“And he said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ And he went up and looked and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And he said, ‘Go again,’ seven times. And at the seventh time he said, ‘Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’”
(1 Kings 18:43-44)
When Elijah begs for the rain he has announced in God’s Name, Elijah’s faith is firmly tested!
Up to six times his servant reports that there is no cloud in sight.
The sky remains clear blue. Only the seventh time a tiny cloud is visible, but that is enough to know that the rain is really coming.
Elijah immediately warns king Ahab that the downpour is about to break.
Elijah is not the only one who had to wait a long time for his prayer to be answered, even though God had already promised that rain would come.
Abraham had to wait decades for the birth of the son the Lord had promised him.
Daniel prayed fervently for the salvation for his people that had been foretold seventy years earlier by the prophet Jeremiah.
Countless people in the Old Testament were praying and longing for the coming of the Messiah who had been promised.
Jesus teaches us to pray for the coming of His Kingdom:
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
Faith in God’s promises and penetrating prayer are not mutually exclusive, but rather go hand in hand.
What are you praying for?