Prayer of Faith to Faithful God
From 1 Kings 15 to end of 2 Kings,
the writer traces the parallel stories
of two nations in spiritual decline,
taking time to highlight a prophet
or a king who contributes greatly
to the spiritual rise or fall of one
of the nations. Today’s reading
centres around Elijah the prophet
who courageously faces a heathen
king and 850 pagan prophets of
Baal, only to flee for his life from
the murderous Queen Jezebel.
In the book of James (5:17-18),
Elijah is held as a model of prayer.
When anxious, his reaction was to
take it to God in prayer. Remarkably,
he also prayed inconvenient prayers.
For instance, he prayed for drought,
resulting in drying up of his source
of water. His constant prayer was:
“God do something great… and
I am available if You need me.”
Lord, Thanks for the lessons from
the ministry of Your Prophet Elijah.
When in challenging situation,
help us to Take First Step of Faith;
help us to Pray Expectantly; and
help us to Believe U In Control. Amen
Lord, we take first Step of Faith:
Elijah said to her: Don’t be afraid!
Go ahead & cook that “last meal”
… For this is what the Lord says:
There will always be plenty of flour
and oil in your containers until
the time when the Lord sends
rain and the crops grow again.
So she did as Elijah said and she
and Elijah and her son continued
to eat from her supply of flour…
For no matter how much they used,
there was always enough just as the
Lord had promised (1Kgs17:13-16)
Lord, thank You for Your constant
care in uncertain times. It’s so easy
to worry and do what seems most
reasonable rather than trust You
and simply follow Your leading.
Give me the assurance that Your
way is the best. Remind me of Your
amazing provision for Elijah & the
widow because they followed Your
way instead of their own. Amen.
Lord, we will Pray Expectantly:
At the customary time for the
evening sacrifice, Elijah walked
up to the altar and prayed: O Lord
answer me! Answer me so that
these people will know that you,
O Lord, are God and that You have
brought them back to yourself.
Immediately the fire of God flashed
down from heaven & burned up the
young bull. And the people cried
out: The Lord is God (1K18:36-39)
Lord, grant me strong faith to
believe You will do great things
in response to my prayers.
Your Word tells of miraculous
things You have done for people.
And You are the same today and
the future as You were in the past.
I believe You can do magnificent
& miraculous things in response
to my prayers as well. Amen.
Lord, we Believe You In Control:
And a voice said: What are you
doing here Elijah? Go to Damascus
& anoint Hazel to be king of Aram.
Then anoint Jehu to be king
of Israel, and anoint Elisha to
replace you as my prophet.
Anyone who escapes from Hazael
will be killed by Jehu, and those
who escape Jehu will be killed
by Elisha! Yet I will preserve 7,000
others in Israel who have never
bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:15-18).
Lord, grant us the grace of faith
and the strength to press on with
what You God has called us to do
though we may feel discouraged.
For we know that You the Almighty
God is always In Control. Amen.