1 Kings 17.1
“Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
James 5.17
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth bore it fruit.”
Elijah’s prayer in private was the source of his power in public. Elijah saw the idolatry, disobedience, and evil in Israel, and he prayed passionately and repeatedly to the Lord about the corruption he saw. Elijah’s prayers moved the heart of God, then God moved the heart of Elijah.
God is alive and powerful; idols are dead and powerless. The proclamation of no rain for several years was extremely significant for two reasons. One, this is one of the curses God had warned would come upon a disobedient Israel (Deuteronomy 28: 23-24); and, two it was a direct challenge to the false god Baal who supposedly had power over the rain.
It was a message to Ahab and everyone else that the Lord controlled the elements, and thus the fertility of the earth, not Baal whom they foolishly worshiped.
Elijah caps this off with an even more shocking statement by telling Ahab that it is only upon his word that the rain will return. As a faithful and obedient servant of God, even he as a mere human possesses more power over the elements then their powerless idol Baal.
So it is with us today. Stand with God, be obedient, observe what is happening in your sphere of influence, then pray and allow God to work through you.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3.20-21)
Coram Deo
