Elements of Prayer 1 Kings 18:41-46 Introduction: Last week we left Elijah and the people celebrating. Elijah had been victorious God had won. Fire had come down from a cloudless sky and burned up the sacrifice; stone altar and all. The false prophets had been destroyed. The people believed that Jehovah was the one true God! But Elijah s work wasn t done unlike everyone else, he couldn t really celebrate yet. God had said that He would send rain but, as we know from chapter 17, Elijah had to pray for it. Elijah had faith in God and in prayer. He had already seen a 3 ½ year drought, a widow s son restored to life, and fire come down from heaven as the result of his prayers. He knew that God would keep His promise and, although there weren t any clouds in the sky, Elijah expected God to send rain. He was so certain; he could already hear the sound of a heavy rain that was going to come. Since Ahab and the people were just like us, I suspect they probably hadn t taken time to eat all day so that they wouldn t miss anything. So Elijah tells Ahab to go up from the Kishon River to get something to eat. While King Ahab and the people ate, Elijah went to pray. Let s look at the elements of Elijah s prayer as he went to God and how we can apply them to ourselves. II. Elements of Prayer. A. First we see that Elijah separated himself. Verse 42 says he climbed to the top of Carmel. Elijah needed to get away from everyone from all the noise and all the confusion. He wanted to have his undivided attention focused on God. He wanted to be alone with Jehovah. 1
Turn to Matthew 6:5-8. Sometimes Jesus would pray in front of others, but often He would go into the mountains and pray by Himself. Jesus wasn t forbidding or condemning public prayer He is dealing with attitude. Whenever you pray, you have to get your attention away from yourself and others and what they think and instead to focus on God and God alone. This is easier to do in a quiet place a room, a closet, somewhere out of the way someplace where just you and God can talk. B. Secondly, Elijah humbled himself. He bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. Elijah had just had the greatest public victory ever. He had had fire come down and gobble up the sacrifice. He had 450 false prophets killed. This had been an emotionally high day brought about by his prayer. But Elijah recognized where the power came from; it came from God. James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Later in verse 10 we read, Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. When we come to God, we must keep in mind who He is. He isn t our equal He isn t our bud or the big Guy up there He is the Almighty Creator God. Turn to Isaiah 40:25-26. Just as John the Baptist said of Jesus Christ in Matthew 3:11, I am not fit to carry His sandals, we need to see ourselves correctly and humble ourselves before God, just as Elijah did. C. Next, Elijah was specific. Go and look toward the sea, he told his servant. Elijah told his servant to look for 1 thing a sign of rain. God had promised rain and Elijah was praying for rain. We need to be specific in our prayers, too. If you need a job, pray for a job. If you have some fear in your life, name that fear and ask specifically to be released from it. Listen to these familiar words from Matthew 7:7-8, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; 2
knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Jesus said if we want answers, we need ask and seek and knock. James 4:2b says, You do not have, because you do not ask of God. Do you like to give presents to people you love? How does it make you feel when you give them something they really, REALLY, REALLY want? How do you thing God feels when He can give you something you really want? But God is not a genie who gives us everything we crave. When our son was small he wanted a deer rifle just like his grandfather he really, REALLY, REALLY wanted it. Did we give it to him of course not! He was too young and inexperienced to have one. It would have been dangerous, even deadly for everyone. Sometimes we ask God for the same type of want and we hear the same answer, Not yet or, sometimes, just plain No. That s why we have to listen to the Holy Spirit when we pray; that s why we need to be in a quiet place so we can hear. D. We, also, see that Elijah was persistent. He told his servant to Go Back seven times. When testing comes, it often comes when we have to wait. In our fast food mentality, we want the answer fast right now or even yesterday. It s difficult to wait. But waiting teaches us to be patient. God s timing is not based on our clock. He is never late or early, His timing is perfect. Elijah knew that the answer to his prayer would come in God s own time, and it would come only because God had promised that it would. God had promised so it would be done, all Elijah had to do was pray. Remember the words from Matthew 7:7: ask, seek, and knock? In the original it really says keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. This means we often must pray persistently until the answers come. In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable that, as Luke puts it is to show us that we should always pray and not give up. Sometimes a failure to persist in prayer 3
proves that we were not serous about our request in the first place. At other times God wants us to persist in prayer in order to strengthen our faith in Him. Faith would never grow, if all our prayers were answered immediately. Persistence in prayer tends to develop a deeper gratitude as well. In the very impatient society in which we live, God grows in us a Christ-like patience when He requires persistence in prayer. E. Finally, we see that Elijah was expectant. All that Elijah and his servant saw was a tiny cloud, smaller than a man s hand. But that was enough for Elijah s faith in God s promise. He told King Ahab that he needed to get going before the storm bogged down his chariot. Elijah s God our God was and still is the God of the impossible. Soon the heavens were black with clouds and the rain came down in buckets. The Lord not only proved that He was the true and living God, but He also put His approval on the ministry of His servant Elijah. Elijah didn t have a chariot, but he did have the power and strength of the Lord. He was able to run ahead of the king, a distance of around 15 miles, and reach the summer capital, Jezreel, ahead of the king. This was quite a feat for any man, and it was a sign to the people that God s powerful hand was upon His servant Elijah. Do you pray expectantly? Do you think of the improbable and expect the impossible? Turn to James 1:6-8. Some Christians simply doubt that God will give them what they need, and rationalize their doubt in many ways. Some doubt whether or not He is able to grant their request. Others believe they are undeserving; still others believe that their needs are not worthy of God s attention. But God has an infinite love for each one of His children and is concerned about each and every need regardless of how small or insignificant or difficult it may seem. Hebrews 11:6 says, Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 4
When you come to God in prayer, you must ask expectantly, praying in faith He can and will answer. If you truly believe in God and His promises, you can be like Elijah. Even to the point of being given extra strength to do more than what is humanly possible. Remember, James 5:17 says, Elijah was a man just like us and look at what his prayers accomplished. III. Conclusion: So what does this mean? If you want to see your prayers answered, you need to discipline your life especially your prayer life. You need to get alone with God mano-tomano. You need to humble yourself and submit to God s will, putting all your faith in Him. You need to be specific in your prayers. You need to be persistent, not giving up until you get an answer: yes, no, or not yet. Finally, you have to be expectant. God can and will answer your prayers just ask in faith. How is your prayer life? Are your prayers answered? 5