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.”