Again He Prayed

 ^“Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”   James 5:17-18

Elijah watched the dust swirl in circles around his feet while his muscles strained from the weight of holding his body in such an awkward position for a prolonged amount of time.

“What’s that you said?” his servant inquired of Elijah as his mumbled request floated across the wind.  “Please speak up, I can’t hear what you’re saying with your head stuck between your knees!”

“Go and look toward the sea.” Elijah commanded.

Obeying his master’s request, the servant strode a few paces to the west of their current position atop Mt. Carmel and looked out over the once prosperous Valley of Jezreel. Now all he observed was an expanse of brown, dusty earth, as far as the eye could see. Not sure what he was expected to report back, the servant glanced back over at his master, who remained with his head between his knees in prayer.

“There is nothing there”, the servant replied.

Without rising from his position on the ground, Elijah’s right hand shot up like a cannon, pointing back in the direction his servant came from.

“Go back,” the prophet requested.

Again, the servant returned to his vantage point over the valley below; and again, the view was exactly the same as before.  Dry, barren, dusty ground.

“There is nothing there, master,” the servant replied once more.

“Go back,” the hand repeated, a second time.

This same scenario played itself out five more times, the path between Elijah and the side of the mountain now well-worn from the familiar shuffle of his servant’s sandals in the dust below.  We can only imagine the thoughts spinning through the servant’s head as he walked back and forth six times from the valley to the prophet. He would never presume to question such a respected prophet, but surely he had to be pondering the validity of his requests internally.

On the seventh trip, the servant rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he witnessed a small cloud begin to form in the distance, rising from the Mediterranean Sea.

“Surely, this can’t be?” he murmured quietly to himself.  Obliged to report back anything he observed, he shuffled back over to Elijah in haste and delivered the news.

“A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”  I love to close my eyes and picture how the next scene played out.

Ok, ok, I realize that this is NOT a picture of the prophet Elijah watching in awe as the light, fluffy cloud drifting in the distance became larger and darker as the winds swirled and the air felt heavy with the impending rain.

BUT, it is a photo taken several years ago of my daughter as she witnessed the fountains at our downtown park shoot up from underneath the ground and completely soak the people standing close by.  Anticipation, awe, amazement and excitement all swirled together into a glowing foam of utter joy.

JOY that God had indeed been faithful to the promise he had made Elijah three years prior.  Three years ridden with famine, disease and death as everything within Israel suffered.  Three years of doubt, uncertainty, fear and I’m sure anger, by many.  How, you might ask, was Elijah able to rely on the promise of God during these years of drought?

Charles Swindoll in his book, “Elijah: A Man of Heroism & Humility”, explains how the prophet remained steadfast in his faith in God during this tumultuous time.

• He separated himself
• He humbled himself
• He was specific in his prayer
• He was persistent in his belief
• He was expectant that God would answer (in His time)

“But he (Elijah) wasn’t too powerful to pray…or too confident to wait…or too sophisticated to see rain in the tiny cloud…or too proud to pull up his robe and run like a spotted ape down the mountain in the rain and mud…”

Charles Swindoll

Even though he was a prophet of God, Elijah was a human being, just like you and me, full of doubts, failures and faults.  What made him special; however, was his unwavering, unmovable faith that God would keep His promises.

And, he prayed.  Again and again and again.

And God answered.