Will you please turn to 1 Kings 18? We will have the whole chapter, but, being a long one, I will read only some portions from it.
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab.
—1 Kings 18:1-2
And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it thou, my lord Elijah?
And he answered him, It is I: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
And he said, Wherein have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?
As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they found thee not.
And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will kill me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here; and he will kill me.
And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him to-day.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him.
—1 Kings 18:7-16
And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under.
And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let Him be God. And all the people answered and said, The saying is good.
—1 Kings 18:21-24
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was thrown down.
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name.
And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood.
And he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time; and they did it the third time.
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
—1 Kings 18:30-35
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word.
Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou, the Lord, art God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again.
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.
—1 Kings 18:36-39
And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees.
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 it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Make ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
And it came to pass in a little while, that the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
—1 Kings 18:41-46
Last night we began to fellowship on the life and times of the prophet Elijah. Elijah lived when King Ahab was king over the nation of Israel. Ahab was a wicked king. He led the whole nation away from the Lord, the covenant God of Israel—the God who delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and gave them the land of promise.
King Ahab led the people away from the Lord through the instigation of his wife Jezebel.
Elijah lived at such a time. He took the name Elijah, which means, “Whose God is the Lord.” By his very name, he declared that only the Lord is God.
Because he had such a public testimony, he was not able to dwell in his native land. Being a man of Gilead, he had to cross the River Jordan and dwell among the inhabitants there. For how long, we do not know. Certainly, when he was hidden in the land of Gilead, he was not passive, doing nothing. He was actively engaged in prayer.
As he prayed, and as he stood with God for God’s right over the children of Israel, he began to sense the judgment of God coming upon the nation. So he prayed a prayer of faith, and because he prayed, God shut up the heavens for three years and six months.
He was sent by God to King Ahab to announce that judgment:
As the Lord, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
—1 Kings 17:1
Elijah was a person so committed to God that God was fully committed to him. Elijah could say, “Except by my word,” because he had the word of God.
His life was a life abandoned to God. His was a life that forgot himself completely. The zeal of the Lord had literally devoured that man.
After he pronounced that judgment, God hid him by the brook Cherith and fed him with bread and meat brought by ravens. When the brook dried up, God sent him to Zarephath in Sidon, to a widow. There, with a handful of meal in the barrel and a little oil in the cruse, Elijah, the widow, and her son were maintained for a whole year.
Now the time came when God would send Elijah back again to face King Ahab. But this time He wanted to bring a message of blessing, not a message of judgment. Elijah himself had learned that God was not only a God of judgment; God was also a God of resurrection.
He was prepared to bring a new message back to the nation of Israel.
Brothers and sisters, we like to ask one question: was there any indication that, after three years and six months of drought, King Ahab and the nation of Israel had really come to repentance? Was there any evidence? Was there any sign of repentance?
So far as we know, there was none.
It was true that, after three years and six months of drought and famine, the people began to ask questions. They began to question whether it was wise, whether it was right, to leave the Lord, their own God, and serve foreign gods. No doubt there were questions in the hearts of the people. But there was no clear sign of repentance.
How merciful was God! If He had waited until there was general repentance, probably He would never have been able to send His blessing upon that nation anymore.
Even when the people were only questioning, only doubting, only beginning to feel that probably something was wrong, God took the initiative in bringing them into recovery. As a matter of fact, you will find that God always takes the initiative.
It is true that before the rain was to be given there must be repentance, but even that repentance was brought about by the mercy of God.
Elijah could very well have argued with God and said, “I have seen no sign of repentance. I do not feel this is the time to return.” He had every right to say that. But, being a man of God, he did not question God’s timing. He did not question God’s wisdom. He did not base his movement on what he saw or how he reasoned it out. His movement was governed completely by the word of God, because he was a man utterly given to God.
When God sent him back, he went. As we mentioned last night, when God said, “You hide,” he hid. When God said, “You expose yourself,” he exposed himself. He was a true servant of the Lord.
But, dear brothers and sisters, you will find that the way God brought Elijah back to face Ahab was rather indirect. The first time God sent him to Ahab, he went straight to him and announced the sentence of judgment to Ahab and the nation. But this time, when God sent him back to Ahab, God arranged that he should meet Obadiah first.
Now, who was Obadiah? We mentioned his name last night. The very name Obadiah means “servant of the Lord.”
Do not mix up the Obadiah here with the prophet Obadiah. In the Old Testament there is a book called Obadiah. It is very difficult to find because it is only one chapter. But there was a prophet Obadiah; this was not that prophet.
This Obadiah was King Ahab’s steward, steward of his household.
Do you see the contradiction here? This man, whose name meant “servant of the Lord,” served Ahab. What kind of a man was this Obadiah? The Bible tells us he was a godly man. He feared God, even from his youth.
He was almost like the rich young man who came to the Lord. The Lord looked at him and loved him because he had kept the commandments from his youth. Here was Obadiah, a grown man, who feared God from his youth.
But unfortunately, he not only feared God; he also feared Ahab. When Elijah said, “Go and tell your master, your lord, that Elijah is here,” Obadiah said, “No, do not send me back. If you send me back to tell King Ahab, and the Lord takes you away, and Ahab cannot find you, then he will kill me.”
Instead of fearing one, he feared both.
When Jezebel killed the prophets of God, he dared to hide a hundred prophets by fifties in caves and feed them with bread and water. Very commendable. Yet he was not fit for God’s use in feeding the prophet Elijah. Ravens were more serviceable than Obadiah.
What kind of person was Obadiah? Obadiah was a double-minded man.
A doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.
—James 1:8
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.
—James 4:8
Obadiah was a double-minded person. He was that kind of person described by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount:
If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
—Matthew 6:22-24
But how many people accept what the Lord says? How many Christians accept what the Lord says? The Lord makes it very clear: no servant can serve two masters. Impossible. But how we try to make the impossible possible.
You will find among God’s people today there are more double-minded people than single-minded people. Somehow, we feel we are wiser than God. We can serve two masters. We love God, and yet we love the world. We fear God, and yet we fear men.
We cannot say that we do not serve God, but at the same time we serve the world. When a person is double-minded, double-visioned, and tries to serve two masters, do you know what happens? He has to compromise all the time.
He compromises truth on the side of God, and he also compromises righteousness on the side of men. He is always compromising, and he never pleases anyone. He thinks he is wise; actually, he is a fool.
That was the kind of man Obadiah was. What a contrast he was to Elijah. Here you find two servants of the Lord. Both were servants of the Lord, and yet Elijah was single-eyed, pure in heart toward God. Obadiah was double-eyed.
Elijah feared God; he did not fear man. But Obadiah feared God and was afraid of Ahab. Elijah could stand with God absolutely, which Obadiah could never do.
In one sense Elijah was safe because he was safe in the hand of God, but Obadiah never felt secure.
Dear brothers and sisters, apply this to our time, and you will find the same picture. Among God’s people there are these two kinds.
As a matter of fact, so far as the truth is concerned, there cannot be two kinds of Christians. In the will of God, there can be only one kind: those who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. But when you come down to the actual situation, you find there are more Christians who are double-minded.
Obadiah could be used by God, and he was, but only in a negative way—to hide some prophets. Elijah served God in a positive way. He could turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, to prepare the way of the Lord. That is the difference.
Strangely enough, when God sent Elijah back to see Ahab, He arranged that Elijah should see Obadiah first and let Obadiah bring the message to King Ahab. Do you know why? I believe there is the wisdom of God there.
Ahab was literally furious toward Elijah. When no rain or dew came for three years and a half, and the whole nation was in famine and starvation, he hated Elijah so much that he sought him everywhere—in his own country and in the surrounding nations. When the surrounding nations said Elijah was not there, Ahab made them take an oath.
Suppose God had sent Elijah directly to Ahab. Before Elijah could say a word, before he could bring the glad tidings of blessing, he would have been killed. Ahab was mad against Elijah.
So God used Obadiah as a kind of bridge, to soften the impact. Evidently, when Ahab heard from Obadiah that Elijah had been found, Obadiah must have tried to speak to him. When Ahab saw Elijah, he did not kill him immediately. Instead, he said, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?”
Wonderful! God can even use a weak vessel. In the providence of God, sometimes the strong vessel needs the help of the weak vessel, and, of course, the weak vessel needs the help of the strong vessel.
In bringing the message that Elijah was there to King Ahab, Obadiah, in a sense, had to stand with Elijah. He had to show his colors. In that, he was helped by Elijah. God used these two men to bring in the good tidings.
Brothers and sisters, I believe there is another spiritual lesson we can learn here. In the body of Christ there are weak vessels and strong vessels. In the body of Christ there are great members and small members. But God has put us together in such a way that the strong cannot say, “I do not need you, the weak vessels,” nor can the weak say, “I do not need you, the strong vessels.”
Whether you are weak or strong, God can use the weak as He uses the strong.
Now, this does not mean that we can remain weak vessels. It simply means that even though we are weak, if we are in God’s hand, God can still use us. So take heart, brothers and sisters.
In this way, the impact was softened. Ahab came to Elijah, and Ahab said, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” Elijah said, “No. You and your father’s house are the troublers of Israel.”
It is human nature. We always put the blame on other people when there is trouble. Usually, perhaps eight times out of ten, when you try to put the blame on other people, actually it is you who created the problem.
Elijah was not interested in semantics. He refuted the accusation of King Ahab, but that was not his purpose in coming. He did not come to argue or to vindicate himself. No, he simply set the matter right and forgot it.
He told King Ahab, “Gather all the people together to Mount Carmel, and let us decide whom we should serve—whether we should serve the Lord or whether we should serve Baal.” That was fair enough.
King Ahab gathered all the nation of Israel to Mount Carmel with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. Elijah drew near to all the people and said:
How long go ye limping between the two sides? if the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.
—1 Kings 18:21
In the hearts of the people, they began to waver. In the beginning, they followed King Ahab into idolatry and apostasy. But after they came under judgment for three years and a half, the judgment had worked upon their minds. They began to wonder; they began to doubt; they began to question. Their position now was that they halted between two opinions.
They were not sure that Baal was the right god to serve, but neither were they sure that they should return to the Lord. They halted between two opinions.
That is double-mindedness too. The whole nation was double-minded at that time. God hates double-mindedness. God cannot stand such a condition.
Through the prophet Elijah, God challenged His people: “How long will you halt between two opinions?” That is not good enough. Either yes or no. Either this or that. Either you are cold or you are hot. But if you are lukewarm, God says, “I will spew thee out of My mouth.” God hates such a condition, but we love everything that is lukewarm.
This was the controversy of God with His people. The controversy was not simply, “Why did you serve Baal?” The controversy was, “Why do you halt between two opinions?” You cannot do that. If the Lord is God, choose Him. If Baal is god, follow him.
God wants us to stand either this way or that way.
This had happened in the history of Israel before. Even when they were in the wilderness, while Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments, Aaron built a golden calf. They called the golden calf “the Lord,” and they began to eat, drink, and play.
When Moses came down, he broke the two tablets of the law. He ground the golden calf into powder, cast it upon the water, and made the people drink it. Then he stood at the gate of the camp and said:
Whoso is on the Lord’s side, let him come unto me.
—Exodus 32:26
God is never pleased with people who halt between two opinions. God never wants a double-minded person to serve Him. God just hates it.
If you want to serve God, stand there. If you want to serve Baal, remain there. There is no middle ground. That is the challenge.
It was not only the challenge of that day; it is the challenge of our time. God is still challenging His own people today: “Why do you halt between two opinions?” If you know the Lord is God, if you know Jesus Christ is Lord, then serve Him. Follow Him all the way.
If you do not know that, or if you think the world is your god, then follow the world.
How we need to hear that challenge, brothers and sisters. How we need to examine ourselves in that light. If we are examined by that light, brothers and sisters, we may find some surprises.
But how was the matter to be resolved? How was it to be brought to an end? Elijah suggested that two bullocks be taken—one for the prophets of Baal and one for himself, the prophet of God. They were to sacrifice the bullocks as burnt offerings: they to Baal, and he to the Lord.
They were to put the sacrifice upon the wood, but put no fire under it. The God who answered prayer and sent down fire, He would be God. The people said, “That is good. That is fair.”
Even among the heathen, they knew sacrifice. If you read the history of ancient peoples, or the history of any race in this world, you will find that throughout history people knew how to sacrifice. But the heathen sacrificed to appease the wrath of their gods. They were always afraid that their gods would do some trick to them, so they tried to bribe their gods with sacrifices and appease their anger.
But the sacrifice offered by the children of Israel to God was different. It was not to appease God’s anger; it was to please God for His acceptance. A burnt offering is an offering wholly devoted for the pleasure of God.
Even though the concepts were different, both knew how to offer sacrifice. That is why Elijah suggested such an offering.
Because the prophets of Baal were four hundred and fifty, Elijah said, “Why do you not do it first?” So in the morning they began. They built their altar, put a bullock on the wood, circled around the altar, and cried to Baal. They asked Baal to send fire from heaven, because Baal means “lord.” They believed Baal was lord of heaven and earth, and if he was lord of heaven and earth, certainly he could send fire from heaven.
They circled around until noontime, and there was no answer. Sometimes the enemy can call fire down from heaven, you know. That is why they dared to do it. But God overruled; they could not do it.
Elijah mocked them and said, “Perhaps your god is meditating, or perhaps he is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep. You had better cry louder.”
So they cried louder. They jumped around, and they used their swords and spears to cut themselves, as was their custom. Blood began to pour over their bodies. They jumped and cried until evening. No answer.
Then Elijah said, “That is enough.” He asked the people to gather around him.
He repaired the altar of the God of Israel with twelve stones. You remember that at that time the nation of Israel was composed of only ten tribes. The twelve tribes had been divided into two kingdoms: the southern kingdom of Judah, with two tribes—Judah and Benjamin—and the northern kingdom of Israel, with ten tribes.
But Elijah did not repair the altar of the God of Israel with ten stones. He repaired it with twelve stones, because this was the altar of the God of Israel.
Faith never takes appearances into its decision. Faith always looks to God. So far as God is concerned, Israel was one nation. God was the God of Israel. No matter how divided they were, in the mind of God they were one. No matter how apostate they were, God was still the God of Israel.
Elijah could only stand with God. Dear brothers and sisters, here you find Elijah as a man of faith.
He did not take the condition of the people as final, as the deciding factor. That is our problem. We always take what we see as final, as fact, and we act on such facts. But faith never does that. Faith always acts on the eternal fact, not the apparent fact. Faith always stands with God and God’s will.
How often we hear people say, “It is impossible for God’s people to be one. We are divided, and we are divided. That is the fact. You had better recognize the fact and live with it.”
No. Faith does not live on apparent facts; faith lives on eternal facts. In the sight of God, God’s people are one, and they are one. No matter how divided they are, they are still one. That is where we ought to stand.
No matter how apostate or fallen away God’s people are, faith stands with God and says, “God is the God of His own people.” That is faith.
As a matter of fact, when Elijah was repairing the altar of the God of Israel, you see the principle of the overcomers. Elijah represents the principle of the overcomers.
The position of an overcomer in the church is that he stands with God by faith. He will never accept apparent facts as final. Never. He will always go back to God and take God’s purpose as final, and act on that ground. That is the faith of an overcomer.
Elijah, though alone, by faith represented the whole nation of Israel as though the whole nation had come back to God.
First, he repaired the altar. The altar of the God of Israel was broken down, so he repaired it with twelve stones.
The altar in the Old Testament is the cross in the New Testament. The way to bring God’s people back, the test that will really settle the question of halting between two opinions, is to repair the altar of the God of Israel.
In other words, dear brothers and sisters, if there are people today who by faith will repair, as it were, or bring back the cross into the life of the church, that is the first step to recovery.
There must be people who know the preciousness of the cross, who know the working of the cross in their lives.
Everywhere you go, you find God’s people hungry. God’s people are hungry. But what do they want to hear? They want to hear that God will prosper them, that they will be blessed, that they may enjoy.
Very few are willing to hear the word of the cross. Like the disciples of old, they say, “This is a hard saying,” and they leave the Lord.
But without the working of the cross, dear brothers and sisters, there can be no permanent blessing. God may bless temporarily out of His mercy, but it is superficial. To really enter into the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ, you have to accept the cross in your lives.
Whenever you find that the cross is being accepted and begins to work among God’s people, you can expect fire from heaven.
After Elijah repaired the altar, he put the bullock on the altar as a burnt offering to God. Then he told the people, “Take four pitchers of water and pour them on the bullock and the wood.” Once, twice, three times, until the bullock and the wood were soaked with water and the trench was filled with water.
He made it more difficult for God. How God was pleased with that!
Water was very scarce at that time. There had been drought for three years and six months. What a waste! Before there was rain, how much water was poured out and wasted?
Why did Elijah do such a thing? Of course, this bullock represented the whole nation of Israel. By Elijah, the whole nation of Israel was represented as if the nation had accepted the cross and returned to God.
The whole nation gave itself to God as a burnt offering, and the waters poured upon it were a drink offering. Here you find a picture—a picture of complete return to God, of giving themselves to God absolutely, without reservation, without consideration, and without counting any cost.
Actually, that was Elijah. But Elijah represented the whole nation. Even before the nation repented, Elijah by faith represented what the nation ought to be: giving themselves to God.
Even the most precious water was wasted upon the Lord, just like Mary poured that pound of pure nard upon the head of our Lord Jesus and wasted it all, because God is worthy.
When such things are being done, can God refrain from sending down the fire to consume not only the bullock and the wood, but even the stones, and to lick up all the water? In other words, God was pleased, and He accepted it.
Wherever there is such a spirit, wherever people repair the altar, accept the working of the cross in their lives, and are able to offer themselves completely to God without counting the cost, heaven cannot remain shut. Fire will come down and consume everything, because God accepts that.
Not only fire, but rain.
I believe that in the mind of Elijah he saw a picture. He had a vision. The vision was this: when Moses built the tabernacle, after he finished building it, after it was erected and all the furniture was put in order, even the burnt offering was upon the brazen altar. But there was no fire yet.
When all these things were ready, fire came down from heaven, consumed the offering, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle so that the priests had to retreat, because God was there.
I believe Elijah also saw the vision of when Solomon built the holy temple. Everything was in order, and Solomon offered burnt offerings, but with no strange fire. When they prayed, fire came down from heaven, consumed the offering, and the glory of the Lord again filled the temple. The priests had to retreat.
I believe in the eyes of Elijah there was that vision. He fully expected that when God’s people returned to God and gave themselves to God in such a way, there could be no other result but fire and the glory of God. He had faith in that.
Dear brothers and sisters, do we have this vision? Where is the glory of the Lord today? Where is the fire from heaven? Why is it that there is no fire and there is no glory? Because there is not that condition among us.
The church is the tabernacle today. The church is the temple today. When we are ready before the Lord by His grace, and everything is ready, the burnt offering is on the altar, dear brothers and sisters, you do not need to worry what will happen next. It will come.
I believe that was the vision of Elijah. With that vision, by faith, he acted.
May the Lord raise up many Elijahs who, by faith, being caught with a heavenly vision, dare to give themselves to Him utterly and absolutely. We do not need to worry what will come next. God will complete the picture.
That was the vision of Elijah. After this happened, all the children of Israel said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” There was no doubt about it. When you offer yourself to God, God accepts you, and that proves that He is God.
Elijah cleared the house. The four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal were taken to the brook and killed. Then Elijah told Ahab, “You go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the abundance of rain.”
Actually, there was no thunder yet.
Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel. He put his head between his knees, and he prayed. He sent his servant to look toward the sea seven times. On the seventh time, the servant saw a cloud like the palm of a man’s hand.
Elijah said, “Go down and tell Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and run, because there will be a great downpour of rain.’” Surely enough, the rain came, the blessing came.
It is interesting. If I were Elijah, do you know what I would do? After the whole nation returned to God and said, “The Lord is God,” and Ahab was very happy at that time—he really recognized that the Lord is God—do you know what I would do?
I would say, “Ahab, come. Let us go up to the mountain and pray together.”
But Elijah did not do that. He said, “Ahab, you go eat and drink, and I will go and pray,” because all Ahab could do was eat and drink.
He did not even ask Ahab to pray with him. Now, is that unspiritual? Well, that is what it is. Some people can only eat and drink. That is all they can do. But other people can pray.
Would you rather be Ahab, to eat and drink, or would you rather be Elijah, to go up and pray?
I remember a true story of George Müller, that man of faith. One day he was on a ship traveling from England or Scotland to Canada. He had a speaking engagement there. While they were at sea, there was a heavy fog, so the boat had to slow down.
George Müller went to the bridge to speak to the captain, who was a Christian. He asked the captain, “When will the fog be dispersed?” The captain said, “Nobody knows.”
Müller asked, “Can we arrive at the port at a certain hour?” The captain said, “No. Unless the fog disperses right now, there is no way to arrive at the port on time.”
George Müller said, “But I have an appointment there, and I have never missed an appointment.”
The captain said, “I cannot help you.”
So Müller said, “Let us pray.” The captain, being a Christian, could not say that he did not want to pray. So they knelt down and prayed.
George Müller prayed a simple prayer of faith. He said, “O God, in all my life Thou hast made me keep my appointments. So this time, disperse the fog and let Thy servant keep the appointment and be there.”
The captain said, “Amen.” Then he thought that, being a Christian, he ought to pray too. But as he started to pray, Müller patted his shoulder and said, “You do not need to pray.”
They got up and looked out. The fog began to disperse.
Dear brothers and sisters, to pray, on the one hand, is very simple. But to pray, on the other hand, is very deep.
Elijah was a man of like passions with us. He prayed a prayer, and heaven was shut up for three years and six months. He prayed again, and rain came upon the earth.
What made Elijah so special? Not Elijah—God. God made Elijah so special. But because Elijah gave himself wholly to God, God was able to get through in him.
That is our whole problem. We have the God of Elijah, and Elijah was no different from us. The God of Elijah is our God. But oftentimes He cannot get through us because we do not respond to His grace as we should.
Dear brothers and sisters, here you find Elijah. That is how abandoned he was to God, and God was fully committed to that man. Whether it was a message of judgment or a message of blessing, Elijah was serviceable to the Master.
May the Lord raise up many, many in our days who are serviceable to our Master, our Christ.
Our heavenly Father, Thou art the God of Elijah, and Thou art our God. There is no partiality with Thee. Thy power is the same. Thy grace is the same.
But, Lord, we know the problem is with us. Lord, we can only tell Thee that we are willing. If we are not, make us willing, that we may not be double-minded and unstable in all our ways.
But, Lord, make us pure in heart, single-eyed toward Thee, fully devoted to Thee and to Thy will. And, Lord, we believe Thou wilt do the rest.
To Thee be all praise and glory. Lord, make us like Elijah—overcomers, willing to pay the cost for the blessing to come upon the whole people of God.
We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.