1 Kings 18:41 - Wk 4 Day 3 - part 2

Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel,

where he bowed to the ground,

with his head between his knees

1 Kings 18:41

 

After three years of drought, if you heard God’s voice clearly and absolutely assure you that He was going to bring rain, what would you do?

 

I know me. I’d probably be like the ten lepers whom Jesus healed. Do you remember? One came back to say thanks. But the other ninety percent hurried home in excitement, forgetting to acknowledge their healer. If God promised the He was sending rain, I might devote 10% of my time to giving thanks, but I’d probably spend 90% of my time running home to get the laundry off the line before the rains come!

 

How about you?

 

Do you know what Elijah did? This prophet – who heard God speak more clearly than any of us – heard powerfully and absolutely that God was sending rain. So what did Elijah do? He prayed the rain into existence.

 

Wait!!! God brings rain into existence, not prophets and people, right?! Yes … but God often waits for us to invite his actions into our world!

 

A drought-ending rain seems spectacular and supernatural, so let’s make this principle using more day-to-day terms. Say you’ve been fussing with your brother. It’s gone on far too long and some of the words have been very hurtful. We KNOW that God wills reconciliation. Like Elijah’s rain, we KNOW and can hear clearly that he wants to bring reconciliation into existence. But often God waits for us to invite his actions into our lives.

 

And so we pray. Elijah prayed and prayed and prayed until one little cloud finally dotted the horizon. If you’re separated from your brother, pray and pray and pray until the first little sign of reconciliation dots the horizon.

 

Praying for your brother will do several things …

 

1.    It will day-after-day soften your heart.

2.    It will day-after-day draw you closer to God.

3.    It will gradually open your corner of earth to heaven’s will.

 

The principle: Pray for the very things you know God wants to send.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who sometimes forgets

to pray for the obvious