PRAYING LIKE ELIJAH: WAITING WELL

Photo credit: https://makethevisionplain.com/elijah-secret/

There was a post a couple of weeks back about praying like Paul. And I thought we should make it a thing. 

So today, we're talking about Elijah. If there's one person that's synonymous with powerful effective prayer then it's Elijah. 

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. [18] Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.- James 5:17-18 NIV

Love how the Amplified phrases the first part; Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings]... - James 5:17 AMP

The Bible describing  him “as a human being, even as we are” feels like a subtle shade😅, the biblical equivalent of “look at your mate”. An “if he could, why can't you?” type of situation. I believe this is freeing enough. His feelings and shortcomings didn't make him less of a person capable of doing great things.

Elijah's story in 1 Kings 18 is one of tenacity and relentlessness in prayer, something I find very profound. Let me tell you the story;

"Ahem" (clears throat)

Puts on glasses, flips to 1 Kings 18

Elijah had prophesied prior that there would be no rain in Israel and it happened. Three and a half years later, the Word of the Lord came to him that there was going to be rain in the land. 

Armed with this Word, he went to see King Ahab who notoriously called Elijah “the troubler of Israel” on their first meeting.

After commanding fire to consume a water drenched sacrifice and killing about 800 priests of Baal, Elijah declares the Word of the Lord to Ahab: 

And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 1 Kings 18:41 NIV

From the account, we know that all Elijah had was a Word from the Lord. I love that Elijah was not trying to force his will on God, everything he did was so that what God had already said will come to pass.

I thought that if God had already said something, we could all go to sleep and wait till it becomes a reality. Like Ahab, eating and drinking in our waiting season but that was not what Elijah did. For him, waiting meant climbing up a mountain, putting his head between his knees (sounds very uncomfortable) and praying. He sent his servant to look towards the sea to confirm if the skies had changed, each time the answer was negative until the seventh time. 

What a lesson in relentlessness and in waiting well.

In a generation where we are so used to the fast way of getting things done, this story teaches us that sometimes we have to wait even when we are holding onto a promise. Waiting without wavering, waiting hopefully. Checking the clouds to see when the change will come. 

I don't know if you've ever been in a situation where you have been disappointed over and over again keeping a hopeful appearance on the surface but deep down have given up as a means to protect your heart.

Your heart, young and fervent, kept checking the sky for a sign over and over again until the sixth time then you stopped because your mature heart couldn't bear another disappointment. 

What if the miracle is in the seventh check or the one hundredth?

What if what the waiting is meant to make out of you is more important than what you are waiting for.

WHAT IF WHAT THE WAITING IS MEANT TO MAKE OUT OF YOU IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU ARE WAITING FOR.

When we read in James about a man who prayed for rain after three years, it sounds so simple. We do not realise the amount of “work” that was done for rain to fall. Infact, the original account in Kings does not tell us that he first prayed earnestly for rain to cease, it only tells us about him praying earnestly for the rains to return. We now know that he prayed both for and against against raining because of what James wrote.

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Immediately Elijah heard that there was a cloud the size of a man's hand, he sent message to Ahab to get on his chariot and go home before the rain stops him.

Now wait a minute, he did not see thick black clouds pregnant with rain, he saw a cloud the size of a man's hand and that was enough confirmation to spur him into action. He started putting things in order.

Seeing the sign drove him into execution mode, getting right to work. Waiting in hope equals waiting in service. Elijah not only believed in his heart, he showed it through his actions. He told Ahab to move even though the rain hadn't started yet. It looks like the prayer not only yielded a sign, it yielded an ability to obey easily.

The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. - 1 Kings 18:46

Divine strength can look like the power to execute swiftly and prepare for the future, it can also look supernatural like it did for Elijah when he outrun the chariots of Ahab. Ahab spent his waiting period eating, Elijah spent it praying and when the moment finally came Elijah outrun Ahab even though Ahab was leading by all human standards.

So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. - Romans 9:16

I've always said that my greatest fear is not that God is incapable of making my life according to His will but that I might not be strong or obedient enough to do what He tells me to do.

God is constant, He doesn't change, He doesn't lie, I am the variable. I am the moody today joyful tomorrow, fervent today slothful tomorrow, hopeful today depressed tomorrow variable.

GOD IS CONSTANT. HE DOESN'T CHANGE, HE DOESN'T LIE, I AM THE VARIABLE. I AM THE MOODY TODAY JOYFUL TOMORROW, FERVENT TODAY SLOTHFUL TOMORROW, HOPEFUL TODAY DEPRESSED TOMORROW VARIABLE.

As Christians we have such a beautiful heritage of people who waited well. And not that they didn't have moments of despair (Elijah hides from Jezebel in the next chapter because he was scared and depressed) but they always went back to the One who decreed it for strength.

but they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. - Isaiah 40:31

When I first thought of this post, it was to talk about Elijah's tenacity and resilience in prayer, I don't know how it turned into a post about waiting and most importantly waiting well.

Maybe this is my (and your) sign to go back to what God has said, put my head between my knees and earnestly pray until I receive an answer.

And as I war, I am checking the skies for a change. Checking the first, second, seventy-sixth time until the Lord sends my miracle or He bids me to stop.

Either way, I am victorious if I wait well.

From Elijah, I learnt that ordinary men can do extraordinary things, prayer done according to God's will should be unceasing and relentless. This yields not only results but an ability to prepare our hearts and environment for the results.