Pastor Jeff Anders continues Elijah — God’s Praying Prophet on Wednesday evening with Elijah still sitting under the juniper tree, discouraged and praying for God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4). On Sunday he gave three things God wanted Elijah to experience there: the rest of God, the provision of God, and the strength of God. Tonight he adds one more, which he called number five: the touch of God. Then he traced a pattern through the Gospels: the people Jesus touched were people who were down. The texts are 1 Kings 19:1–8, with Matthew 8, Matthew 9, Matthew 17, Matthew 20, Mark 7, Mark 10, and Luke 22.
When Elijah Prayed, Things Started Looking Up
James holds up Elijah as the example of the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails much (James 5:16–17). When Elijah got to praying, things started looking up.
- The rain dried up — not for a little while, but for three and a half years (1 Kings 17).
- The provision showed up — ravens dropping off food at the brook Cherith, and the widow’s meal that never ran out in Zarephath.
- The dead rose up — he prayed over the widow’s dead son, and the boy rose (1 Kings 17).
- The sacrifice burned up — one simple prayer, and fire from heaven consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stone altar, and the water around it (1 Kings 18).
- The clouds opened up — on top of Mount Carmel, with his head between his knees, he kept on praying until the clouds opened and the drought was over (1 Kings 18).
Down Under the Juniper Tree (1 Kings 19)
In chapter 19 we find this same man down: sitting under a juniper tree, discouraged, disillusioned, and praying. Pastor Anders said that if you have never been there, you will be someday. If you have been there and aren’t now, you will be again. That is how this journey goes. God’s people get to visit the mountaintop every once in a while, but most of life is lived somewhere else.
Elijah prayed to die, and God did not answer that prayer. In fact, there is no record of his death at all. God sent a chariot and took him one day, a picture of the rapture. But Elijah still did the right thing by praying, because he was being honest with God. When you get down, you can be honest with God about it too, and you might be surprised at what God will do when you get to praying.
How He Got There
After Mount Carmel, his labor in prayer, the rain, and his sprint all the way to Jezreel, Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. She sent word that by this time tomorrow he would be dead. Elijah ran for his life out of Israel to Beersheba in Judah, sat under the juniper tree, and said, it is enough; take my life (1 Kings 19:1–4).
- Exhausted — worn out physically and emotionally.
- Hungry — he hadn’t eaten much, and that affects how you feel emotionally.
- Disappointed — the people had cried, “The Lord, He is God,” and it looked like revival had broken out, until Jezebel put her foot down and stopped it.
- Afraid and anxious — fear and anxiety had such a grip on him that he ran to find a place to hide.
- Lonely — he said he was the only one left (1 Kings 19:10; 1 Kings 19:14). It wasn’t true. God had other prophets hidden away in caves. But you can feel alone when you are not alone.
Why Would God Allow It?
Why didn’t God stop it long before? Why did He let Jezebel keep persecuting His man? God will deal with her one day; the dogs will take care of Jezebel. Until then, God allowed Elijah to go through this because there were things He wanted Elijah to experience that you just don’t experience until you get to that point. Sometimes God lets us get into really tough spots and really down so He can do a work in us and give us things we otherwise wouldn’t receive.
What Elijah Experienced So Far
- The rest of God — as he lay and slept under the juniper tree, the angel woke him, fed him, and let him sleep again (1 Kings 19:5–6). It is the rest of faith and trust, putting everything in God’s hands and resting in Him. Sometimes you don’t experience it until you get down.
- The provision of God — a cake baking on the coals and a jar of water at his head, exactly what he needed that day. Israel received manna in the wilderness, and the five thousand plus were fed from five barley loaves and two fish. God wants to provide for us, but we are so busy providing for ourselves that sometimes He has to put us in a tough spot until we run out of our own provision and can receive His.
- The strength of God — the angel came a second time, because the journey was too great for him. In the strength of that food he went forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God (1 Kings 19:7–8). Pastor Anders said that nothing he has ever eaten kept him strong overnight, much less for forty days on foot. If Elijah had never gotten down, he would never have needed that food or been strengthened for what God had for him at Horeb. Pastor Anders said the church will look at what happened there this coming Lord’s Day. Sometimes God lets us get down because He is about to take us somewhere and wants to strengthen us for the journey.
Number Five: The Touch of God
Not just the rest of God, the provision of God, or the strength of God: Elijah needed the touch of God on his life. It was the touch of God that had brought him this far. It was the touch of God that made the rain dry up, made the provision show up at the brook and at the widow’s house, raised the boy, brought the fire down, and opened the clouds. Now, under the juniper tree, he needed another touch.
And that is what God gave him. As he lay and slept, behold, an angel touched him and said, arise and eat (1 Kings 19:5). Then the angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him again (1 Kings 19:7). Pastor Anders said a case could be made that Elijah would never have experienced that touch if he had not been under that tree, so worn out that he finally drifted off to sleep.
Sometimes God lets us get down so He can touch us. Sometimes He lets circumstances come into our lives, as individuals and as a church, just so we will experience His touch. That is what we need more than anything else in the world: the touch of God on our personal lives and on our church life.
The Pattern in the Gospels: Jesus Touched People Who Were Down
In the New Testament the Lord touched a lot of people. Pastor Anders sees a pattern: like Elijah, the ones He touched were in a really bad position. They would never have needed His touch if they had not been there.
The Leper (Matthew 8:1–3)
Jesus came down from the mountain after the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) with great multitudes following, and a leper came and worshiped Him: Lord, if You will, You can make me clean (Matthew 8:1–2). In the first century, leprosy was a dreaded and practically incurable disease. Lepers were outcasts, cut off from society and from their wives and families. They knew loneliness, hopelessness, and depression. Pastor Anders said he could almost hear them praying, “Lord, I’ve had about enough; would you just take me home?”
This man crossed every social barrier to get into that crowd, where a leper was not supposed to be. Matthew mentions the multitude so we will know he shouldn’t have been there. He came because he was desperate, and because he believed the Lord could help him. Jesus put forth His hand and touched him (Matthew 8:3). Maybe God let him have that leprosy for a reason. He surely wondered why God would allow it when he had a family he could not provide for or even be near. But Pastor Anders imagined him going home, hugging his wife for the first time in years, gathering the kids onto his lap, and telling them that for a long time he couldn’t understand why, but now he does.
Peter’s Mother-in-Law (Matthew 8:14–15)
Jesus came into Peter’s house and saw Peter’s wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. This woman would normally be up serving, fixing a meal, and taking care of everybody, and now she couldn’t get out of bed. There was no Tylenol or ibuprofen to bring the fever down. Maybe she was asking why, and why now, with Jesus in the house. Maybe she was saying, “It’s enough.” Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her, and she got up (Matthew 8:15). Pastor Anders imagined her telling her daughter later, “I’m so glad the Lord let me get down like that. I’d never have experienced His healing touch if I hadn’t been down.”
Two Blind Men (Matthew 9:27–31)
As Jesus departed, two blind men followed Him, crying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. They knew who He was, the promised descendant of David. They followed Him right into the house. He asked whether they believed He was able to do this, and they said, yes, Lord. He touched their eyes and said, according to your faith be it unto you, and their eyes were opened. He charged them to tell no one, and they went out and told everybody. How could they not? Blind, unable to work, and begging for food, they had surely asked why God allowed it, and maybe said, “If I have to be blind the rest of my life, it’s enough.” Now their story was, “I couldn’t understand it for so long, but I’m so thankful, because the Lord touched me.”
Sometimes the Lord lets us get down just so He can touch us. It may not always be a healing touch. It may be even more important than that. He might not touch our eyes, but He may touch our hearts.
On the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–8)
Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into a high mountain and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His clothing was white as the light. Then Moses appeared, and guess who? Elijah, talking with the Lord (Matthew 17:1–3). Peter spoke up: Lord, it’s good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles (Matthew 17:4). While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them. It was not a storm cloud but a glory cloud, and the voice of God said, This is My beloved Son; hear ye Him (Matthew 17:5). Pastor Anders suggested that last part was for Peter’s benefit. The disciples fell on their faces, sore afraid. Then Jesus came and touched them and said, arise, and be not afraid (Matthew 17:6–7).
Pastor Anders imagined Elijah giving Moses a nudge: “That reminds me. A long time ago I was down under a juniper tree, discouraged and scared to death of Queen Jezebel. She’d put out the word on me everywhere, on her Facebook and all the texts. And the Lord sent an angel who touched me and told me to get up too. I’m so glad I got down so I could experience His touch.” And when the disciples lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only (Matthew 17:8). What a place to be: so down on your face and so scared that when the Lord shows up and touches you, all you can see is Him.
Two Blind Men at Jericho (Matthew 20:29–34)
On His way to Jerusalem to be crucified, Jesus left Jericho with a great multitude following. Two blind men by the wayside cried out, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Thou Son of David (Matthew 20:29–30). The crowd rebuked them and told them to hush, but they cried out even more (Matthew 20:31). Out of all that noise, Jesus heard the cry of two desperate men. He stood still, called them, and asked what they wanted Him to do. “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” Jesus had compassion on them, touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed Him (Matthew 20:32–34). Pastor Anders pictured them following the Lord the rest of their lives: “I saw him with these two eyes, because You touched me, Lord. I was down, and You touched me.”
The Deaf Man (Mark 7:31–37)
Mark shows the same pattern. Near the Sea of Galilee, in the coasts of Decapolis, they brought Jesus a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him (Mark 7:31–32). The Lord’s reputation for touching the desperate and needy was getting around. Jesus took him aside from the multitude, put His fingers into his ears, spit, and touched his tongue. That is not the usual touch, but God’s touch is God’s touch. Sometimes God touches you one way and sometimes another. Looking up to heaven, He sighed and said, Be opened. Immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly (Mark 7:33–35). Jesus told them to tell no one, and the more He charged them, the more they published it (Mark 7:36). That man could say, “I was so down I was praying, Lord, it’s enough. If I hadn’t been down like that, I never would have experienced that touch.”
The Little Children (Mark 10:13–16)
They brought young children to Jesus so that He would touch them. The disciples rebuked them for bothering the Lord with wiggly, noisy kids. Jesus was much displeased and said to let the little children come and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it. Then He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them (Mark 10:13–16). The ones being touched were the most insignificant people in that society, so insignificant the disciples did not want Jesus bothered with them. Pastor Anders said he would rather be a little child touched by Him than somebody who knows so much or has so much that he doesn’t need Him.
The Servant’s Ear in the Garden (Luke 22:47–51)
Near the end of His life, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane in such agony that His sweat was like great drops of blood. He had told the sleeping disciples to rise and pray lest they enter into temptation. Judas had betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver and knew where to find Him, because they gathered there often. The Lord went there knowing the time of His arrest had come. A multitude came, and Judas went ahead to identify Jesus in the dark with a kiss. Jesus said, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? (Luke 22:47–48). What kind of person pretends to love the Lord while arranging His destruction behind the scenes?
The disciples finally understood what was happening and asked, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? (Luke 22:49). One of them, Peter, cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant (Luke 22:50). Pastor Anders said Peter was acting like a fool. He would soon fail, go out, and weep bitterly. But within days the Lord would restore him, and within weeks Peter would preach on the day of Pentecost with the power of God on his life.
Put yourself in that servant’s place, screaming in the dark with his ear on the ground. Jesus said, suffer ye thus far, meaning that’s enough, Peter. Then He touched the man’s ear and healed him (Luke 22:51). Pastor Anders imagined the servant back in the courtyard telling the others, “I thought my life was about over, and the Lord reached down, got my ear, and put it back on.” If he had never gotten his ear cut off, he never would have experienced the touch of God.
He Lets Us Get Down So He Can Touch Us
Nobody wants to get hurt. But sometimes God allows it just so He can touch us. You might be hurting so badly, physically or emotionally, that like Elijah you are praying, “Lord, it’s enough; just take me home.” But as you pray, the Lord shows up and touches you, and then you understand why you were allowed to hurt.
That is one reason God let His praying prophet get so down under that juniper tree: exhausted, hungry, disappointed, afraid, anxious, and lonely. He allowed it so He could show up and touch him. If you need the touch of God, do what Elijah did. Cry out to God, say, “Lord, I need Your help,” and keep praying, and He shows up.
Pastor Anders closed by praying that God would help the church look past the circumstances around them to His purpose in them: that He wants His people to cry out to Him, draw near to Him, and experience His touch in their personal lives.
Take-Homes
- When Elijah prayed, things started looking up: rain dried up, provision showed up, the dead rose up, the sacrifice burned up, and the clouds opened up (James 5:16–17; 1 Kings 17–18).
- Even God’s praying prophet got down. If you haven’t been there, you will be. Be honest with God about it and pray (1 Kings 19:1–4).
- Elijah was exhausted, hungry, disappointed, afraid, anxious, and lonely. You can feel alone when you are not alone (1 Kings 19:10; 1 Kings 19:14).
- Under the juniper tree, God gave him rest, provision, and strength for the journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:5–8).
- Number five: the touch of God. An angel touched him, and then touched him a second time (1 Kings 19:5; 1 Kings 19:7).
- The ones Jesus touched were down: the leper, Peter’s mother-in-law, two blind men, and the disciples on their faces at the Transfiguration (Matthew 8:1–3; Matthew 8:14–15; Matthew 9:27–31; Matthew 17:1–8).
- After His touch, they saw no man save Jesus only (Matthew 17:8).
- He hears desperate cries over the noise of the crowd and touches with compassion (Matthew 20:29–34).
- God touches one way and sometimes another, and He touches the ones the world calls insignificant (Mark 7:31–37; Mark 10:13–16).
- Even in the garden of His betrayal, Jesus touched and healed a wounded enemy (Luke 22:47–51).
- He may not touch your eyes, but He may touch your heart, which may be even more important.
- Nobody wants to get hurt, but God sometimes allows it so He can touch us. Cry out to Him and keep praying.