Praying for a Sign
42. So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he threw himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
43. And he said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “there is nothing.” And he said, “Go again” seven times.
44. And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, “Behold, there arises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot, and get yourself down, that the rain does not stop you.”
45. And it came to pass in the meantime, that the heaven was 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 girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
1 Kings 18:42-46
Getting into Prayer Position
Much like the Old Testament prophet Elijah, God’s people will often find themselves in stressful situations of representing God but realizing that what God promised has not come to pass. This is what I call in between the promise of God and the provisions of God. What do you do when it is your task to give the assurance that God is real when the Lord has not shown up? How do you tell people hold on a little longer when the problem is growing?
Elijah was confident that God would perform exactly what He had promised, but the hour had not yet arrived. For over three years, God had sent a severe drought in the land of Northern Israel because they had turned to idolatry and wickedness. The Lord God could have destroyed them but chose rather to punish them so that they would see the error of their ways and turn back to Him. It was time now to announce the end of the drought and the beginning of God’s favor and kindness. Elijah made the announcement but there was one tiny issue: there was not a cloud in the sky. The drought conditions still existed and since the people did not see any sign of rain they certainly could not believe that God would give them relief from the scorching drought. Elijah was in between God’s Promise and God’s Provision. There was only one thing to do: Pray. In many ways, we get caught in that dilemma. We know that God will bless. We are certain that God can bless. We may even be at a point of knowing that God’s blessing is on the way but it has not arrived YET. There is only one thing to do. We must pray.
Why would Elijah need to pray if God had already revealed what was going to take place? Prayer is needed to align us with God’s will and to adjust our timing. Of course we can always hit the default and say, “He may not come when you want Him, but He is always on time.” That has become so cliché that people are beginning to feel discouraged rather than encouraged by that statement. As Elijah got in the position to pray, so the child of God must position themselves to endure that wait time by praying fervently to the Lord. Getting into prayer position is key to receiving the assurance that God will perform exactly what He has promised. This involves three specific areas of prayer. First, get above the problem. Notice that Elijah took the position of Mt. Carmel. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he threw himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. Whenever prayer is at the problem level all we can see is the problem itself. Dr. Charles Stanley calls this prayer with the focus on the problem rather than on God who will help us through the problem. (In Touch Devotional – May 27, 2023). From his prayer position, Elijah could see the entire region including the sea. Think about it this way, if all you see is your problem as you are praying, that will be the focus of your conversation with God. Get above the problem. Quote Scripture as you pray. Remind yourself about the great things God has done in His Word.
Not only should you get above the problem, but you must also get away from unbelieving people. Notice, Elijah went to Mt. Carmel, while the wicked king Ahab was told to go about his business of eating and drinking. Why is this significant? Elijah could have spent precious prayer time trying to convince Ahab and Jezebel that they were the problem. That is called the blame game. But Elijah was praying for results, he was not trying to get retribution and revenge on his enemies. Do yourself a favor and do God a favor when you pray, leave your enemies outside. The prayer is about you and God. In prayer, you are to worship God, worry less, and willingly wait for God’s promise. Prayer is not the place for you to justify yourself and condemn your enemies. Bring into your prayer place the people who can believe with you and wait with you. Get into position.
Then there is the third thing we do to get into the proper prayer position. You get above the problem and away from unbelieving people; you also get to the heart of the need. Elijah wasted no time in getting to the heart of the issue. They needed rain. And he (Elijah) said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “there is nothing.” And he said, “Go again” seven times. God knows why you are praying so you need to make wise use of the prayer time. Fancy phrases and clever quotes will not advance your prayer but sincere faith will. Elijah understood well that water had to come from a source: the sea. He wanted to see God’s process of drawing water out of the sea and bringing it to land. Elijah was not content with “the Lord will make a way somehow.” He wanted to see the HOW. He positioned himself to see it by faith and to acknowledge God’s provisions with praise.
Why do we need a Sign from God?
The big question is why did Elijah need this sign? I get it that he was in between the promise and the provision. So why did he need this sign from God? If you will note from the text, at the seventh visit to the viewing station, the servant reported that he saw a cloud rising out of the sea. And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, “Behold, there arises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” Prayer is more than simply notifying God that we have an issue. Prayer can also be used to give us a sign that God is moving and we need to get on the move in response to God’s Provision.
Sadly, the Church has adopted the “super-hero mentality” when it comes to answers to prayer. We pray to God as if we are praying to a superhero. That minimizes God’s Power. But we also pray as if that is our only duty. After prayer, we assume that God is going to do all the work and so we just sit back and watch God. That is not how it works nor is it why we pray. Our prayers, believe it or not, has already involved us in the work of God. The fact that we have signed up for prayer was also our recruitment documents that we are part of God’s answer to prayer. Now, you are on the Lord’s side and you will be involved in helping people to receive God’s answer. No it probably will not involve you gaining “super strength” but it will involve you becoming God’s agent to announce the arrival of God’s Promise.
So, the prayer for a sign really becomes a “call to action.” Rather than looking at the cloud in amazement, Elijah knew that this was his sign to act. We pray for God to send a sign so that we can act and begin the work of sharing God’s Good News with others. And the Hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. How do you go from Mount Carmel to Jezreel in a short time? How do you descend from worship to work in a matter of minutes. The key was to understand the Hand of the Lord.
Contrast the two places. Mount Carmel was the place of the great miracle where the people had to make up their minds as to who was God and who would be the focus of their worship. The people all said, “The Lord, He is God.” This meant that they were to leave Mount Carmel and apply their confession at Jezreel. Jezreel was the headquarters of wickedness. It was Ahab’s palace. It was Jezebel’s seat of authority where she led the people in worshipping Baal. Elijah knew it was time to move because God was on the move in sending the rain. Elijah was counting on the people to rally together and get things moving to restore Israel to worshipping The Lord God. Mount Carmel represented the turning point and Jezreel should have been the place where people turned from their idolatry and wicked ways. That was the sign that Elijah received from God.
Here is the challenge. Are you willing to pray for God to give you a sign? Are you willing to receive the sign as a call to action? Remember, the work of God does not depend solely on you for the Hand of the Lord will accomplish the work. But you must be willing to say yes to God’s Will.
Lessons Learned from Signs
In conclusion, we are depended on God to send us signs that will help us advance in our faith. We need signs to keep us from getting confused. Signs help direct us to the right way. First, a clear sign for this age is that living right does not exempt you from suffering. 2 Timothy 3:12, the sign says, all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Read the sign and you will discover that the world hates you because it hated Jesus.
Second, the sign teaches us that God pays attention to our prayers. James 5:13, is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. God wants us to pray not to get His attention, but for us to pay attention to what God is doing. You will never see the Hand of God moving in the world if you don’t pray. All you will focus on are the problems, the needs, and the wickedness of this life. Pray because God pays attention to your prayers. Someone said, the only prayer that God does not answer is the one that is not prayed.
Third, the sign that God sends is not only an indicator of God moving but also an initiator for believers to move. God invites us to join Him in His Work, but the only way to see His Work in Action is through prayer. Jesus said, I must be about My Father’s business. Luke 2:49. Let us join Jesus and be about our Father’s business. Let us commune with Him in prayer.