Pastor Jeff Anders continues Elijah — God’s Praying Prophet on Wednesday evening. After reviewing the series so far — when Elijah prayed, the rain dried up; the provision showed up; the dead rose up; the sacrifice burned up; and the clouds opened up — and after recalling Sunday’s warnings about what we miss when we quit praying (joy, peace, power, gifts, fellowship, and the enemy’s victories), this message presses a seventh loss: lives will not be changed if God’s people do not keep on praying. From Ephesians 6:18–20 to Moses in the wilderness and Hannah at the tabernacle, the hinge of the night is persevering prayer that God uses to change lives.
From the Series: When Elijah Prayed, Things Looked Up
In the days of Ahab and Jezebel, Baal worship was pushed on Israel, and God raised up Elijah as His tip-of-the-spear prophet. James holds him up as the example of effectual, fervent prayer (James 5:16–18). When Elijah prayed:
- The rain dried up — no rain for three and a half years, exposing Baal the “storm god” (1 Kings 17:1).
- The provision showed up — Cherith and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:2–16).
- The dead rose up — the widow’s son, after Elijah prayed over him more than once (1 Kings 17:17–24).
- The sacrifice burned up — fire from heaven on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20–40).
- The clouds opened up — rain after seven times of praying on Carmel (1 Kings 18:41–46).
He Kept On Praying Until the Rain Came (1 Kings 18:41–46)
Elijah heard the sound of abundance of rain by faith and bowed on Carmel with his face between his knees. Six times the servant saw nothing; the seventh time, a little cloud like a man’s hand. He would have kept praying — seven times or seventy — until God answered according to His will (1 John 5:14–15). Paul tells the church to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) — not locked in a closet every waking hour, but pressing on until God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). If Elijah had quit, the rain would never have come, and God’s testimony already set by drought and fire would have been marred.
What We Miss When We Stop Praying (Review)
- Joy — ask, that your joy may be full (John 16:24).
- Peace — anxiety or prayer; God’s peace guards heart and mind (Philippians 4:6–7).
- Power — the early church prayed until the place shook and they spoke the Word with boldness (Acts 4:31).
- Good gifts — ask, seek, knock; the Father gives good things to those who ask (Matthew 7:7–11).
- Fellowship with God — we draw near to Him in the prayer closet.
- The enemy’s victories — watch and pray; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). Put on the whole armor of God, then pray always with all prayer and perseverance for all the saints (Ephesians 6:10–18). Spiritual warfare is won or lost in the prayer closet.
Lives Will Not Be Changed If We Don’t Pray
Pray for Me — Utterance for the Gospel (Ephesians 6:19–20)
Paul does not stop at the armor. He asks the saints to pray for him: that utterance would be given, that he might open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel — because he is an ambassador in bonds. He was in physical chains, but people around him were in worse bondage: spiritual bondage, wrecked lives, idol worship in the Roman world. He did not ask first for comfort, medicine, or release; he asked that God would open his mouth so lives could be changed.
God’s providence had steered Paul through shipwrecks, beatings, and arrests so the gospel would reach Rome — even making inroads among the Praetorian guard. Paul believed that if God’s people would pray, God would give him what he needed to preach. If we do not pray and keep on praying, think of the lives that will not be changed.
Moses in the Wilderness (Numbers 21)
Israel grumbled against Moses and against God in the wilderness. Judgment came: fiery serpents bit the people, and many died. They begged Moses to pray. God told him to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole — whoever looked by faith would live. God could have removed the snakes another way, but He chose a path that pictured the cross (John 3:14–15) and that forced a bitter people to trust the word that came through a praying man of God.
What if Moses had been too discouraged by their complaining to pray? What if he had been distracted by trivial things while people cried for help? That little child bitten by a serpent would have died. Instead Moses prayed, received a word from God, and lives were changed — physically spared and spiritually brought to own their sin and look up in faith.
Hannah at the Tabernacle (1 Samuel 1)
Hannah was mocked and miserable because she had no child. Broken and weeping, she poured out her soul to the Lord at the tabernacle. Eli mistook her fervency for drunkenness; she was not drunk with wine but burdened in prayer. God heard. She went home, and Samuel was born — a man of God whose lifelong ministry would anoint David and change countless lives. How many lives were transformed because one woman kept praying until God heard and answered?
When Elijah Prayed, Lives Changed
When Elijah prayed, a dead boy rose up. What Pastor Anders pressed home is what will not happen if we refuse to pray like Elijah — if we grow discouraged, get distracted, or let the flesh and the enemy keep us from the prayer closet: lost people stay lost, backslidden saints stay backslidden, and lives that God meant to change never change. Keep on praying until the clouds open up.
Take-Homes
- Effectual fervent prayer avails much; Elijah kept praying until rain came (James 5:16–18; 1 Kings 18:41–46).
- Pray without ceasing — press on until God’s will is done (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Matthew 6:10).
- Quitting prayer costs joy, peace, power, gifts, fellowship, and open doors for the enemy (John 16:24; Philippians 4:6–7; Acts 4:31; Matthew 7:7–11; Ephesians 6:10–18).
- Spiritual warfare runs into a prayer meeting: pray always, watch, and persevere for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).
- Pray for bold gospel utterance — lives around us need to be changed (Ephesians 6:19–20).
- Moses’ prayer in the wilderness and Hannah’s prayer at the tabernacle show how God changes lives through people who will not stop praying (Numbers 21; John 3:14–15; 1 Samuel 1).
- If we stop praying, lost people stay lost and needed change never comes — keep praying until the clouds open up.