Life Capsule for Today 12th September, 2023
Theme: The Prayer Life of Elijah (3)
Memory Verse: 1 Thess 5:17
17 pray without ceasing, NKJV
Topic: Elijah held God by his word
Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 18:41-46
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. 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!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab,’Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.'” 45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. NKJV
Words of the Ministry:
This week we have been considering the prayer life of Elijah. We learnt that he was a man like us having natural human desires. We also saw from yesterday’s study that he was a man that prayed a prayer of God’s will be done on earth and he was also willing to bear the burden of his prayers. In other words, Elijah was willing to suffer if need be for the will of God to be established. We saw a great contrast between the prophet Elijah and us, that while we think we can use prayers to manipulate God into doing things that pleased us, Elijah on the other hand was more concerned about the implication of his prayers to God’s economy. Today, I like to look at another aspect of Elijah’s prayers which is that he was a man that knew God. He knew how to hold God by his word.
In Psalm 138.2b, the bible says: “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name”. God has magnified his word above all his name. While majority emphasize on the names of our God, Elijah knew how to hold God by his word. Elijah in 1Kings 17, told Ahab the famine was to last 3 1/2 years, he declared the message from God and he watched on the word to see it come to pass, eventually the period elapsed and God again told Elijah who was now the enemy of the king for standing with God to go tell King Ahab that it was time for the rains. At this time the famine was severe and there was no indication of rain.
From our today’s reading, Elijah told Ahab the word of the Lord concerning the abundance of rain but it didn’t end there, Elijah being a man of the secret place knew how spiritual things worked, he knew the will of God must be birthed by a man on earth, he knew the earth realm needed to cooperate with God to have his will on earth, Elijah knew there could be some interference like in the case of Daniel so he decided to do something many would not do. When most of us hear a prophetic word from the Lord, we just claim it and say we believe it, we cover our laziness to birth the will of God through prayer with words like I receive, I believe, it is settled, the word says it etc. Elijah was a great contrast; the Bible says he prayed with his head between his knee groaning on a mountain to see the rain promised by God. He labored 7 times asking his servant for confirmation while Ahab was busy feasting.
Saints, that is the principle on which prayer works in the kingdom, we must be such that watch out for the word of God and when we receive it, we labor to birth it on earth. In Matt 16.16 we have been given the keys of the kingdom, we must go beyond quoting bible verses, the bible said you have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness but what is your reality, the bible says by his stripes you are healed, but what is your reality, the bible says you receive power with the Holy Spirit but what is your reality, the bible says God will is for you to prosper and be in health but is that your reality? Until we take a position with God to labor for his will to be done, nothing would be done. Don’t join the lazy wagon that says, once God says a thing it must come to pass, many have lost their destinies because of such wrong ideas. May the Lord grant us light.
Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 40-42
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