How to Pray Powerful Prayers

Recap:

Last week we examined Elijah’s experience on Mount Carmel. Elijah challenged the false prophets of Baal to a showdown. Which ever God answered by fire, He was God. In a pathetic attempt to bring down fire, the prophets of Baal were crying aloud, dancing and leaping around their altar, and even cutting themselves to bring about the desired sign. In the end they were left worse off than when they had started. Their false god had failed them, there was no answer, no fire, and their bodies were now mutilated. Ultimately that is the plan of the enemy for our lives. He wants to steal kill and destroy us.

Then the man of God, Elijah, steps up to the altar and simply prays to the Lord and fire comes down and consumes the sacrifice, wood, water and even the stones that the altar was made from.

Ultimately, we learned that God is in control of all things.

In that instance Elijah prayed and God answered his prayer immediately. However, there have been other times in Elijah’s life when he prayed, and his prayer did not get answered immediately. I’m sure there have been prayers that you have prayed that have yet to be answered.

· What should you do when your prayers seemingly go unanswered?

Pray According to the Will of God

1 Kings 18: 41-48

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.”

At this moment there was no rain, but there was a sound of a rushing rain. Notice who heard the sound. It was the prophet Elijah not Ahab. Apparently, there was a distinction between the two men. Even though Ahab had witnessed the fire fall from heaven upon the altar, there has been no noted change in his life. Some will allow the fire of God to change them, while others remain spectators.

Elijah was declaring something that he had heard from God. Elijah was declaring something which he did not see as though it was.

The reason Elijah was able to declare such a thing is because he had been spending time in God’s presence. God will only share His secrets with those who are in close fellowship with Him. Thus, we see the importance of spending time in His presence and getting into His word so that we will also declare those things which are not as though they were.

By spending time in His presence, we will be able to pray according to the will of God.

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel.

So again, we find King Ahab minding the carnal things or the things regarding the flesh, while Elijah is minding the things of God. Some people fill themselves with the pleasures of this world while others are satisfied by being with God. Elijah goes back to the same spot in which fire had previously fallen from heaven. He hears the sound of a rushing rain, but now he must pray for rain to come.

This next verse is what we would like to focus on today.

42b And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.”

Elijah appeared to be doing everything right.

· He was at the right place Mount Carmel; this is where God had previously answered with fire.

· He was doing the right thing, he had isolated himself and was praying for a much-needed rain to come not only for himself but for the good of the whole nation.

· He was praying according to the word of the Lord which had come to him

1 Kings 18:1

“Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”

· He was praying in an appropriate posture, bowed down to the earth with his face between his knees illustrating a heart of humility.

Though Elijah did everything right, his first attempt yielded zero results.

Ø What do you do when you have done everything right and still no answer?

Pray With Persistence

This was not the first time that Elijah was denied an answer to his prayer, during his first attempt.

We talked before about the widow that helped Elijah during the time of the famine. We mentioned that at the point that Elijah arrived at her house she was fixing the last bit of flour that she had for her and her son, she was planning to eat it and then die.

Shortly after God had miraculously multiplied her resources, her son became ill to the point where he could not breath and he died.

1 Kings 17:21

21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.”

Meaning the child did not come back to life after Elijah’s first attempt nor after his second attempt. It wasn’t until the third attempt in which the child’s life returned to him.

But if Elijah had quit after the first attempt, if he would have said “so be it” the child would have remained dead, the child’s mother would have been overcome with grief, and he might not of have the faith that he had when he challenged the prophets of Baal on top of mount Carmel.

I wonder how many times do we forfeit the miraculous power of God in our lives because we give up praying when we don’t see immediate answers to our prayer.

If God answered every prayer immediately every time that we prayed, how quickly our prayers would become self-centered and self-gratifying.

He often prolongs His answers to keep us humble and dependent upon Him and to let us know that He is in charge and we are not. Elijah prayed fervently three times before the child came to life. He would pray even more for rain to come.

And he said, “Go again,” seven times.

Elijah gave his servant some peculiar instructions. After yielding no results the first time, Elijah is wanting his servant to do the same thing six more times. He was to go up to the top of the mountain and look toward the Mediterranean Sea to see whether there was a rain cloud or not and report it back to Elijah then he was to go back up the mountain and look toward the Mediterranean sea and report back.

After the third or fourth time, many of us would have said “that’s enough.” Why continue doing the same thing over and over only to get no results. There was no rain, no rain clouds, no anything.

But we do not find the servant rebelling against the man of God, rather we find him obeying, and he did it until he had seen a breakthrough.

Meanwhile it is believed that the man of God continued in prayer and that he too persevered until he seen a breakthrough. With every negative report He pushed a little harder and prayed more fervently. We can say that Elijah prayed until something happened.

He prayed until Heaven touched earth. Elijah did not grow weary in his prayer even when his outward circumstances remained unchanged. Rather his lack of answered prayer was fuel to pray even more fervently.

In a world of uncertainty, let us likewise continue to knock on the door of heaven until we see something happen, even if our circumstances remain unchanged.

Galatians 6:9

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Because Elijah prayed persistent prayers in accordance to the will of God Elijah received the breakthrough that he and all of Israel needed.

44 And at the seventh time he said,

Seven is the number of completeness or perfection. After Creating the earth in six days God rested on the seventh also known as the Sabbath. The earth was complete it was perfect.

Jericho was conquered on the seventh day, as the Israelites completed 7 laps around the city. Now Elijah would pray seven times before seeing the completed work of God’s righteous judgements.

God’s judgement against Israel was complete. The people of Israel turned back to the Lord; therefore, God would end the drought and famine over the land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God was about to fulfill His word among His people.

While the sin of idolatry brought about the drought which caused the famine, repentance would bring about rain which would bring about life.

Pray with Anticipation

“Behold, a little (insignificant) cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’”

Anticipate that God will answer and do not despise it when he answers in a”little” way. Because if there is a “little” evidence that our prayers are being answered then it is evidence, nonetheless.

For example, you may have been praying for the salvation of a friend or family member. When one day you are given an opportunity to share with them what the Lord has done in your life. It is not the rainstorm that you prayed for, but it is “little cloud” nonetheless.

You can either embrace that moment and share your faith, or you can think of the cloud as insignificant letting the opportunity pass you by.

Just because you don’t see the full anticipated result of your prayers, you can rest assured that God has heard your prayer.

So, when you see “little progress” you can celebrate in knowing that God is working on your behalf.

45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Notice the rainstorm that Elijah was anticipating came after he embraced the “little Cloud” as an answer to his prayer.

God does not always answer with fire from heaven as He did on Mount Carmel. Sometimes He answers in the quiet still small voice, or in ways that may seem “little” to our natural way of thinking. But as we accept and embrace the answer He has provided, we put ourselves in position to reap the complete answer to our prayers.

God completely answered the prayer of Elijah and all of Israel benefited from his prayer. Rain began to fall; crops began to grow, and the land was healed.

· Pray According to the Will of God

· Pray Persistent Prayers

· Pray with Anticipation

How will we get through this pandemic?