only God can provide.  

What gods do you struggle with?  What has taken God’s place as first in your heart and life?  Even if it is something that we see as good, if it isn’t God, then it needs to be removed.  For the people of Israel, the false gods were Baal and Asherah. They looked to them to bring the rain and the sun and the harvest and prosperity instead of God, and Elijah had been called by God to point out this sin and call people to return to God.  First Elijah showed them that their gods don’t bring the rain and can’t provide the harvest, but that hasn’t turned the people’s hearts back to God, so Elijah returns to Israel and Ahab and calls for a final showdown.  

Elijah had been away for about 3 years and last week we saw that he has gone through a time of complete humility, dependence, and obedience to God.  So now, in the power of God he goes back to King Ahab and calls him and all the people to stop wavering.  Worship one god or the other.  

When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”  But the people said nothing.  1 Kings 18: 17-21

Elijah asked the people; how long will you waver between two opinions?  Either serve and follow God or give yourself fully to Baal, but don’t waver back and forth between the two.  Don’t say you love God and then bow down to Baal.  Don’t say you serve God and then set up Asherah poles to call on her to increase the harvest.  Give yourself fully to one or the other.  

If Elijah were here today, he would ask us the same question.  How long will we waver between two opinions?  How long will we worship two gods?  Elijah would say we can’t come here on Sunday and worship God but then go out and live for money, wealth, and power all week.  How long will we waver?  Give yourself to one or the other.  If you want to live for wealth and fame - go for it.  Give it your all.  Do everything you can do to get what they promise.  If that is how you want to live, Elijah would say, go for it.    

On the other hand, Elijah would tell us that if we truly want to live for God and God alone then we need to root out the false gods and remove them from our heart and life.  Find the false gods in your life.  Examine your heart to see what things in this world you are living for and what things you are hoping will provide for you what God alone can provide.  Root those things out.  Turn away from them.  Stop giving yourself to them and start giving yourself completely to God.  Stop wavering, Elijah would say.  Give yourself to one or the other.  

To show the people that God alone was God, Elijah set up a showdown.  It is one of the most spectacular and truly entertaining stories in the Bible.  1 Kings 18:22-24

Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”  Then all the people said, what you say is good.  

I’m sure the people were feeling confident with this wager.  Not only was it 450 to 1, but Baal is known as the sun god and a god of the storm.  Fire and lighting are his thing, this will be easy.  They prepare the sacrifice and begin to call on Baal to bring the fire.  

They called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

No one responds to the priests of Baal.  The false god can’t provide.  The god of the sun and storm can’t send fire or even a meager little lightning bolt to try and start a fire.  There is nothing.  Now this is where the story gets entertaining.  

At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.  Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

So the priests of Baal start crying out and nothing happens.  They start dancing and shouting and begging Baal to come but nothing happens.  Elijah then begins to taunt them.  Hey, maybe you need to shout louder.  Maybe your god is sleeping and you have to wake him up?  Maybe he is traveling and left you alone, see if you can get him to come back.  Maybe he is busy.  

In the original Hebrew, the word for busy really means relieving yourself.  Yup, Elijah actually says, maybe your god is in the bathroom and you have to get him to hurry up and finish so he can help you. Maybe he’s off in the woods behind a tree and can’t hear you.  Who said there is no humor in the bible?  Elijah really lets them have it which drives them into a deeper frenzy to try and get their god to provide.  But it never comes.  It never happens.  The sacrifice remained on the altar completely untouched.  

Now it is Elijah’s turn.  He gathered everyone around him and repaired the altar of God that had been torn down.   Elijah prepared the sacrifice and laid it on the altar, and then he dug a trench all around the altar and said to the people: 

“Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”  “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.  The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”  1 Kings 18: 33-37

Elijah didn’t just prepare the sacrifice but he saturated it with water.  Elijah wanted to show that the fire from God was going to be so powerful that it could not only burn the sacrifice but it one that's been soaked in water.  And then Elijah prayed.  No cries or shouts or dances or cutting, he just prayed.  We are going to look at the prayer life of Elijah next week, but for now we just need to know that his prayer was effective because God answered.  What Baal promised, to be there and help his people, God provided.  

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”  1 Kings 18:38-39

God has shown the people that He alone is God and that they need to stop wavering and worship Him.  What is so beautiful about this story is that Elijah asks God to do this not to prove a point, but to draw people back to God.  When Elijah prayed, he asked God to send fire, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.  

At one point the people had worshiped God.  They had loved and served God, but over time they wavered and leaders like Ahab and Jezebel were leading them astray.  While Elijah taunts and teases the priests, he has compassion on the people.  They are like sheep without a shepherd and Elijah wants them to know that the Lord is their shepherd and that they can return to Him.  

We might be tempted to ask God to send down fire today so that the hearts of people might turn back to Him, but we have been given an infinitely better display of God’s power in Jesus.  In Jesus, God didn’t send fire to the earth, He came to live on the earth.  God took on our flesh and blood and then He took on our sin and guilt and shame and shouldered it on the cross.  God paid the price for our sin.  He died our death.  But in a display of God’s power and love, Jesus rose from the grave to show the world not just His power but His love. What other gods promised, eternal life, God provides. 

While fire from heaven sounds good, fire from heaven can’t forgive.  Fire from heaven can’t heal.  Fire from heaven can’t save.  But Jesus can.  In Jesus we have been given a much better sign that God alone is God.  It’s time we stop wavering.  It’s time to get serious and give ourselves, heart, mind, soul and strength to God. It’s time for us to root out and turn away from false gods and turn back to the one true God, the one who can provide what other gods only promise.    

Next Steps

Which God Do You Serve?

Read 1 Kings 18.

False gods PROMISE what only the true God can PROVIDE.

What false gods do you see at work in the world today?  

While we say we believe in and worship one God, we often live as if there are many gods.  What is your false god?  What false gods have you struggled with in your life?  

Elijah asks the people; how long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.  

● What would it look like if you went all in and followed your false god?

● What would it look like for you to go all in and follow the one true God?

● What keeps you from going all in with God?  

While we often want God to reveal Himself in miraculous displays of power today (like fire from heaven), how is God’s revelation in Jesus better?  

Make the commitment today to stop wavering.  Go all in and love, worship, and serve God alone.  Here are steps forward:

● Acknowledge the false gods at work in your life.

● Repent of your sin of idolatry.

● Ask Jesus to forgive you and draw you back to God.

● Commit to worshiping and serving God alone.  

Elijah - The making of a servant of God

 

Today we begin a series on the Old Testament prophet Elijah.  As a prophet, Elijah spoke God’s word to the people of his day, so it’s important for us to know what was going on in Israel when God called Elijah.  After King Solomon died, the nation of Israel divided into two kingdoms, a northern kingdom called Israel and a southern kingdom called Judah.  Each kingdom had their own king and when a good king was on the throne, the people worshiped God and followed His law.  When a bad king came along, the people often turned from God and worshiped false gods and idols - usually Baal and Asherah, the gods of the people around them.  

When Elijah was called by God, there had been 19 consecutive kings in Israel that were bad.  That means for almost 200 years there had not been a king who encouraged the worship of God.  The current king in Israel was Ahab. Ahab wasn’t just a bad king, he was a truly evil king.  The Bible says Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.  Ahab was married to Jezebel and the two of them promoted the worship of idols.  They supported large groups of priests to Baal and encouraged the worship of Asherah.  They were corrupt and evil in every way.  

It was into this spiritual darkness that God finally said, enough was enough and He called one person to step up and make a difference.  This in itself is significant.  God often calls individual people to step out in faith to make a difference.  God called Moses to lead the people out of slavery.  God called David to be a king and lead His people.  God called Jonah to save an evil nation and God called Paul to advance the gospel around the world.  While each of those people had help and support, God often chooses to work through individuals to bring hope and salvation to the world, and that individual just might be you.  

Today, God might be looking at a situation that is breaking His heart and is saying, I want you to make a difference.  If you are a student, maybe God is asking you to step out at school and share your faith or start a bible study.  Maybe on your team God is calling you to be the one to step up and say, if you need prayer, let me know.   Maybe there is a problem at work and your stepping out in faith can make a difference for everyone.  Or maybe God is showing you a need in the community that if Jesus were here He would say, enough is enough, and He would do something about it.  If you see that need, maybe God is asking you to be the one to do something about it.  God often looks for people who are simply willing to be used by Him and that is what He found in Elijah.

The name Elijah comes from three different words, El - i - jah.  El is short for Elohim which is a name for God.  I simply means my, and jah is short for Jehovah, or Yahweh, which also means God.  So Elijah’s name literally means, God is my God.  In a culture that was encouraging the worship of false gods and idols, we already see there is something different about Elijah.  He doesn’t worship Baal.  He hasn’t bowed down to Asherah.  He is faithful to God and God alone and that is the kind of person God can use to make a difference.  

Beside his name, all we know about Elijah is that he comes from Tishbe,   Look at 1 Kings 17:1  Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

We don’t know anything about Elijah’s upbringing or how God called him, but we do know that he was bold in telling Ahab that because of his sin and the sin of the people, there would be no rain or dew unless he said so.  With this pronouncement, Elijah is not only condemning the people for their sin but he is also making it clear that the drought to come is from God and that he serves God alone.  

Elijah’s boldness put his life in danger and when the drought came people would be looking to blame and kill him, so after he spoke God’s word, God sent him to safety.   

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”  So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.    1 Kings 17:2-5

Elijah is entering into a season where God is going to prepare him to be the prophet He needs.  Elijah is going to be called to do even greater things than this and God needs him fully committed to Him.  Through Elijah we are going to see what it often takes for us to become men and women and servants of God.  And it all started with where God sent Elijah.  

God sent Elijah to a place called the Kerith Ravine.  The word Kerith means to be cut off or cut down.  For some time, Elijah was going to be cut off from God’s people.  In fact, he was going to be cut off from all people.  Elijah was also going to be cut down.  Elijah was going to suffer the pain of isolation and loneliness.  God was going to humble Elijah in order to lift him up and use him for great things later on.  

The first step in becoming a true servant of God is total humility.  In Elijah’s isolation and pain, he is going to see that it is God alone who can and will care for him.  Elijah has to learn to stop trusting in his own strength and ability, his own wisdom and power, and come to trust God alone - and for many of us this comes when we are broken and humble.  

Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for Elijah, how many questions he must have had for God.  God had just told him to tell off the king and pronounce a drought that will devastate the people and then cut him off from everyone.  In this place of isolation, Elijah has no one to cry out to, no one to listen to, no one to turn to but God.  He humbles Elijah to form in him a heart and mind and spirit that will trust in God alone.  

If you are going through a difficult time right now, it could be that God is preparing you for something great to come.  There can be purpose in the pain we feel if the pain draws us closer to God and helps us learn to trust God more deeply.  If we are willing to totally humble ourselves before God and not ask, Why God?  But What God?  We will not only draw closer to God but God will have the ability to strengthen us and prepare us for what is to come.  So as we heard last week, if you are going through a difficult time, ask God; What God are you trying to teach me?  What are you trying to do in me?  What do you want to do through me?  

It is doubtful God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.  AW Tozer

With total humility comes total dependence.  When Elijah was isolated and alone, cut off from others and being humbled by God, God was also providing him with everything that he needed. 

So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.  1 Kings 17:5-6

I’m sure Elijah was thinking, how am I going to survive here alone in the wilderness, but because he did what the Lord told him to do, because he humbled himself and was faithful, God provided in a way I’m sure Elijah could never have imagined.  Every morning and evening ravens brought Elijah bread and meat.  Can you imagine praying for food and then seeing a raven come and drop a piece of bread.  And then another one some meet, and the flocks of them bring you all the food you need, not once a day, but twice a day and every day.  God was teaching Elijah that if he will depend on Him, He will provide all Elijah needs.   

No matter what we are going through, we need to remember that God will provide what we need.  That was one of the promises we heard last week.  God will supply all our needs and to that we say YES and AMEN.  Now it does say needs and not wants.  God might intentionally not give us a surplus so that we will learn how to depend on Him every day and not in our strength and power.  Even in the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to give us this day our daily bread.  We don’t ask for this week’s groceries or a surplus of bread so we can be sure that tomorrow is taken care of.  God wants us to depend on Him day after day after day.  

If you are in a place where you are being forced to depend on God day after day - don’t see it as a season of suffering but a season of strengthening.  God is helping you become totally dependent upon Him and if we can learn that, then we can handle any and every situation in life.  If we can learn total dependance, we will do all God wants us to do which I guarantee you will be more than you ever thought or imagined you could do.   

Elijah became the servant of God by learning total humility, total dependance, and then total obedience.  Look at 1 Kings 17:7-16

Sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”  So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. 

In time the brook that God had provided dried up and instead of complaining that the brook was gone, or asking God why He had stopped providing for him when he was doing God’s work, Elijah listened to God’s word and obeyed.  In fact, obedience is all over this part of the story.  Elijah was obedient to God’s word and went to Zarephath where he met a widow.  When Elijah asked her for some food, she said that she only had enough for her and her son to have one last meal before they died, but Elijah said, make me some bread and God will not let your grain or oil run out.   

Now it is the woman who is obedient and she makes a cake for Elijah and her grain and oil never run out.  God has not only provided for Elijah but He has provided for this woman and her son.  First God used ravens to care for Elijah and now God uses a woman and the miracle of her grain and oil never running dry to provide for him.  Elijah is learning that God can meet his needs in a variety of ways if Elijah will be faithful.  Obedience to God’s word was needed for God to provide.    

When we are willing to obey God’s word and promptings in our lives, God can use us to do great things.  This season of humility, dependence and obedience led Elijah to do his first great miracle.  

Sometime later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”  The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.  1 Kings 17:17-22

Other than Jesus, we don’t know of anyone else who was able to bring the dead to life. But Elijah, completely dependent on God and crying out to God for help, simply did what he believed God would want him to do.  He restored the boy's life and gave him back to his mother.  What prepared Elijah for this first amazing miracle?  What prepared Elijah to do something no one else had ever done?  Total humility, total dependence, total obedience.  

Elijah is a different man now than when he was first called by God.  When we first met Elijah he was only described as a Tishbite from Tishbe in Galilee.  But now he has been given another name.  When the widow received her son back from Elijah, she said, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

Elijah is a man of God.  He is a prophet and every word of his mouth is from the Lord and it is truth.  It wasn’t an easy season for Elijah but it prepared him to do all that God wanted and needed to do through him.  Our own season of preparation isn’t easy.  There are struggles and trials but through them, if we learn humility, dependency, and obedience, we will become the men and women God can use right here and now to do more than we ever thought we could do.  I believe God wants to use each and every one of us in some way, so let us humble ourselves, let us learn how to  depend on God for all things and in all ways, and let us follow God’s word and spirit so we can see God’s power at work in our lives.  

Next Steps

Elijah - the making of a servant of God

Read 1 Kings 17.  What stands out to you about Elijah’s call and journey in this chapter?  How does God shape Elijah during this season of his life?

Total Humility

Elijah was sent to the Kerith Ravine.  Kerith means to be cut off or cut down.  

● Has there been a season in your life where you felt cut off or cut down?   What did you learn?

● How is God teaching you humility today?

● What is God’s promise when we humble ourselves? (James 4:10)

Total Dependence

Name all the ways God provided for Elijah in 1 Kings 17.

● What unexpected ways has God provided for you?  What did these situations teach you?

● How is God teaching you to completely depend on Him today?

● Reflect on the prayer, Give us this day our daily bread.  

Total Obedience

How is obedience seen throughout I Kings 17?  What is the result of this obedience?  

● When have you felt God’s leading in powerful ways?  Were you obedient?  What was the result?

● Is there something God is calling you to today that is a struggle for you?  What would obedience require of you?  What might the result be?  

Which is more difficult for you, humility, dependency or obedience?  Reflect on why that is and how you can more faithfully follow God.