“Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 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.’ ”” I Kings 18:41-44 NKJV
a. Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain: Elijah knew that once the official worship of Baal had been defeated, the purpose for the drought was fulfilled. Rain was on the way. Elijah and Ahab would now each do what they wanted to do - Elijah would pray and Ahab would eat.
b. He bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees: This was an unusual posture of prayer for Elijah. He wasn’t kneeling, he wasn’t sitting, he wasn’t standing, and he didn’t lay prostrate before the LORD. This shows that the power in prayer resides in faith in the living God.
i. “We scarcely recognize him, he seems so to have lost his identity. A few hours before, he stood erect as an oak of Bashan; now, he is bowed as a bulrush. Then as God’s ambassador he pleaded with man; now as man’s intercessor he pleads with God. Is it not always so - that the men who stand straightest in the presence of sin bow lowest in the presence of God.” (Meyer)
c. It came to pass the seventh time: This was stubbornly persistent prayer. It was as if Elijah would not take “no” for an answer, because he had confidence that God’s will was to send rain. He stubbornly furthered the will of God by his persistent prayer.
i. “Go again seven times; let us not be dejected for some disappointments, but continue to wait upon God, who will answer me, and that speedily.” (Poole)
ii. “God’s promises are given, not to restrain, but to incite to prayer. They show the direction in which we may ask, and the extent to which we may expect an answer They are the mould into which we may pour our fervid spirits without fear.” (Meyer)
d. There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea: Elijah prayed, asking in faith for God to send the rain. Elijah obviously sensed this was the will of God, yet it was his fervent prayer that brought the rain. The evidence of the rain came slowly and in a small way, but out of this small evidence God brought a mighty work.
i. In the November 9, 1904, edition of The Life of Faith, a London newspaper dedicated to the deeper life movement, a writer named Jessie Penn-Lewis reported on a remarkable work just beginning in Wales under the ministry of men like Evan Roberts and Seth Joshua. She reported that a cloud no bigger than a man’s hand had arisen in Wales. It was a fitting description of the clear but small beginning of what became a mighty work.
ii. Charles Spurgeon used this text as an illustration of the small signs that precede a mighty work of God. He spoke of four “certain signs and tokens for good which prayerful faith clearly perceives when an awakening, a genuine revival is about to come.” Christians should regard the following things as clouds, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea:
· A growing dissatisfaction with the present state of things, and an increasing anxiety among the members of the church for the salvation of souls.
· When this anxiety leads believers to be exceedingly earnest and importunate in prayer.
· When ministers begin to take counsel one with another, and to say, “What must we do?”
· When we shall see the doctrine of the individual responsibility of each Christian fully felt and carried out into individual action.
e. Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you: This was a word of faith from Elijah to Ahab. Based only on the sighting of a cloud that was as small as a man’s hand, he knew a torrent was on the way. (Guzik)
Incite to Prayer!
We pray daily before each meal, praying for the world as pastor Robert would say while the food gets cold! But recently during a health crisis with two visits to the emergency room my spirit prayed more fervently. You could say I was incited to prayer. In times like this even if we are unable to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26 NKJV
As adopted children of God through Christ, when we are physically unable to pray, our Father in heaven knows what we need just as our earthly father who loves his children knows what they need.
That is love, and there is none greater than the love of Jesus going to the cross for us!
What incites you to prayer?
Blessings
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