Pastor Jeff Anders continues Elijah — God’s Praying Prophet on Sunday morning. After recalling the series so far — when Elijah prayed, the rain dried up; the provision showed up; the dead rose up; and the sacrifice burned up — this message opens 1 Kings 18:41–46: when Elijah prayed, the clouds opened up. On top of Mount Carmel, face between his knees, Elijah prayed once, twice, six times with nothing to show for it, and kept on praying until a little cloud like a man’s hand rose out of the sea and the sky turned black with rain. The hinge of the morning is persevering prayer — and what we miss out on when we quit: joy, peace, power, and the good gifts our Father wants to give.
From the Series: Rain, Provision, the Dead, the Sacrifice
The message opens with James 5: the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, and Elijah is the example — he prayed and it did not rain for three and a half years, and it did not rain again until he prayed again. God raised up Elijah to confront Ahab and Jezebel, a Phoenician who militantly promoted Baal, the so-called storm god who supposedly sent rain and prosperity. While Baal’s prophets prospered, God’s prophets hid, helped by men like Obadiah.
The series refrain is restated: when Elijah prayed, the rain dried up — not even dew for three and a half years (1 Kings 17:1). The provision showed up — ravens at Cherith, then a widow in Zarephath who put God first and whose meal and oil never ran out (1 Kings 17:2–16). The dead rose up — the widow’s son restored after Elijah prayed over him more than once (1 Kings 17:17–24). And the sacrifice burned up — on Mount Carmel, Baal could not send one bolt of lightning, but after Elijah soaked the altar and prayed one prayer, the fire of the Lord consumed sacrifice, wood, stones, and water, and the people confessed that the Lord is God (1 Kings 18:20–40). Now the story continues at verse 41.
When Elijah Prayed, the Clouds Opened Up (1 Kings 18:41–46)
The Sound of Abundance of Rain (1 Kings 18:41–42)
Elijah tells Ahab to get up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. Pastor Anders pictured it with some humor: no umbrella, no car, no asphalt, no drive-through — just a chariot that bogs down in mud the way Pharaoh’s chariots did at the Red Sea. Get your snack now and get moving.
But there are no clouds in the sky and no thunder in the distance. How did Elijah know rain was coming? He was listening by faith — and he was about to start praying. Baal had been exposed: the storm god produced no rain for three and a half years and no fire on Carmel, and the people were saying the Lord, He is God. It was time for the drought to end, and Elijah knew that when he prayed, things would start happening.
Face Between His Knees: Humble Prayer on Carmel (1 Kings 18:42)
Ahab goes to eat and drink; Elijah goes back up to the top of Carmel — the very place God had just shown up — casts himself down on the earth, and puts his face between his knees. The man of God is humbling himself before God, down on the ground, praying.
Go Again Seven Times (1 Kings 18:43–44)
Elijah sends his servant to look toward the sea. From Carmel you can see a long way, and the report comes back: there is nothing — no clouds, no thunder, no lightning. Elijah says go again. A second time, nothing; he keeps praying. A third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth time — nothing has happened. Then at the seventh time the servant reports a little cloud rising out of the sea, like a man’s hand. It did not look like much to the servant, but not to Elijah: the man who had been praying knew God was answering. He sends word to Ahab to prepare his chariot and get down before the rain stops him.
A Great Rain, and a Supernatural Run (1 Kings 18:45–46)
In the meanwhile the heaven turned black with clouds and wind, and a great rain came — a torrential downpour. Ahab rode for Jezreel, but the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. How do you explain a man on foot outrunning a chariot? The Bible explains it: the hand of the Lord was upon him.
Why Seven Times? Keep On Praying
God could have answered the first time, but He did not; He waited until the seventh. Perhaps the lesson is for us — so we can see what a real man of God’s prayer life looks like. One short prayer brought fire on Carmel, and we might think real people of God should only have to pray once. But the same man, on the same mountain, prayed six times with nothing to show for it. Sometimes the answer does not come immediately, and we must persevere until we pray through.
What if Elijah’s prayer life had been like ours? After the second or third time he might have said, “I guess God said no,” and quit. With his head between his knees, his back hurting, it would have been easy to give up. Many of us know that place — praying for something that hasn’t happened yet, getting discouraged, feeling the stress of it, and quietly quitting. Maybe you once had a set-aside time with God and have drifted from it. If Elijah had stopped, the rain would not have come, and James could not have written what he did.
Paul gives New Testament churches three words: pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Keep on praying, even when the answer isn’t obvious yet. If God burdens your heart for someone, keep praying for that person; if it’s a circumstance, don’t stop — even when you don’t feel well, you’re under stress, and you feel like giving up. If you stop praying, you will miss out on things God wanted to do.
What We Miss When We Stop Praying
The Joy You Might Miss (John 16:24)
Jesus told His disciples that they had asked nothing in His name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:24). Pastor Anders defined joy as the inner delight of the soul. Material things can excite the soul temporarily, but they never delight it; the soul is delighted only in a right relationship with God. When God saves someone who trusts Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside, and the fruit of the Spirit includes joy (Galatians 5:22).
That joy needs stirring up. Like stirring a gallon of fresh tea as the water pours in until it fills to the brim and runs over, the Spirit of God stirred up within can fill you until you overflow in praise — that is rejoicing. In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), even joy unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8). If you are saved and feel no joy at all, that is the enemy’s lie; the Holy Spirit is your joy. Often we feel drained because we haven’t been walking with God in prayer — we prayed once or twice and quit. Set aside time, get alone with God, and stay there until everything is surrendered to Him.
The Peace That Might Be Absent (Philippians 4:6–7)
Be careful for nothing — don’t be overly anxious or overthinking — but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). That little word “but” sets two opposites side by side: it is either anxiety or prayer. Bring every need to God, praise Him for what He has already done, and the peace of God that passes all understanding will keep — guard — your heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
Peace is like a guard on duty over the mind and emotions. It is not the peace of reasoning everything out with pros and cons — the more we think it through, the more anxious we get. It is a supernatural peace that comes with surrender: “God, I can’t figure it out; I surrender it all to You.” If you don’t pray, that peace may be absent from your life.
The Power That May Never Be Experienced (Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31)
The early church in Acts moved in the power of God: thousands saved, the sick healed, the dead raised through Peter’s prayer, and even Ananias and Sapphira struck dead for lying to the Holy Ghost. Jesus promised power after the Holy Ghost came upon them, to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).
In Acts 4, threatened by the religious leaders to be silent about Jesus, the believers gathered and prayed — like Elijah on Carmel, they prayed until God answered. The place was shaken, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). God showed up, shook things up, and filled them up. We have seen what the planning of men can do — churches figuring out how to draw and entertain crowds — but what we need most is the power of God, and we will miss it if we are not praying.
The Blessings and Gifts You May Not Receive (Matthew 7:7–11)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened (Matthew 7:7–8). Pastor Anders illustrated with a drive-through customer who never places an order and waits at the window until sundown, a man who lost his key and calls everyone but never looks for it, and a visitor who stands at your door for hours but never knocks. If you don’t ask, you won’t receive; if you don’t seek, you won’t find; if you don’t knock, it won’t be opened. That is what Elijah was doing on Carmel — asking, seeking, knocking, and keeping on until the clouds opened.
No earthly father hands his hungry son a stone or a serpent; if sinful fathers know how to give good gifts, how much more will our Father in heaven give good things to them that ask Him (Matthew 7:9–11)? How many good things have we not received because we haven’t been asking? Often we don’t even know what we really need until we get alone with God in prayer; as we keep praying, He shows us that what we thought was our need was not our real need, and reveals what to seek and which door to knock on — the door He wants to open.
The closing prayer asked God to work in every heart, reveal the areas of life where He wants to bless and help if we will just pray, and call many to a deeper prayer life — praying like Elijah on Mount Carmel, who kept on praying until the clouds opened up and the rain began to come.
Take-Homes
- The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much; Elijah is our example (James 5:16–18).
- Listen by faith and pray with humility — Elijah heard rain before a cloud was in the sky and bowed with his face between his knees (1 Kings 18:41–42).
- Don’t quit after one, two, or six times; God may wait until the seventh — keep on praying until you pray through (1 Kings 18:43–44; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
- Small beginnings — a cloud like a man’s hand — can become a great rain when God answers (1 Kings 18:44–45).
- Prayer stirs up the joy of the Holy Spirit within; ask, that your joy may be full (John 16:24; Psalm 16:11).
- It is anxiety or prayer — bring everything to God with thanksgiving and surrender it, and His peace will guard heart and mind (Philippians 4:6–7).
- The church’s greatest need is not man’s planning but the power of God that comes through praying believers (Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31).
- Ask, seek, and knock — your heavenly Father gives good things to them that ask Him, and in prayer He shows you what you truly need (Matthew 7:7–11).