The Power of Prayer
Notes
Transcript
Handout
October 20th 2024
Series: Days of Elijah
Sermon Title: Elijah – The Power of Prayer
Topic:Journey through the life of Elijah to learn how he became an incredible man of God.
Key Passages: 1 Kings 18: 36-46
Topic: Elijah, Prayer, Miracle
Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will see how Elijah became an incredible man of God.
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Sermon:
Hello Family Church!
Family Moment –
Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.
Celebrate salvation / re-dedications / baptisms last week.
Welcome back to week #3 in our study of the prophet Elijah in the Bible.
Two weeks ago, we saw how God prepared Elijah to become a man of God.
Last week, we saw Elijah confront idol worship.
And this week, we will see the power of prayer!
Open your Bibles to
1 Kings 18
, and we will pick up where we left off.
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As we discuss this today, I want to encourage you to consider your personal prayer life.
How is it?
Do you pray?
How often do you pray?
What holds you back from praying?
Etc.
How are you training your kids to pray?
For example, if you ever come to the Grill household for a meal and our kids are there, you will hear me say, “Who wants to be a leader?”
Which means who wants to pray over our meal…
Then I wait until one of the kids volunteers to lead us.
Simple but effective.
To teach our kids, it is NOT scary to pray in front of other people.
And I know some of you do not pray because you wonder…
Does God care?
Is God even listening?
Can God hear me?”
I know most, if not all, of you have thought that.
What we are thinking is, does prayer really work?
Does prayer really matter?
Because you’ve been praying for your marriage, and nothing is changing.
You’ve been praying for a spouse, and your dating life keeps getting worse.
You’ve been praying for God to take away this addiction, and you keep wrestling with it.
You’ve asked God to take away your anger.
You’ve asked Him to set you free.
You’ve asked Him to heal a relationship.
And some of you are sitting there asking, “Where is God, and why isn’t He listening to me?”
I can tell you this….
I don’t have all the answers.
But I can help you by studying the Bible because, inside our Bibles, you will find all the answers you need.
PAUSE
Elijah prayed with boldness and confidence.
Let’s circle back to the end of last week's sermon.
Open your Bible to 1 Kings 18, and we will start with verse 36.
If you missed last week, this is where Elijah was on Mount Carmel and had challenged 450 prophets to a showdown.
The 450 prophets had just prayed all day to their god to send fire down from heaven.
They had danced.
Chanted.
Cut themselves.
And all other kinds of crazy things all day long.
And nothing had happened because they were worshiping a fake god.
Here is what Elijah did…Verse 36.
1 Kings 18 36 Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Let’s break his prayer down.
Note….this is a pretty simple prayer.
It is not long.
Anyone in this room could pray this.
He starts with :
“Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel
He starts by acknowledging who he knows God is, then he says,
and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
Second, he places himself under God’s authority.
He admits he is doing only what God leads him to do.
This prayer is not Elijah’s agenda it is God’s.
Then he says,
Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
He ends by asking God to do what He already told him he would do!
First, Elijah acknowledges he is not God!
Second, Elijah places himself under God as his servant.
NOTE Elijah does not pray as if God is the one that should serve Elijah’s needs.
Third, Elijah states his unity with God’s plan and asks God to show up.
So, what happens after this simple little prayer? Verse 38,
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Elijah’s prayer comes to life!
Why?
Because he first listened to God and followed God’s plan!
Not Elijah’s plan; God’s plan.
Do you see all along….it was God’s plan…God’s process…for God’s glory….to draw people to God.
Everything Elijah does is to point people to God.
All too often, when we pray, it is all for us.
God, give me a better job.
God, send me a boyfriend of girlfriend or spouse.
God, give me a raise.
God, I need it.
God, I want it.
God, me me me.
This is the OPPOSITE of Elijah, who said, “God, what can I do to bring you glory today?”
Have you ever prayed: God, use me to bring this nation back to you?
So many people post all over Facebook how our nation is messed up.
What are you doing to change that?
Your FB posts aren’t doing anything.
Have you ever prayed: God, use me however you see fit to accomplish something for your kingdom?
Not God work through me this way….
Just God….you are God….I am your servant….guide me into serving you…..
Think about your prayer life; what is at the center?
God?
Or you?
Or money?
Or your success?
PAUSE
Parents, how many of you have run into something like this.
You send your little boy to his room because he has been bad. A short time later he cames out and says, "I've been thinking about what I did and I said a prayer."
You would be like, “that is great!” And maybe say something like, "if you ask God to make you good, He will help you."
And your little one replies, "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me be good. I asked Him to help you put up with me."
Right….that is funny, but it is so true!
How often have you prayed and asked God to change someone else...when maybe God wants you to change….
We pray for others to change to make our lives better.
Instead of praying for God’s plan for our life?
And I know what some of you are thinking because I have as well!
We read about a guy like Elijah, and we think, “Man, I could never be like him. He is such a strong man of God!”
But let me show you that you can!!!!
Let me show you something, James, the brother of Jesus, said.
James 5:17, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.”
Now if anyone knows how hard it is to live up to someone it would be the little brother of Jesus!
I mean no one would want to be the little brother of God.
Someone that never did anything wrong.
It reminds me something my little brother was asked by teachers a lot as he came up through school.
He was asked, “So are you like Justin or Adam?”
See my older brother, Justin, was quiet, smart, good listener, obedient and all that stuff teachers love.
And then there was me.
Let’s just say, I liked to have a good time and the teachers did not appreciate my social spirit all the time.
It is hard to have a great big brother!
James knew that.
I knew that.
We can all compare to others…but we should not!
The KEY is to learn how to be like great people…
And a KEY to Elijah’s prayer life was HOW he prayed…
And the Bible said, “he prayed earnestly.”
He didn’t just send up timid little one-time prayers to God.
HE prayed EARNESTLY!!!!
He didn’t stop praying!
Let’s keep reading…verse 41.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.”
Remember….In 1 Kings 17, Elijah tells this evil king because of him, there will be no rain!
Now, three years later, he tells the evil king; because now your people know who is God….go celebrate; rain is coming!
Then Elijah….goes off….and he prays and waits on God to move.
He is kneeling with his face on his knees……
Listening to God.
Waiting for God.
And it continues…
43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
Pause right here….
I will be honest with you: I am not the most patient person in the world.
Have you ever been in one of those seasons where you are praying and praying?
Waiting on God, it seems like NOTHING is happening!
What do you do?
What does Elijah do?
Elijah stays in that posture of faith.
He waits for God’s time.
He does not move before God does.
He does not start taking things into his own hands.
He does not say… “well, God is not listening to me, so I am done.”
He waits…in silence…for God…
Verse 44
44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
A glimmer of hope!
It's so small you can barely see it!
PAUSE
So, here is what we are going to do.
We are going to extract four nuggets out of this prayer.
We are going to walk away with four different qualities of Elijah’s powerful prayer life.
Some of you are thinking, but he did nothing!
Let’s dive deep.
And the first thing I want you to note…
While everyone else was off celebrating….off eating…..off drinking…..where was Elijah….
He was spending time with God.
Some of you need to spend some time with God instead of partying...
Four qualities of powerful prayer: 1. Powerful prayers are often humble prayers.
Elijah climbs to the top of Mount Carmel.
He puts on his North Face gear.
He’s got his camel pack.
He is off to be alone with God.
Elijah gets to the summit…..
And looks like this picture.
He bends down to the ground and puts his face between his knees.
If you are in this position before someone, you are in the position of complete submission & humility.
Elijah knows he cannot bring the rain.
So, he prays humbly to the one who said he will.
Do you want to get God’s attention?
Do you want Him to move?
Do you want Him to listen to the prayer that you’re bringing to Him? Humble yourself.
Humble yourself before Him.
And you will also see…write this down…
2. Powerful prayers are specific prayers.
They are specific.
I’ve got to be honest with you.
There are times in my life when I am a wishy-washy prayer.
I pray these general prayers.
“God be with us.
God, give me strength.
God, help me.”
And so on…
Elijah was specific.
He was very, very specific.
“God, send rain.”
He knew what he was praying to see.
He was praying for a cloud to come over the sea.
That is why he kept sending his servant to look over the sea.
The servant goes & comes, and Elijah keeps sending him back….because Elijah is not moving until God does.
ADD an example from your life of waiting on God.
Jenny and I have been in seasons like this many times in our life
Whenever we sense God might be doing something big or wanting us to do something BIG…
We have always prayed and asked God to show us in specific ways.
Let me give you an example from way before we were in ministry.
When I was working in Ohio for Pulte Homes one of the guys who I worked with told me I should go interview with Centex Homes in Tennessee.
Honestly, my wife and I had zero desire to move to Tennessee, but we figured… a free vacation to go interview…what can it hurt?
So we went, interviewed, and then prayed.
We gave some very specific things that would be clear if he wanted us to move to do so.
One of the crazy ones was God's having them offer me my current salary right out of the gate plus Jenny’s in case she got pregnant with our first kid and had to stay home.
We asked God to take way any potential stumbling blocks so she could raise our kids with good Godly values……
Anyone want to guess what happened?
God did just that!
Specific prayers build our faith!
Because when we see those things come true….
It helps build our faith in our real and living God!
Let me give you another example from our lives.
So, when we moved out of Tennessee we sold the house we were building and made a TON of money.
$130,000 to be exact.
So, my wife and I prayed and said, “God we are moving. We don’t have a church home. Where should we give $13,000.”
Because we needed to Tithe and give God back his 10%.
We felt God say to give it back to the church we grew up in and specially to their youth group.
So we mailed the check to the church with a note to go to the youth program…
And guess what?
I got a call from the Youth Pastor and anyone want to know how much money they have been praying to get for something they needed to do??
EXACTLY $13,000!!!!
Let me say again,
Specific prayers build our faith!
Because when we see those things come true….
It helps build our faith in our real and living God!
Here is the third thing…write this down…
3. Powerful prayers are persistent prayers.
Seven times, Elijah asked his servant to go and check.
Elijah didn’t give up after the first time.
He didn’t give up when God didn’t respond instantly.
I mean think about what he said to the king back in verse 41….
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
Elijah has so much faith that he can hear the rain before there is even a cloud!
But here is what you’ve got to understand.
It’s what I love about this!
Write this down and internalize it!
Elijah doesn’t allow the outward circumstances to affect what God has told him!
REPEAT
When there are no clouds, Elijah says rain is coming!
When it seems like God’s maybe not moving, he waits.
When it seems like God’s not answering, he listens.
He doesn’t get frustrated.
He doesn’t throw in the towel.
He doesn’t say, “I’m done.”
He doesn’t say, “This doesn’t work.”
What does he do?
He prays and waits.
He prays and waits.
He prays and waits.
He prays and waits.
It doesn’t seem like God’s working.
So, he prays and waits.
He prays and waits.
He prays and waits.
He’s persistent.
My prayer is that when you get down in the dumps and you feel like God is not moving and He’s not working, you will remember Elijah.
Because when we are persistent in our prayer, that’s when we see God move, and we see Him work.
You will notice a question in your notes…it says,
What have you quit praying for that you need to start praying for again?
Maybe it’s your marriage. You haven’t seen much movement, so you’ve quit praying.
Maybe it’s for a job. You’ve grown tired and weary.
Maybe it’s your finances or a broken relationship.
Maybe it’s for someone in your family who doesn’t have a relationship with Christ, and it’s been years, and you’ve just given up on it.
Don’t give up on God!
Be like Elijah and wait on God’s timing…
PAUSE
And lastly,
4. Powerful prayers are expectant prayers.
Repeat
We wait in excited expectation for God to show up!
Add an example of God showing up later for a prayer…
You remember that prior pray I told you about for me and Jenny and the job in Tennesse?
About how we wanted Jen to stay home when we had kids and for God to take away any potential blocks for that…
How God did that….
And then anyone else want to guess what we found out LITERALLY on our move to Tennesee?
Jenny was pregnant with Addie our first!
PAUSE
Let’s keep reading…Back to verse 44:
44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
Here’s what the servant didn’t say.
“Elijah, there is a massive monsoon brewing; we have to get out of here!”
No, he said, “Elijah, there’s a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand, maybe,” and what does Elijah do?
He says, “Oh, man, it is coming! The pent-up rains of heaven are coming! We need to get out of here!”
Sounds kind of ridiculous.
If I had been that servant, I would have been like, “Huh?” There’s a little cloud; what is the big deal.”
Elijah was expectant…He believed God was going to move and do the miraculous yet again.
See, Elijah is used to God not just showing up in his life but showing OFF in his life!
Elijah knows God’s power personally!
And then it says….
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
And here comes my favorite part!
46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
God sends rain!
God sends heavy rain!
God sends a miracle yet again.
I picture Elijah is standing on the mountain probably laughing and with his face up in the rain!
Praising God!
And then he takes off RUNNING and beats the king home…who is most likely traveling by a chariot pulled by war horses!
That would be like my All-American wife Jenny taking off running ahead of me….
And then me chilling…
And then I, who do NOT RUN…start and beat her.
That would be impossible!!!!
Unless we are energized by God!
So, church, here is our life application for this week.
Life Application: This week, take some time and pray like Elijah did, and see how God shows up! As a result of today’s message, I will _________________________.
Prayer:
Make sure to do salvation call!
Offering:
Thank you all for being here today!
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Week #1 –
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Week #5 -
Did you know you can add Family Church into your end-of-life planning?
We have lots of people who have added Family Church to their will to leave 10% to their church.
It is a great way to show your family that leaving a Godly legacy was important to you.
Have a great week!!!