1 Kings 17:1: “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.’”

July 20th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

God has His own way of getting our attention. Sometimes He does it in a quiet, still, small voice and at other times with a loud roar. The Lord got Ahab’s (king of the 10 northern tribes) attention through the prophet Elijah, one of the most interesting characters in the Old Testament. The arrogant Ahab worshiped idols to Baal (the heathen god of nature), which his fathers had allowed in Israel. But now the living God was revealing Himself as superior to their gods by holding back natural rain for the next several years. God had also warned, through Moses, that if His children worshiped other gods, He would bring drought to the land (Deut. 11:17). The New Testament Book of James tells us that this drought lasted 3 years and 6 months (Jam. 5:17).

Like all the supernatural events in the Bible, many people have trouble with this story. There are even some that say they believe in God, but have trouble believing He does supernatural miracles. We scratch our heads in wonder at those who hold these 2 ideas in conflict. If God never does supernatural things for His children, how could we know that He is God? If only natural things occur, then why even believe in God? But God does intervene in human events and interrupt the laws of nature. He does it most often in answer to prayer, as He did here for Elijah.

A little girl was about to undergo a dangerous operation. Just before the surgeon administered the anesthetic, he said, “Before we can make you well, we must put you to sleep.” The girl responded, “Oh, if you are going to put me to sleep, then I must say my prayers first.” She closed her eyes, and said: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake; I pray the Lord my soul to take. And this I ask for in Jesus’ name. Amen.” The surgeon later admitted that he prayed that prayer that night for the first time in 30 years. How is our prayer life? Have we asked God?

“Thank you, LORD, for hearing our prayers and answering, in Jesus’ name.”

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1 Kings 17 KJV

¹ And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.  ² And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, ³ Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that isbefore Jordan. ⁴ And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. ⁵ So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. ⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. ⁷ And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, ⁹Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.  ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. ¹¹ And as she was going to fetch it , he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. ¹² And she said, As the LORDthy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. ¹³ And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. ¹⁴ For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. ¹⁵ And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.  ¹⁶ Andthe barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. ¹⁷ And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? ¹⁹ And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. ²⁰ And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? ²¹ And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.   ²² And the LORDheard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. ²³ And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. ²⁴ And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.