Sermon Tone Analysis

1 Kings 18.17-24

According to a 2017 Barna Survey entitled:

To Whom / What Do You Pray?

Though the vast majority of praying adults (89%) direct their prayers to “God,” they don’t all pray to the same god (if they pray to a deity at all).

Praying to “God” is by far the most common response among almost every segment, even between the most active church attenders and unchurched adults, both of which are just as likely to pray to God (89% and 88% respectively).

But as no specific definition was given for “God,” the widespread response may be a product of an equally wide interpretation.

As the options get more specific, the numbers drop.

For instance, only half of praying adults (50%) pray to Jesus, and less than one-quarter (23%) pray to the Holy Spirit.

Small percentages pray to the Saints (5%), a higher power that is not associated with a specific religion (5%), ancestors (3%), the universe (3%), divine power within themselves (3%), nature (2%), YHWH (2%) and Allah (1%).

There are a few standouts here worth noting.

For example, a larger than average amount of Hispanic Americans (10%) pray to their ancestors.

Americans who aren’t Christians are more inclined than any other group to pray to a higher power that they do not associate with a specific religion.

This includes those who claim no faith (28%), those who don’t self-identify as Christian (25%), and those of other faiths (15%).

Those who follow religions other than Christianity are most likely to say they pray to the universe (13%) and nature (12%).

https://www.barna.com/research/silent-solo-americans-pray/

Elijah is an amazing character in Scripture...Ravens bring him food; God uses a widow to provide daily bread for him in Baal’s territory; Elijah prays and God raises the widow’s son from the dead.

Elijah wins the showdown against the prophets of Baal at Carmel; he called down fire from heaven; and he struck down 450 false prophets.

Plus, he was an athlete!

He ran seventeen miles from Carmel down to Jezreel, outrunning horses and chariots.

Elijah was like...

Elijah was like Moses

Elijah was like Moses whom he later appeared with at the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1–7).

Like Moses, Elijah

went eastward for a season, after an initial confrontation.

he lived on God’s abundant provision of bread, meat, and water (Exodus 16).

Elijah was also like John the Baptist, whom he is associated with in the New Testament (Malachi 4:5; Luke 1:17).

Elijah is a mega prophet, whose coming was to pave the way for the Messianic Age.

Elijah was like John the Baptist

According to Barbara Latta there were several characteristics shared by these to preachers...

They Both Preached Repentance When Israel Had Turned from God. Times of rebellion called for a bold message to shake people out of their apathy, unbelief, and sin.

Their Appearance Was the Same.

Most people wore robes of some type of cloth, not many wore animal hair.

They Were Both Fed from the Wildlife of the Desert.

They Both Were Separated from the False Religions of Their Day.

They Both Preached Against the Behavior of Evil Kings

Elijah and John’s courageous attitudes gave them an authoritative voice to speak against the sin of even a king.

They Both Had Their Lives Sought by Wicked Queens.

They Both Suffered from Depression and Doubt.

Both these men were anointed prophets, but they were still human.

And of course God would call men like Moses and John the Baptist to stand up against wickedness.

And . . .

Elijah is like Jesus.

In confrontation with Satan Jesus depended on the Word of God.

He was called out to confront the unbelieving Israelite.

He cared for the widow (Luke 7:11–17)

He raised the dead (John 11:25);

His prayers were effectual (John 17)

He fasted forty days and forty nights.

Elijah was God’s Response to Wickedness in Ahab...

So gross was the leadership of Ahab - when he is gone we will use him as a description of wickedness.

If you want to know how destructive Ahab was look at the fear in his servant in

Those under Ahab’s reign wanted a little bit of everything — a little goddess worship, a little Baal worship, a little Yahweh worship, and throw in some male cult prostitution.

Exclusive worship of God was absent in most places.

We live in a similar time, in which people worship a little bit of everything, but not the living God exclusively — a little God, a little horoscope, a little TBN, a little pop psychology, a few conspiracy theories, aliens, New Age, naturalism, and more.

One thing that is missing from the people of Israel is prayer.

- You may say well there was plenty of prayer in I Kings 18 the Baal priests prayed for hours.

This is true Uneffective, but fervent prayer.

But what was missing was real faith filled prayer.

Elijah Stands against Ahab in Prayer

The context James describes is found in 1 Kings 17–18.

Appearing out of nowhere, Elijah speaks to King Ahab boldly: “As the Lᴏʀᴅ, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

Tony Merida points out...

Although the text in 1 Kings 17 never says Elijah prayed for a draught, we do find Elijah pictured in prayer in 1 Kings 18:42 for the draught to end.

Other examples of his insane prayer life exist in the Kings narrative (including a prayer in the same chapter for God to raise a boy from the dead), but James focuses on the famine.

Even though we don’t read of him praying, Douglas Moo is surely right in saying, “It is a legitimate inference to think that he prayed for its onset as well.”

I think the prayers of Eljiah preceded his proclamation to Ahab.

Elijah had been before God in the prayer closet, prior to being before Ahab in the palace.

Because he knew of the real King, before whom he stood, he did not fear standing before this mere mortal.

What do we learn from Elijah’s prayer for this draught?

Surely, there are many lessons about faithfulness, persistency, and passion, but I want to underline one very important lesson.

Elijah teaches us here to pray according to God’s word.

There are things we should not be a part of...

Elijah Stands with Scripture

Eljiah knew his Bible.

He knew that the punishment for idolatry was famine.

He could pray for a famine, and proclaim the certainty of the famine because God said it.

Eljiah’s prayers were not rooted in his own imagination.

He wasn’t asking God to perform neat tricks.

He was boldly asking God to act on his own word.

There are things we should stand for…

We can say wow how great is it that Elijah could do this great work.

Yet, in the New Testament James makes an extraordinary statement when he says that Elijah was a “man like us.”

Us? Yes.

While Elijah does hold a unique place in redemptive history, James focuses on the fact that every believer can have an effective prayer life like Elijah.

Elijah is like us…

Elijah grew up in obscurity (like many of us).

Yet, God chose him out of obscurity in order to confront apostasy publically.

Therefore, Elijah is a model for us.

We live in an evil day; we worship the Living God; and we can pray according to God’s word.

Read, pray.

Read, pray.

Fill your prayers with the word of God, and cry out to the Father to act for the good of others and the glory of his name.

Elijah is like Moses.

He is like John the Baptist.

He is like us.

Here is the difference...

Jesus died,

Jesus rose again

Jesus is seated with his Father

Jesus is interceding on our Behalf