This is the second chapter in the book about the prayer life of Elijah.
A friend of mine told me that one time she asked God to give her more patience. She found herself getting very frustrated with people and things that slowed her down in her service for God. So she prayed that God would give her patience. God answered that prayer but not in the way she expected. Instead of changing the people who caused her anxiety and removing the circumstances that made her impatient God did the opposite. He brought more people into her life that demanded her time. The circumstances did not improve but actually became worse. She realized then that she could not deal with this on her own so she took it to God asking Him why He didn’t answer her prayer. The Lord gently nudged her and told her that He was answering her prayer and then she realized that she had more patience with people and circumstances.
“Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.” 1 Kings 17:7 (NIV)
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV).
Have you ever wondered what went through Elijah’s mind as he sat by the brook? Each day as he woke from his sleep he would go down to the brook to get refreshed and each day the brook became smaller and smaller until it eventually dried up completely.
How long did he stay there? We don’t know but it must have been extremely hard on Elijah. After all, he was a man of action and now he was called to do nothing. I am sure he must have thought that there was a lot more that he could be doing. Maybe he should have held revival meetings for the people and then they would have turned their hearts back to God. I believe that sitting by the drying brook was harder for Elijah than confronting the king of Israel. I have wondered if his spirits sagged while he watched the stream dry up.
Continued tomorrow LW
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Praying in the will of God Conclusion
This is the conclusion of the first chapter of Praying Like Elijah.
3. Prayer warriors for today.
The first requirement to be a prayer warrior like Elijah is to have a hunger and thirst for righteousness which is revealed in God’s Holy Word. Would we have prayed that it would not rain for three and one half years? We are too often concerned with our own comfort rather than with glory of God. Listen to the prayers of some people and notice how they are often self-centered rather than God-centered. In many churches today prayer meetings have been eliminated or are attended only by a few faithful. Our prayer meetings have become a ministry unto death rather than a ministry unto life. We have spent our times looking at our own needs rather than God’s glory and what He wishes to do in our lives.
Praying that it would not rain brought hardship not only upon the sinners but also upon the righteous. Not only did Ahab suffer from the drought but Elijah also suffered as well as the prophets that Obadiah had hidden in the caves to protect them from Jezebel. I wonder if Elijah questioned God’s wisdom in bringing drought on the land. Why wouldn’t God remove Ahab and Jezebel instead of having the whole nation suffer? I am sure that such thoughts went through Elijah’s mind but as he studied the Word of God he knew that the whole nation needed to repent and return to God. If God just removed the leaders the people would probably continue in the same vein. It was not only the leaders that need to repent but the people also needed to come to God for forgiveness. God’s concern was with the holiness and purity of His people rather than their comfort. I ask the question again, would we have prayed that it would not rain for three and half years knowing that it would bring hardship upon everyone? In our day of comfort we have forgotten to be concerned about God’s glory in our desire for our own comfort. How many of us could pray as David prayed in Psalm 25:18 (NIV), “Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.” David asked the Lord to look upon his affliction and then he left it with Him. He knew that the God of the universe would do the right thing. He was more concerned with his standing before God than his comfort. Today I think we turn the prayer around. We ask God to take away our affliction but to regard our sins. To be prayer warriors we need to have the agenda for our prayers laid out in heaven.
Next week I will write chapter two LW
3. Prayer warriors for today.
The first requirement to be a prayer warrior like Elijah is to have a hunger and thirst for righteousness which is revealed in God’s Holy Word. Would we have prayed that it would not rain for three and one half years? We are too often concerned with our own comfort rather than with glory of God. Listen to the prayers of some people and notice how they are often self-centered rather than God-centered. In many churches today prayer meetings have been eliminated or are attended only by a few faithful. Our prayer meetings have become a ministry unto death rather than a ministry unto life. We have spent our times looking at our own needs rather than God’s glory and what He wishes to do in our lives.
Praying that it would not rain brought hardship not only upon the sinners but also upon the righteous. Not only did Ahab suffer from the drought but Elijah also suffered as well as the prophets that Obadiah had hidden in the caves to protect them from Jezebel. I wonder if Elijah questioned God’s wisdom in bringing drought on the land. Why wouldn’t God remove Ahab and Jezebel instead of having the whole nation suffer? I am sure that such thoughts went through Elijah’s mind but as he studied the Word of God he knew that the whole nation needed to repent and return to God. If God just removed the leaders the people would probably continue in the same vein. It was not only the leaders that need to repent but the people also needed to come to God for forgiveness. God’s concern was with the holiness and purity of His people rather than their comfort. I ask the question again, would we have prayed that it would not rain for three and half years knowing that it would bring hardship upon everyone? In our day of comfort we have forgotten to be concerned about God’s glory in our desire for our own comfort. How many of us could pray as David prayed in Psalm 25:18 (NIV), “Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.” David asked the Lord to look upon his affliction and then he left it with Him. He knew that the God of the universe would do the right thing. He was more concerned with his standing before God than his comfort. Today I think we turn the prayer around. We ask God to take away our affliction but to regard our sins. To be prayer warriors we need to have the agenda for our prayers laid out in heaven.
Next week I will write chapter two LW
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Praying in the will of God Part 3
I never got to post yesterday so this is a continuation from Tuesday.
2. Praying in the will of God.
How do we know from Scripture what the will of God is in our prayers? First, if we are praying for the salvation of anyone we can be sure that it is the will of God. The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Does that mean that everyone we pray for will come to salvation? People still have a free choice to accept or reject the message. However, that does not change the fact that we can pray with confidence of the salvation of our friends and associates.
Second, if we are praying for the healing of another we can be sure that it is in God’s will. The Bible tells us that “by His stripes we are healed.” I know that many will say, “We prayed for healing and God allowed that person to die, or that person was not healed.” Just because God does not answer our prayers in the way that we want them answered does not mean that He has not answered our prayers. We must remember that it is about God’s glory and though we pray for healing we must always remember that above all else we want God to be glorified. One time a lady in our church told us that if God would only heal a man in our church who had cerebral palsy that many would come to know our Lord as their God and Saviour. As I thought about that I thought of another lady in our church that had been prayed for many times but was never healed. However, in her suffering she continued to glorify God in her life. Many times more people are brought to a saving knowledge of Christ by the testimony of His children in times of adversity rather than them being removed from that adversity. When we remember that it is about His glory and not our comfort then we can pray with confidence.
Third, we can be sure that if we are praying for ourselves or a fellow believer to grow in Christ and the knowledge of His will that it is in the will of God. We can have that same assurance if we are praying for unity, for families, for relationships and for our nation and national leaders. If you spend time in God’s Word you will know that we can come boldly to the throne of grace with these petitions.
However, if we come seeking our own comfort or our own happiness then we cannot find support for that in our study of Scripture. I have heard of people praying for a parking place so that they wouldn’t have to walk through the rain to go into a store. Such prayers are often selfish and not God honouring. How can such a prayer bring glory to God? It may be that they needed to leave that parking place for someone needier than themselves. We pray about financial needs because we want to live in comfort but there are millions in this world who go to bed hungry. Also some prayers are contradictory. It is evident when two sport teams which are playing against each other both pray to win thinking that their win will bring glory to God. Both teams cannot win so how do we reconcile that with the Word of God. It may be that one person is praying for a sunny day so that they can enjoy a picnic outdoors while another is praying for rain because the fields need rain. Does God answer these prayers? The answer may be yes but only if we are focusing on the answer to bring glory to God and not our own happiness. The answer may differ a great deal from our expectations.
We are also told to pray for workers in the harvest. We are to pray that open doors will be available so that the Word of God can be proclaimed throughout the world. We are to pray for our missionaries and our leaders. Many times we pray for them in a general way rather than being specific in our prayers. We should study the prayers of God’s people in the Bible to see how they were led to pray for others.
Continued tomorrow LW
2. Praying in the will of God.
How do we know from Scripture what the will of God is in our prayers? First, if we are praying for the salvation of anyone we can be sure that it is the will of God. The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Does that mean that everyone we pray for will come to salvation? People still have a free choice to accept or reject the message. However, that does not change the fact that we can pray with confidence of the salvation of our friends and associates.
Second, if we are praying for the healing of another we can be sure that it is in God’s will. The Bible tells us that “by His stripes we are healed.” I know that many will say, “We prayed for healing and God allowed that person to die, or that person was not healed.” Just because God does not answer our prayers in the way that we want them answered does not mean that He has not answered our prayers. We must remember that it is about God’s glory and though we pray for healing we must always remember that above all else we want God to be glorified. One time a lady in our church told us that if God would only heal a man in our church who had cerebral palsy that many would come to know our Lord as their God and Saviour. As I thought about that I thought of another lady in our church that had been prayed for many times but was never healed. However, in her suffering she continued to glorify God in her life. Many times more people are brought to a saving knowledge of Christ by the testimony of His children in times of adversity rather than them being removed from that adversity. When we remember that it is about His glory and not our comfort then we can pray with confidence.
Third, we can be sure that if we are praying for ourselves or a fellow believer to grow in Christ and the knowledge of His will that it is in the will of God. We can have that same assurance if we are praying for unity, for families, for relationships and for our nation and national leaders. If you spend time in God’s Word you will know that we can come boldly to the throne of grace with these petitions.
However, if we come seeking our own comfort or our own happiness then we cannot find support for that in our study of Scripture. I have heard of people praying for a parking place so that they wouldn’t have to walk through the rain to go into a store. Such prayers are often selfish and not God honouring. How can such a prayer bring glory to God? It may be that they needed to leave that parking place for someone needier than themselves. We pray about financial needs because we want to live in comfort but there are millions in this world who go to bed hungry. Also some prayers are contradictory. It is evident when two sport teams which are playing against each other both pray to win thinking that their win will bring glory to God. Both teams cannot win so how do we reconcile that with the Word of God. It may be that one person is praying for a sunny day so that they can enjoy a picnic outdoors while another is praying for rain because the fields need rain. Does God answer these prayers? The answer may be yes but only if we are focusing on the answer to bring glory to God and not our own happiness. The answer may differ a great deal from our expectations.
We are also told to pray for workers in the harvest. We are to pray that open doors will be available so that the Word of God can be proclaimed throughout the world. We are to pray for our missionaries and our leaders. Many times we pray for them in a general way rather than being specific in our prayers. We should study the prayers of God’s people in the Bible to see how they were led to pray for others.
Continued tomorrow LW
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Praying in the Will of God. Part 2
This is a continuation of yesterday's post.
1. Famine in our land today.
Today there is a famine in the land. It may not be a famine for food but rather a famine for the Word of God. Amos tells us, "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, “When I will send a famine through the land- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” Amos 8:11 (NIV). Today the Bible is available to almost everyone who wishes to have one. They are in our homes but sadly they often remain unread and unstudied.
If we are to be prayer warriors for our nation, our churches, our families then we need to be people of the Word. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by the Word of God. We must spend time in the Word. We also need to read our newspapers and listen to the newscasts with our eyes filtered with the Word of God. As we hear of the corruption and decay in our society we will know how to pray in the will of God if we have been in the Word. However some think that we will know what to pray for by looking at the world. It may be true that we will know what to pray for but often we don’t know how to pray. We have a sense that what read in our newspapers or see and hear on our newscasts is wrong but we don’t know why they are wrong. We need to interpret the world through the Word of God. The Bible today is the least read bestseller. Most homes in North America and Europe have Bibles but many of those Bibles remain unread.
Continued tomorrow LW.
1. Famine in our land today.
Today there is a famine in the land. It may not be a famine for food but rather a famine for the Word of God. Amos tells us, "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, “When I will send a famine through the land- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” Amos 8:11 (NIV). Today the Bible is available to almost everyone who wishes to have one. They are in our homes but sadly they often remain unread and unstudied.
If we are to be prayer warriors for our nation, our churches, our families then we need to be people of the Word. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by the Word of God. We must spend time in the Word. We also need to read our newspapers and listen to the newscasts with our eyes filtered with the Word of God. As we hear of the corruption and decay in our society we will know how to pray in the will of God if we have been in the Word. However some think that we will know what to pray for by looking at the world. It may be true that we will know what to pray for but often we don’t know how to pray. We have a sense that what read in our newspapers or see and hear on our newscasts is wrong but we don’t know why they are wrong. We need to interpret the world through the Word of God. The Bible today is the least read bestseller. Most homes in North America and Europe have Bibles but many of those Bibles remain unread.
Continued tomorrow LW.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Praying in the Will of God. Part 1
Have you ever listened to a child pray? Their prayers are very simple and direct. They don’t spend time worrying about whether or not their prayers are theologically correct. They don’t add flowery phrases and concern themselves whether their prayer is in the will of God or not. They have a need and they bring it to God expecting Him to hear and answer their prayer. Somewhere between childhood and maturity we have lost the simplicity and wonder of prayer.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." 1 Kings 17:1 (NIV)
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. James 5:17
Many people have asked how they could know the will of God in their prayers. They are sincere prayer warriors who desire above all else to bring glory to God in their prayers but they are uncertain about God’s will. Sometimes they add the condition to their prayers “if it be Thy will”. I believe that this is more often a statement of unbelief than praying in the will of God. I know that they are sincere in their prayers but they are also ignorant in their prayers. We do not have to be ignorant. We can come with confidence to the throne of grace.
If we examine the prayer life of Elijah we can learn about praying in God’s will from this prophet of fire. How did he know that it would be the will of God that there would be drought upon the land for three and one half years? I think the answer is in the fact that Elijah was a man of the Word of God. Elijah was not a cultured person but he was convinced of the reality of God and the truth of the Word of God.
In Deuteronomy we read, “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.” Deuteronomy 11:16 – 17 (NIV)
Elijah saw the people chasing after other God and he knew that the Lord had warned His people through Moses that if they were to pursue other god’s then there would be drought upon the land. When the Lord, through Joshua, led the people into the Promised Land He warned them about false gods. He knew that if they didn’t destroy all the idols in the land they would be tempted to worship them. It wasn’t that they would reject Yahweh but they would add other gods as the nations around them were doing. They believed that if one god was good then two were better. This is called syncretism, that is to reconciled or fuse different beliefs. This is happening in our day. People are not knowledgeable about the Word of God so they add to their prayers phrases and ideas that are not biblical.
Continued tomorrow LW.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." 1 Kings 17:1 (NIV)
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. James 5:17
Many people have asked how they could know the will of God in their prayers. They are sincere prayer warriors who desire above all else to bring glory to God in their prayers but they are uncertain about God’s will. Sometimes they add the condition to their prayers “if it be Thy will”. I believe that this is more often a statement of unbelief than praying in the will of God. I know that they are sincere in their prayers but they are also ignorant in their prayers. We do not have to be ignorant. We can come with confidence to the throne of grace.
If we examine the prayer life of Elijah we can learn about praying in God’s will from this prophet of fire. How did he know that it would be the will of God that there would be drought upon the land for three and one half years? I think the answer is in the fact that Elijah was a man of the Word of God. Elijah was not a cultured person but he was convinced of the reality of God and the truth of the Word of God.
In Deuteronomy we read, “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.” Deuteronomy 11:16 – 17 (NIV)
Elijah saw the people chasing after other God and he knew that the Lord had warned His people through Moses that if they were to pursue other god’s then there would be drought upon the land. When the Lord, through Joshua, led the people into the Promised Land He warned them about false gods. He knew that if they didn’t destroy all the idols in the land they would be tempted to worship them. It wasn’t that they would reject Yahweh but they would add other gods as the nations around them were doing. They believed that if one god was good then two were better. This is called syncretism, that is to reconciled or fuse different beliefs. This is happening in our day. People are not knowledgeable about the Word of God so they add to their prayers phrases and ideas that are not biblical.
Continued tomorrow LW.
The Prayer Life of Elijah
Over the next few weeks I want to post what I have been learning about prayer from the prayer life of Elijah. I would appreciate any comments and suggestions as some day I would like to put it into a little booklet. It is not that this world needs another book on prayer but I need to put my thoughts together. Thank you for your help.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Father's Day
Tomorrow is father's day and I just want to acknowledge the influence that my dad had on my life. My dad was not perfect but he loved his God, his wife, his family, his church, his neighbours and anyone who he came into contact with him. He loved God's Word and he instilled that love in me.
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