Persistence in Prayer - Prayer Experiment
Notes
Transcript
Week 4
Week 4
Last week we started looking at the life of Elijah, and how he utilized prayer in his ministry.
Last week we looked at how Elijah boldly proclaimed that there would be no rain until he said otherwise, he was able to do this because of his faith in God.
The Lord sent Elijah out in the wilderness to a brook so that he would have water, and sent ravens to bring him food.
But as the drought went on, the water in the brook dried up and the Lord sent him to Zarephath to find a widow.
The widow and her son were about out of food themselves, but Elijah instructed her to make him some food, and she said there is only enough for me and the boy.
But Elijah knowing that God would supply his needs told her to make him food first and her flour and oil would not run out, and it did not run out.
Tonight as we continue to look at Elijah we see that he is still staying with the widow, and tragedy strikes.
Our text tonight is going to be 1 Kings 17:17-24
From these eight verses we will see three lessons to be learned.
Let’s look at our text - 1 Kings 17:17-24
17 Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
18 So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!”
19 He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.
20 He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?”
21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.”
22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived.
23 Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
The first lesson we should see from our text is:
I. Not all illness is the result of sin.
I. Not all illness is the result of sin.
17 Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
18 So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!”
The widow who owned the house that Elijah is staying with in Zarephath comes to Elijah with tragedy.
The widow’s young son fell ill and stopped breathing.
Now if you have ever been around a child that has stopped breathing or begins to choke, it is a difficult and scary situation.
The woman had a guilty conscience and immediately concluded that God was punishing her for her sin by killing her son.
This is a common reaction among many people who experience tragedy in their lives.
What sin she was referring to is not stated.
Jesus responds to a question about sin causing tragedy in John 9:1-3
1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
As we continue in our text we will see that this is a similar situation.
There are times when people experience tragedy due to sin, but that is not the case every time.
Our second lesson from the text is:
II. God has power over sickness and death.
II. God has power over sickness and death.
19 He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.
20 He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?”
21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.”
The boy was small enough that the widow, his mother was able to carry him in her arms.
We are not given his age, but he must not of been say a teenager or more.
Many homes in that area and at that time had guest rooms built on their roofs.
It was in such upper room that Elijah was staying at the widow’s home.
In this prayer, Elijah simply expressed his compassion for the woman who, in addition to the trials of the famine, is now dealing with the tragedy of the death of her son.
In the prayer Elijah had a desire that God relieve her of this added burden.
Often in cases of miraculous healing, God’s servant would place his hand on the afflicted one to indicate that the power of God in him was passing to the needy individual.
In this case with Elijah out of heartfelt concern, he stretched his body over the boy and allowed his entire body to make contact with the boy.
Three times Elijah did this, praying each time that God would restore the boy’s life.
Persistence in prayer is a fundamental requisite for obtaining one’s petitions.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
God knows our every need, but He also wants to hear from us.
Elijah’s persistence in prayer, proved effective in this case.
James 5:16-18 tells us about Elijah’s persistence in prayer.
16.c The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
Therefore, God knows our needs, but He also desires a relationship with us, and to have a relationship requires communication.
As we talked last week, prayer is our communication with God.
Our third lesson tonight from the text is:
III. The Purpose of the sign was to produce faith in the Lord’s Word.
III. The Purpose of the sign was to produce faith in the Lord’s Word.
22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived.
23 Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
God miraculously restored the boy’s life.
This is the first recorded instance in Scripture of restoration to life of one who had died.
Elijah carried the young boy downstairs as he was apparently weak and then Elijah presented the boy to his mother.
Elijah said to the widow, “See, your son is alive.”
This miracle proved to the woman that Elijah was indeed a man of God and that the word of the Lord that Elijah claimed to speak was indeed the truth.
This incident showed the widow and the other people that the power of the Lord is the true God contrasted greatly with the impotency of Baal.
Remember what Jesus said about the blind man that He healed in John 9
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.
The death of this young boy was not a result of the widow’s sin or the young boy’s sin, but that the power of God might be displayed.
God used this miracle to display His power, which then produced faith in God.
Elijah was a great man of God, a prophet of God, and I can imagine as much as Elijah trusted and had faith in God that this miracle even grew and strengthen his own faith.
The boy was raised from the dead because God hears Elijah’s prayers, not because of the Elijah’s skillfulness or power, but because of God’s power.
Last week we seen God provide an unending supply of flour and oil, so that the widow could cook and feed herself, her son, and Elijah.
Tonight God reaffirms that He has power of all things even life and death, as he raised the widow’s son from death to life.
We must see that nothing is able to stand in the way of God’s plan, that even means death.
As we pray for the church, we must remember it is not us who grow and build the church but it is God.
We must have faith that God will do what He has planned for this church and nothing can stop it.
I am reminded of what Jesus says to the disciples, when Peter confesses Jesus as Christ, the Son of the living God.
18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Upon Peter’s confess, that is the knowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, He will build His church.
When God builds the church, nothing can overpower it or stop it, not Satan, not all the powers in Hell.
As God is bigger, and more powerful than all the forces of Hell combined.
We must pray persistently that God will guide, direct us and build His church, then we must have faith that He is going to do it.
