The Source

1 Kings 18:⁴³ “Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look.”

Even though Elijah had heard the sound of the abundance of rain, he still went to pray. Why? Prayer is what connects heaven to earth. Elijah put his head between his knees and began to pray. After a while, he sent his servant to go and check, but he saw nothing. Elijah went back to pray again, travailing in the place of prayer. He sent his servant again to go and check and again the servant came back and said he saw nothing. Elijah went back to pray again the third time, the fourth time, and the fifth time. A lot of people in similar situations would have concluded that perhaps they did not hear God. Some send me very long emails about how they thought they heard God, but they did not hear God. We give up too easily.

Elijah, the man of God, who heard the sound of abundance of rain himself. It was not a prophet that told him, he heard it himself. But he prayed one, two, three, four, five, six times, and nothing happened. 1Kings 18:⁴⁴ “Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea…” In other words, what I saw was too small and insignificant, it is probably nothing because what I saw cannot bring rain. But that was all Elijah needed to hear. “…Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’” (emphasis added). In other words, if you try to run with your legs, you will not make it. “…If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”, the same rain that you have been asking for. The same rain that I, Elijah, have prayed for. The same rain that is supposed to be a blessing will stop you if you do not hurry. `

To fully understand this, we need to understand the significance of rain to the Jews and to God’s people generally, and how it applies to you and I. The children of Israel came from Egypt and settled in Israel which was totally different from Egypt and the other Mesopotamian settlements. The water in Egypt came from the Nile; the Nile supported the economy of Egypt. As labourers, so when they needed to do irrigation for farming, they would use their feet to create pathways for the water to flow from the Nile to the farmlands. However, the Promised Land did not have a ‘Nile’. The only body of water in the land God gave them was the sea of Galilee which is actually a lake. The sea of Galilee cannot sustain a nation if it is not consistently replenished by the rain. God took them from a place where the water was flowing from the ground to a place where they needed to look up to heaven for water. Huge difference!

In Deut.11:10-12 (please read), God was explaining that whereas in Egypt you needed to look down, in the Promise Land you need to look up. I am The One that will supply your rain! That is why most times the Jews are out of sync with God, He shuts up the heavens.

Prayer: Father, You are my Source and I will keep my eyes on You alone, in Jesus Name. Amen!