Prayer is the most powerful key and weapon we have received from the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is filled with prayers of prayer warriors who inspire us and who show us the secret of prayer. Elijah the Prophet was such a prayer warrior. When we study his life, we can unravel the mystery and secret of prayer.
James 5:16-18 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature as ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
First of all, James encourages us to say that Elijah was a man like you and me. Elijah was a man with the same nature and desires, not perfect just like us. But his prayer had power, amazing power because Elijah was a righteous man. Elijah was a righteous man because he believed in God, and this is counted as righteousness.
Rom. 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
We will find out why his prayer had such an amazing power. But first, we have some questions, why was Elijah praying this kind of prayer? Did he have the right to pray that it should not rain for 3 1/2 years, was this according to God's will? Can we also pray this kind of prayer that it will not rain for 3 1/2 years in our area or country? Let's study the word of God together.
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." Elijah said boldly to King Ahab, that it should not rain any more. Ahab did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Against the will of God, he married a pagan wife Jezebel, who worshipped Baal. (Satan) We even see that King Ahab started to worship Baal, and he made Baal worship the national religion.
1 Kings 16:30-33 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
We will discover that Elijah was praying according to God’s will. In the book of Deuteronomy, we find that when the people of Israel should worship other gods God’s anger should turn against them and He would not give rain anymore.
Deut. 11:16-17 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.
Deut. 28:23-24 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
Elijah was praying the will of God to stop giving Israel rain in its seasons. Elijah stood on God’s Word and prayed God’s judgment on the people of Israel. Elijah prayed Gods’ will according to God’s Word and this kind of prayer will be heard.
1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Now we see why Elijah's prayer was so powerful because it was based on God’s word. It is the Word of God that is so powerful, it is the Word of God that is alive and sharper than any two-edged sword for everybody who believes. Let's see how Elijah prayed that it would rain again, what the reason was for this prayer, and discover the secret of prayer.
1 Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."
We see again that everything starts with the word of God. God is always the one who takes the initiative. He is the creator of Heaven and Earth; He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We see that the secret of prayer is knowing God’s will, and knowing God's word. We will see that God will hear this prayer of Elijah again.But first Elijah started to challenge the nation, he convinced Ahab of his sin (18:18) and let the whole nation of Israel and 850 false prophets come to Mount Carmel.There he challenged them all, "If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal (Satan) follow him." (18:21) You can read the history for yourself in 1Kings 18 how Elijah dealt with these false prophets, and how he made fun of them. We see that the Lord Himself proved to be God by answering with fire from heaven. "The Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God." (18:39)
After he dealt with them, he prophesied to King Ahab that rain was coming. The false religion was destroyed; people repented of their sins and turned to God. Now God was ready to give a "heavy shower." (18:41) God told Elijah that rain should come, but what was Elijah doing now? He started to pray!
1 Kings 18:42 And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.
Why should Elijah pray, he already knows that God should give rain. Why not just wait till it started to rain? But that is not God’s will, God wants us to have faith. God wants us to respond to His word, God wants to see faith.
John 14:14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
We see the same principle with Jesus' disciples; they had the promise to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:4-5, 8. And what did they do? Right, they prayed! These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication. Acts 1:14
And we know from Acts chapter 2 that the Lord answered with fire from Heaven. If we respond in faith in God's promises, rain (blessings) will come.
We see in 1 Kings 18:41-46 that Elijah prayed seven times. And each time he sends his servant to the top of the mountain to see if rain is coming. He knows the word of God, he knows that rain will come. But he continues to pray till it comes.
1 Kings 18:44 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.' "
An abundance of rain came because this was God's will that was revealed to Elijah. Elijah had to pray to let the rain come down, to let the blessings come down.
Deut. 28:12 The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand;
2 Chron. 6:26-27 When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your Name, and turn from their sin when You dost afflict them; then hear You in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land, which You has given to Your people for an inheritance.
The people turned back to God, confessed their sins, destroyed the idols and God gave rain again like He promised. It must have been very dry and dusty there in Israel after three years of no rain. But now rain came, abundant rain!
We found the secret of the prayer of Elijah; the secret is to pray according to God’s will. God can reveal His will to you through reading the Bible, prophecy, dreams, and visions. Find God’s will for your life and start praying it into being.
How about your life? How about your marriage? How about your church?Is it very dry? Did it become very dusty? Do you need some refreshing from the Lord?Then turn back to Him as an individual, couple, nation, or church.
2 Chron. 7:14 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.
Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
Deut. 28:12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
We need to learn to pray God’s promises into being, His promises about healing, prosperity, and renewal. We should pray that His Kingdom comes and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Don’t stop praying after one time but continue to pray even seven times like Elijah did. You should continue to pray till the promise comes.
In the book of James, we see that James connected the prayer of Elijah to a teaching about healing. The prayer of faith will heal the sick. (James 5:14-18) Do you believe the promises of God about healing as written in the book of James or do you believe the “church” who is acting in unbelief like the 10 spies who hindered the Israelites from entering into the Promised Land? Let nothing hinder you from praying God’s promises into being. God’s promises are real and can be activated by faith. Stand on God’s Word and see the glory of the Lord.
John 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"
2 Cor. 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. There is power in Your Word when we act on it in faith. Help us with Your Holy Spirit to pray Your Word so that Your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to pray Your promises in faith and help us to pray Your righteousness and justice to come and to work in this world. Thank You that when we pray according to Your will, You will hear us and we will see Your Kingdom advancing in our families, churches, and nations. We thank You, and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Amen!
