God called Elijah to speak to the wicked King Ahab, saying that if Elijah did not pray, there would be no rain for three years. Elijah was very bold to speak before the king, even risking his lives. When the Bible describes John the Baptist being like Elijah, it is in this aspect. After Elijah did this work, God hid Elijah. King Ahab had not kept Elijah’s warning in his heart. But after a few months, it truly did not rain. King Ahab was furious and sent people to capture Elijah. But God’s protection began even before these wicked men sought after Elijah. God hid Elijah by the brook and sent ravens to feed him. Later, God also used the widow of Zarephath to sustain Elijah. There is a spiritual significance behind this but the speaker says he does not have time to share it here.

There was a time of 3.5 years that God hid Elijah away. Afterwards, God called Elijah to speak to King Ahab, because God wanted to send the rain. Without fear, Elijah went to meet King Ahab. Queen Jezebel prepared hundreds of prophets of Baal to meet Elijah too.

When Jezebel wanted to kill Elijah, Elijah also believed that he alone was the prophet of the Lord; that was Elijah’s belief then. Elijah called upon all who were there, urging anyone who believed in the Lord to call down fire from heaven. But none of them believed that God was the real God. The false prophets tried to call out to their gods but nothing happened. When Elijah prayed, God sent fire from heaven. Then the Israelites fell on their faces and admitted, “The Lord, He is God!”

This teaches us that we need to have power, especially to bring people’s hearts back to God. Through Elijah’s faith, he brought the people’s hearts back to God. Elijah also had the false prophets executed, signifying that the problems of the kingdom had ended. And now, God’s promise to send rain would be fulfilled. This was why even before Elijah prayed, he asked King Ahab to go, for God would send rain.

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” (1 Kings 18:41-46)

After Elijah had the false prophets executed and he brought back the people’s hearts, he knew that God would fulfil his prayer. That was why he told King Ahab to eat and drink, for there would be rain. Then Elijah went up to the top of Carmel to pray, bowed down. Elijah sent his servant to see if there was anything. Six times he sent his servant and the servant saw nothing. On the seventh time, the servant said there was a cloud the size of a man’s hand.

Elijah resolutely believed in the promise of God. Even though for 3.5 years there was no rain. There are many promises of God in the Bible. Do we fully believe? Or do we only treat His promises as reference material for us? If we only pray to God when we need help, then we are like those of other religions. We are also not treating our faith as our lives. God’s words has absolute authority in our lives. Whatever God says, I believe, and I will follow it and pray. Like this, blessings will come, for our prayers must be founded upon faith.

The reason why there was no rain was because God was furious with the people for worshiping idols. Now that the problem was resolved, God would send rain. We must also reflect on our relationship with God. In my daily life, do I often do things that doesn’t please God? Is there a distance between us and God? If there is, we must first repent. Because of sin, our prayers cannot reach God. Repentance and prayer is for our hearts to be able to come before God, so that God will turn His face towards us. Elijah’s prayer had such a faith—to first resolve the problem, then he had faith in his prayer.

God still tested his faith. Even though God had already promised, Elijah had to pray seven times. Even after the first and second time when there was nothing in the sky, Elijah did not doubt. Let us reflect on ourselves. Is there anything hindering us from God? Once we can entrust these things to God, let us believe that God is listening to our prayers. Let us not be discouraged. God will definitely hear us.

The speaker wants to share a testimony about a brother. He is a doctor while his wife is a secondary school teacher. One day, she was hit from behind by a lorry and her skull broke. Because he was a doctor in a very established doctor in Taiwan, he sought help from other doctors. They advised him not to save her life because her skull had broken(?) (头脑破掉) and she would only be a vegetable. The couple had only been married one month. He responded that he believed in God, and that life is in His hands. During the surgery, the brother shaved his hair off, went to the front of the church hall/chapel, and prayed for the entire duration of the surgery—seven hours. Often, if there many paths ahead of us, we would use our own understanding to choose a path. When there is no path, we have to rely on God. After this, his wife was unconscious for 7-8 days. Her father took care of her. When she woke up, she told her father that she wanted to urinate (‘niao niao’). Her father was so happy his daughter had awoken that he forgot what ‘niao niao’ was and he ran to the doctor to tell him his daughter wanted to ‘niao niao’; the doctor said if she wants to urinate, the pot is under the bed. Thank God. They continued to pray for her. Gradually, she got better. For a period of time, when she talked, she would salivate. She had also forgotten all her English and had trouble remembering people. Over time, her memory came back.

The brother really wanted to take up a lawsuit with the lorry driver who had hit her husband. But she realized that the lorry driver was too poor and could not give her any compensation. Initially, the husband was very furious with him. He really hated the driver. But after a while, he realized how great God’s love was, that even though he could have been the husband of someone in a vegetative state, in the end, God had saved his wife. He determined to forgive the driver. When he walked out of the courtroom, he felt that his heart was so light. When he went home, initially his wife had been healed till 90%. But after he forgave the other party, his wife was healed 100%. Even the English she had learnt came back. She eventually went back to be a secondary school teacher. The couple even have a child today. This is the prayer of faith. They did not lose faith. They really believed that God would save the sister. Such a trial requires a long period of time. Can you imagine looking at your wife who is in a vegetative state for a long period of time? Slowly, God’s strength manifests.

When Elijah prayed till the seventh time, that was when he saw a cloud that was the size of a man’s hand. If you were Elijah, what would you think? “It hasn’t rained for 3.5 years, what is this small cloud? What sort of rain is this?” Often in our prayers we have doubt. That Is why our prayers have no doubt. When Elijah saw that cloud, he believed that God had believed his prayers.

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” (James 5:17-18)

Elijah is really like us. First, he prayed really hard. The next day, he ran for his life. Yet he could pray without being discouraged. Elijah received the promise of God. We too can receive the promise of God. Let us learn from these ancient believers. Our God is definitely not living only in what we hear and see. He is also not a God that wells in doctrine. Our God lives in our lives. Whether you receive His blessings depends on our faith. Faith requires us to persevere till we receive.