Holding on in Prayer
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Intro:
11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
As we continue to study prayer throughout the Bible, I want to events leading to Elijah being taken to heaven without dying. The title of my message is, [Holding on in Prayer].
In 1965, Admiral Jim Stockdale entered the Hanoi Hilton as a prisoner of war at the height of the Vietnam War. He was tortured over twenty times during his eight year imprisonment.
He did not {have any prisoner’s rights}, he did not {have a release date}, and he was {severely tortured}.
Upon his release, he explained that he never lost faith in the end of the story. He had faith that he would be released, see his family, and that this event would be a defining point in his life.
However, he answered the question of who was never released, “Oh that’s easy, it was the optimists. It was the optimists that would say, ‘we will be out by thanksgiving, by Christmas, by Easter.’ And with each passing holiday they would become disheartened and many of them died.
Admiral Stockdale explained, “This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
He held on to the fact that he would get out of prison, but it will not be easy in the meantime.
We’ve committed this year to prayer. In the process, my hope is that we will stay committed to a lifestyle of prayer when 2021 comes to a close.
But I want us to remember, when we get serious about praying, life will not always be easy. I am not talking about calling on God when something bad happens. That is easy.
I’m referencing to praying no matter what. Praying every day and throughout the day. When we dedicate ourselves to that type of prayer life, there will be successes and failures, triumphs and tragedies.
But a person who has learned to pray comes to the realization, they have to HOLD ON in their prayer life. When prayer is all we have, prayer is all we need.
Before I go on, let me explain, this is not a message of doom and gloom. I do not want us to leave thinking, praying means life will get rough.
No, a life of prayers brings some of the greatest victories. There are places I have been in prayer where I was so lost in God, nothing else mattered. At least once I have prayed, and felt that I was so close to heaven, I could quickly slip in and be just find.
Prayer is wonderful. Prayer is necessary. Prayer is satisfying.
But with that being said, a life of prayer means Satan will attack us. However, Satan, with all his foolishness, hasn’t figured it out yet.
When he comes against a person of prayer, they will keep praying, and God will work even hard to give them victory and get them through the attacks.
All we have to do is hold on and keep praying.
As we look at Elijah’s departure from this world, I want us to pay attention to His journey. He took his spiritual son, Elisha, with him.
At first glance, the cities he visited might seem insignificant, but with every stop, Elijah was showing Elisha what God wanted from those who serve Him.
I want us to look at these four lessons and see that we MUST hold on in prayer. When do we hold one? We hold on, [In Hard Times], [In Heavenly Times], [In Helpless Times], and [In Hopeful Times].
Let’e begin
1. Hold on in Hard Times
1. Hold on in Hard Times
1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
As a prophet, Elijah knew what God had planned for him. He prayed at his lowest point in life that God would let him die. That was one prayer God never answered for Elijah.
It was his time to leave earth. But he would join the company of only two people, Enoch and Elijah, in scripture who went to heaven without dying.
He took Elisha with him and first they went to Gilgal. Gilgal held a significant place in Israelite history.
When the the Israelites entered the Promised Land Joshua 3-5, they made their first stop in Gilgal. It was there that they renewed themselves to God’s covenant.
When all the men made their commitment to the Lord, God spoke a word to them:
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.
Egypt signified the hardest time for Israel up to that time in their history. For 400 years they suffered terrible hardships. They were abused, mistreated, and help captive.
But now, God removed the shame of their slavery. He let the know, your hard times will not define your future. Israel, you will make it, just hold and believe me.
Now, Elijah takes Elisha through Gilgal. I can almost hear the prophet telling his successor, “Elisha, life is not always easy. There are hard times, believe me, I know:
It was hard living in Zarephath when Ahab and Jezebel took over
It was hard when I was the only prophet left
It was hard when Jezebel had a bounty out for my life
But now, Elijah looked back, and did not let the hard times and the shame define him. He held on, and God was about to reward him.
In life, especially in prayer, there are hard times, but we keep holding on!
2. Hold on in Heavenly Times
2. Hold on in Heavenly Times
2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.
Elijah went on, but gave Elisha the option to stay in Gilgal. He even insisted for him to stay. But Elisha was relentless, he stayed close to the prophet.
They went from Gilgal to Bethe. Bethel meant something to Israel. Bethel means “House of God.” No doubt both the prophet and his spiritual son knew the significance of Bethel.
It was hundreds of years before, Jacob was on the run for his life. He had stolen his brother’s rights and privileges as the first born son, and now he wanted to escape.
As he laid down to sleep, he had a vision of heaven and a word from God that the Lord would protect him. When he awoke, he knew the significance of the event.
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
When they went through Bethel, I can hear the aged prophet telling Elisha, it was a heavenly experience when I stood on Mount Carmel and called down fire from heaven.
I will never forget when when people turned from Baal and fell on their face to worship God.
Elisha needed to know, in addition to the hard times that will come, if he will pray, there is a place in God where he can have heavenly encounters.
But notice, he gave him the option to stay there. Did he want to stick with the heavenly times, or move on where God wanted to go?
Once again, Elisha determined to stay close to the prophet.
In life, especially in prayer, there are hard times and heavenly times, but we keep holding on.
3. Hold on in Helpless Times
3. Hold on in Helpless Times
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.
Elijah needed to go through Jericho to get to his final destination. Like before, Elisha commited to follow him.
Who doesn’t love the story of Jericho?
I don’t think the song existed in their day, but I sang it in Sunday School, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down.”
Jericho was a time of supernatural victory. But it followed a time when Israel felt helpless. They were a small group of unarmed people who only weapon was their feet.
They marched around the city walls. For seven days, they marched in silence. All the while, Jericho had a military, weapons, a king, and strategic power.
From the outside looking in, Jericho had the upper hand and Israel was helpless. But they held on to the promise that God gave them the city.
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
The fame of Israel’s defeat of Jericho spread through the region and remained important in history. Now, think of Elijah taking Elisha through there.
Perhaps Elijah spoke of the time he felt most helpless and vulnerable. Not long before this, he was alone in a cave at Mount Horeb.
He wanted to die, but God spoke to him. He let him know that God had a plan and he did not need to believe the lie that he was beyond help.
Elisha had to know that in helpless times, people of prayer keep holding on. They know that God’s way is higher than their way and through His help they will see a victory.
In life, especially in prayer, there are hard times, heavenly times, and helpless times, but we keep holding on.
4. Hold on in Hopeful Times
4. Hold on in Hopeful Times
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on.
Once more, Elisha had the option to stay back, but he pressed on with the prophet. Now they crossed the Jordan River.
Some have viewed the Jordan River as a sign of death. One songwriter penned, I won’t have to cross Jordan alone.
But the Jordan River is not a place of gloom and death, but a rive that signified hope. When the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, they first had to cross the Jordan River.
The priests went first with the Ark of the Covenant on their backs. When they stepped in, the waters rolled back, and all of Israel walked on dry ground.
Now, Elijah stood by the same river and looked into the unknown. He too was about to enter his Promised Land.
8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
I can almost envision them reenacting Joshua’s powerful crossing. Perhaps they passed the memorial stones that told the story of Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land?
Whatever their conversation, Elisha needed to see that in life, there is ALWAYS hope for the future. As a prophet, Elisha would have access to God who would reveal His plans for the people.
Therefore, he could not focus on what took place around him. Instead, he had to trust and hope that God will do what He promised.
Hope means to expect with confidence. Elijah crossed that river one last time, expecting with confidence that God was coming for him very soon.
In life, especially in prayer, there are hard times, heavenly times, helpless times, and hopeful times, but we keep holding on.
Close:
Elisha held on to the path laid out by the prophet.
Why did Elisha hold on? What kept him going forward?
9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
Finally, Elijah wanted to know what Elisha wanted? Notice his answer— A DOUBLE PORTION.
He watched and learned from the prophet, and now He wanted what the prophet had, but more! So Elijah told him what to do. Stay close, for when we least expect it, God will come for me.
When he does, my mantle will fall. If you are around, pick up my mantle, and you can have my power. As they journeyed on, suddenly the chariots of fire came down and swept Elijah away.
As he disappeared from sight, Elisha stood there and waited. Eventually a mantle fell from the sky. Elisha picked it up, went back to the Jordan River, and the waters divided in two.
Elisha held on and God rewarded him.
We’re in a season of intensified prayer. I can promise, in prayer there are hard times when we don’t know if God is listening.
There are heavenly times, when the Spirit comes down and we feel so close to God.
There are hopeless times, when we realize it will take God for our situation to every change.
But we remain hopeful for the future! Why? Because as we pray, there is a mantle of power that God will send from heaven.
We pray because we want to communicate with God and we want Jesus to do in us what only He can do!
And Jesus promised:
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
As Elish stayed close to the Prophet Elijah, we too must stay close to Jesus.
How do we stay close to Him? Through prayer!
He will walk with us through the hard times, the heavenly times, the helpless times, and the hopeful times.
And the closer we get to Him, the more He will pour out His Spirit upon us!
So let the cry of our hearts be, God, I want a double portion of Your Spirit! When we make this our sincere desire, there is no telling what God will do in and through us!
That is God’s track recored. Biblically and historically, WHENEVER His people hold on in prayer, something supernatural eventually happens.
I’ve often wondered, how many people gave up RIGHT BEFORE their miracle?
How many people quit praying right before they were healed?
How many stopped praying right before they spoke in tongues?
How many gave up on their lost loved one right before God was about to save them?
How many have missed out on so much because they let their circumstances, schedules, frustrations, and problems keep them from holding on?
We have got to hold on prayer, for prayer is our lifeline. Prayer is our direct line of communication with the Almighty.
I heard the story of an elderly woman in a church who would always ask people, are you yet holding on? If they answered yes, she would say, well keep on keeping on!
In these last days, God is looking for people who will keep holding on. Who will live their lives with this constant expectation,
Nothing can stop me
Nothing can defeat me
Nothing can harm me
Nothing can discourage me
For I am holding on to God’s unchanging hand. And the same God who took Elijah away and gave the mantle to Elisha, is the same God who took Jesus to heaven and sent the mantle of Holy Spirit power!
So the word of the Lord for this morning is simple, KEEP HOLDING ON:
In prayer
In intercession
In fasting
In praise
In worship
In church attendance
In giving
In study
In faith
Don’t give up or back up right before God comes through. Instead, keep holding on in prayer and watch as the Lord does what only He can do!