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Context No. 2167 of 4322 · 1 Kings

Context · Reflection

1 Kings 18:41-46: in context

41Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. 43He said to his servant, “Go up now and look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, then said, “There is nothing.” He said, “Go again” seven times. 44On the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising out of the sea.” He said, “Go up, tell Ahab, ‘Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn’t stop you.’” 45In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46The LORD’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

After the long drought, Elijah tells Ahab that rain is coming, and then he goes up to the top of Carmel to pray. He bows to the ground with his face between his knees, and sends his servant to look toward the sea for any sign of rain. The servant returns: there is nothing. Elijah sends him again, and again, and again, seven times, praying between each. On the seventh time, the servant reports a small cloud, the size of a man's hand, rising from the sea. And soon the sky grows black and a great rain falls.

Elijah's prayer for rain is a model of persistence. He did not pray once, look once, and give up when there was nothing to see. He prayed, and sent his servant to look; nothing. He prayed again, and looked again; still nothing. Seven times he prayed and looked, refusing to give up when there was no sign, persevering until at last the small cloud appeared. His prayer was not a single request abandoned when no immediate answer came, but a persistent, persevering seeking that continued until the answer arrived. And the answer did come, after the seventh look, a small cloud that became a great rain. This teaches us about perseverance in prayer. We often pray once, and if no answer appears at once, we give up, concluding that God will not answer or that prayer does not work. Elijah shows another way: to keep praying, to keep looking for the answer, not to abandon our prayer after one attempt but to persevere, seeking until the answer comes. Jesus taught that we ought always to pray and not lose heart, telling of a persistent widow who kept coming until she was heard. Persistence in prayer is not badgering a reluctant God but a persevering faith that keeps seeking, trusting that the answer will come in God's time. Continue steadfastly in prayer, Paul says, being watchful. This does not mean that every persistent prayer is granted exactly as we ask, or that persistence is a technique to force God's hand. It means that we are not to give up after one attempt, but to persevere in prayer, to keep seeking, to keep looking for the answer, as Elijah kept looking toward the sea. The answer may not appear at the first look; it may come, like Elijah's, only after the seventh. And the temptation is to give up before it comes. This calls us to persevere in prayer rather than abandoning it when no immediate answer appears. When we pray and see nothing, do we give up, or do we, like Elijah, keep praying and keep looking, persevering until the answer comes? Elijah prayed seven times and looked seven times before the small cloud appeared; and we are called to a like perseverance, continuing steadfastly in prayer, not losing heart when the answer tarries, but seeking until it comes.

When I pray and see no immediate answer, do I give up after one attempt, concluding that God will not answer, or can Elijah, who prayed and sent his servant to look seven times before the small cloud appeared, teach me to persevere in prayer, to keep praying and keep looking for the answer rather than abandoning it, continuing steadfastly and not losing heart when the answer tarries, but seeking until it comes?

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