Faith For A Storm
In I Kings 18: 41-19:8, we read about Elijah’s famous prayer for rain. Previously, Elijah had prayed for the rain to stop and he hadn’t made a lot of friends in the process.
In fact, when King Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “Is it you–the biggest troublemaker in Israel.”
But Elijah answered, “I have not made trouble in Israel. You and your father’s family have made all of this trouble by not obeying the Lord’s commands.”
In essence, he said, “You have created the drought in the land. You have gone after the Baals, the idols of this world. You have decided to serve the God of this world”
Then Elijah requested a gathering of the prophets of Ball and Asherah. He had the people prepare two burnt offerings, one for the prophets of Baal and one for the God of Israel. Elijah had them cut the bulls in pieces an laid on the wood but asked that they not set fire to the burnt offering but rather call down fire from their gods.
The prophets of Baal cried aloud to Baal from morning until night and when nothing happened, they started cutting themselves. And nothing happened.
Elijah proceeded to douse his offering in water four times and filled the altar and the trench with water. Then Elijah called upon the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and God showed up in a mighty way and consumed the burnt offering in a demonstration of His power.
Elijah and God were not done yet. God had destroyed the prophets of Baal and had shown himself strong on behalf of Elijah but there was still a severe drought in the land.
The Bible tells us Elijah went to the top of Mt Carmel and put his face between his knees and prayed to the God of Heaven.
And as he prayed, he expected an answer. He sent his servant out to look at the sky to see if rain was coming.
Seven times the servant come back with a negative report but Elijah’s faith did not waiver. The seventh time, the servant came back and said, I see a small cloud rising in the sky about the size of a man’s hand.
And Elijah shouted, “Tell Ahab to go home for if he doesn’t hurry, the rain will stop him!”
Elijah knew that his prayers were heard by God and that God was answering. He acted on his faith. He knew the rain was coming. It might have looked like only a tiny cloud, but Elijah knew a storm was coming!
The Bible tells us that within a short time, the sky was covered with dark clouds. And, the wind began to blow and soon a heavy rain began to fall.
The Lord gave His power to Elijah who tightened his clothes around himself and he ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreal.
The parched land was suddenly soaked in rain.
There are many times in life our circumstances look impossible and we have to acknowledge we are in a drought of our own. It can be a financial drought, a physical drought, a spiritual or emotional drought.
Whatever the circumstances, they can and will only change because we have faith In our Heavenly Father and we take the time to seek Him.
We can’t expect those around to understand our faith or support our vision. They may see the little cloud rising in the sky but they still won’t see the rain shower that is coming.
You have to hold tight to your faith in God and your confession of faith knowing that as we demonstrate our faith in a spirit of grace and love, God’s blessings will fall on us and all of those around us as He brings the rain.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Let it rain on all of those who are seeking answers from You today.
In the Mighty Name of Jesus.
Amen
