Praying as Elijah Prayed
I’ve been thinking about Elijah. I know, I know—who doesn’t? But I’d like to invite you to think along with me.
Elijah shows up in 1 Kings 17 out of nowhere. From this “out-of-nowhere-ness” comes these, um, I guess we could call them challenging words for the king of Israel, 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.”*
Okay, Elijah! Was this prophetic word spoken just after Elijah said, “Greetings, King Ahab”? We’re not told whether Ahab knew Elijah before this or not. Regardless, it might be just a bit discomforting, if you’re a leader, to have a prophet tell you that it’s not going to rain in your country for three years.