it's Nita.

I sometimes get discouraged in prayer. I pray and pray and pray and yet do not see the answer to that which I seek. In these times, I am reminded that God is faithful, even when I can’t see my expected end. I bring to my remembrance the many times people in the Bible waited for the Lord to show up and answer their pleas. One of my favorites however is that of Elijah praying for rain.

My favorite part of this passage is when Elijah speaks to Ahab is verse 41.

And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain (emphasis added).” 

He spoke of the sound of rain before he even went off to pray in verse 42! He then persisted in prayer even when his servant reported not a cloud in the sky.

So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

Seven times Elijah directed his servant to go and look, but what would have happened if Elijah got tired of praying or the servant was tired of looking for a sign? The answer to the pray would have surely been abandoned. Yet, I believe the reason Elijah was able to keeping praying with confidence is because he stood on the truth he received in versus 42 “for there is the sound of a heavy rain”. And by verse 44 the servant looked for a 7th time and reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

Takeaway: Don’t give up on praying into God’s promises. Don’t give up on praying over the truth God speaks to your heart. The horizon may be barren now but trust and believe; there will be rain.

Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers, and remember to be thankful when they come. (Colossians 4:2 TLB)

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Since we have this confidence, we can also have great boldness before him, for if we present any request agreeable to his will, he will hear us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we also know that we have obtained the requests we ask of him. (1 John 5:14-15 TPT)

Love always,

it’s Nita.