So he said, “How have I sinned that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? (1 Kings 18:9)
Obadiah was aware that King Ahab had gone to great lengths to look for Elijah as a means of exacting revenge on him for the drought that his prayers had brought upon Israel. Obadiah was afraid for his life that Ahab would punish him for allowing Elijah to escape if he declared that he had seen Elijah, and then the prophet disappeared again after Obadiah's announcement.
Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (1 King 18:19)
This is a reference to the fact that the evil Queen Jezebel served as an advocate for the prophets of Baal and Asherah, who were sponsored and supported by the then government of Israel.
So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon (1 Kings 18:30)
Assuming that morning is 8 am by normal standards and noon is 12pm, then the prophets of Baal prayed for at least 4 hours and more.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. (1 King 18:30)
When Israel turned away from the LORD, the altar of the Lord was neglected and broken down. There was no fresh fire on the altars of God. The effect was that the entire nation had backslidden into sin.
This was the reason that before the fire of God could fall, the altar had to be repaired. God’s fire will never fall on a broken altar.
Repairing the altar is about our personal relationship with the Lord. Our relationship with the Lord is built through the word of God, prayer and obedience.
And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” (1 Kings 18:42-44)
Persistent prayer is perhaps the weapon that our adversary satan dreads the most. Because of this, satan will make an all-out effort to convince us that there is no use in continuing to pray if we do not see an immediate breakthrough. Elijah continued to pray until he witnessed a breakthrough until he saw God move in response to his prayers.
In the Bible, there are a number of characters that spent years praying for something until they finally saw it come to pass. In the first chapter of Luke, we learn that Zacharias and his wife prayed fervently to be blessed with a child. The angel delivers the good news that they are going to have a son in verse 13, while they are well past the age when they might have had children. Anna was a remarkable lady who served in ministry, and her story is told in Luke 2:36–39. She was a prophetess who, at the age of 84, continued to pray fervently day and night for the salvation of Jerusalem.
Lord Jesus tells us the story of the persistent widow in the book of Luke, chapter 18, verses 1-8. He begins by advising us to never stop praying and to have a positive attitude. To maintain one's composure and to resist the urge to give up, faint, or surrender one's faith is what it means to "not lose one's heart."
The parable is about the widow who appears before a court on many occasions in order to argue her point. Due to the fact that she is so persistent, the judge gives in to her request even though he does not respect either her or God. If even the wicked judge may be swayed by perseverance, imagine how much more so God.
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