Prayer Problems: Power - 2 Do I Believe Enough to Pray?

Focus passage: 1 Kings 17:1-24

I want to pray with faith, but I sometimes find that hard.

The problems of our world seem so big. The pains of those I am called to minister to seem so impossible. I find that I still need to grow in my faith if my prayer is to be very powerful. What is comforting is that Elijah had to grow in his faith before he was ready to change the world with prayer. God helped him grow because you don’t send someone out against 850 false prophets unprepared.

• God gave him a hurt that touched his heart. God had miraculously provided food for Elijah and the widow’s family for months. The widow had befriended him and taken him in. She and her son had become dear to him, yet God had let the son of the widow die. It gave Elijah something to pray about from the depth of his heart. Sometimes, it is only in deep tragedy that we learn the power and love of God. We have to lose before we can gain.

• God gave him a desire for something impossible. Elijah takes the boy’s body to his room and prays for a miracle. He could have prayed that the Lord comfort the mother. Yet, he stretched his own body over the boy and asked the Lord for a resurrection. His posture showed how much he identified with the boy. It was as if he wanted the Lord to take the life from him and transfer it to the boy. In pain, we may dare to ask the Lord to do what others call foolish. Our belief that God can do the miraculous comes from the need to have the miracle.

• The miracle gave him a bigger view of God. He had been fed by ravens and by a miraculous jar of flour. Yet, the resurrection of the boy hinted at all that God would do if one just asked. His pain forced the faith of Elijah to stretch beyond what was logical or safe. When Elijah climbed Mount Carmel to face the prophets of Baal, he knew that nothing was too tough for God. Faith comes by trial for in trial we throw ourselves completely on the mercy of God and often find ourselves surprised at the depth of His mercy and power.

We often shun the trials of life. We think that they are punishment from God. Elijah teaches me that God often allows the trials so that His servants can grow in faith.

In life, we don’t know our abilities until we are pushed. We didn’t realize that we could lift the china cabinet until it fell on top of our child. We didn’t think that we could fix the plumbing until the bathroom sink overflowed. Often we don’t know the depth of our faith or the power of the Lord until things become so desperate that we cry out from our heart for His help and surrender our whole being in faith.  Faith is often forged in the harsh crucible of pain and suffering.

We have grown, but are we willing to put everything on the line because we have grown to trust the Lord? Please share your comments and questions below or send me your thoughts at 32daysdevotions@gmail.com.   We will take time tomorrow to “talk” about your thoughts in the blog so we can have a conversation and I can learn from you.