“And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times” (1 Kings 18:43).
TEXT — 1Kings 18:41-46
Message
It was Calvin Coolidge who said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.” He concludes by emphatically recommending persistence and determination as unbeatable virtues for excellence in life.
Elijah is unique among the prophets of God. He was bold and courageous in the fight for truth. When he confronted hundreds of prophets of Baal on Mount Camel, he prayed and fire came down. In the New Testament, Apostle James presents him as the model of a prayerful believer who would not accept ‘No’ for an answer, whose earnest prayer locked up the heaven for three and half years; and opened it again when he prayed (James 5:17,18). This model of importunity and undeniable persistence in obtaining answers to our prayers forms the central message in today’s passage. Elijah prayed and told his servant to look out for the sign of rain. The servant went to observe the sky seven times before reporting that he saw a cloud as small as the size of a man’s hand. That small cloud became the sign of a downpour of rain that made the “earth to bring forth her fruits”.
We learn that even when a believer prays in faith, it is God that determines when and how to answer. Also, delay is no denial. Elijah was convinced about the faithfulness of God to his words as expressed in 2 Chronicles 7:13,14. Hence, he persisted.
We should learn to tarry in the place of prayer until the answer comes. God is faithful to fulfil His promises (Hebrews 10:23).
Thought for the day
Tarrying without tiring attracts torrents of answered prayers.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
