No verse in the Bible promises the absence of struggle. Quite the contrary. Scripture is stained with tears, problems, injustices, immorality, and wars. Tough times come with life.
But troubling times don’t have to take the life out of your life.
God gives us this invitation: “Pray it through.”
“It” is what troubles you, fatigues you, shames you. “It” is the future you can’t control, the disease you can’t heal, the job you can’t stomach, the rage you can’t tame, the economy you can’t boost, the lawmaker you can’t stomach.
“It” won’t have the last word. God will. And God’s Word tells us to pray it through.
Prayer slaps handcuffs on the culprit. Prayer marches the problem into the presence of the One who can solve it. Prayer faces “it” by facing God immediately, consistently, doggedly, and hopefully. Prayer confesses: “God can handle it. I can’t. But He can. Since He can, I have hope!”
Elijah modeled this. Our prophet is remembered as an example of radical prayer.
He prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! Then Elijah prayed again, and the rain came down from the sky, and the land produced crops again.
— James 5:17–18 NCV
He is living proof that
when a believing person prays, great things happen. — v. 16 NCV
Our study of the power of the prophet resumes with sad news.
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. — 1 Kings 17:17
There is so much about the story we do not know. How long had Elijah lived with the widow? What was the boy’s illness? We are not told. But the detail we are told is heartbreaking. The boy had “no breath left in him” (NKJV). Maybe it began with a headache or a sore throat. His mother sent him to bed to rest. When she checked on him, the boy was ablaze with fever. She tried every
remedy but couldn’t cool him down. She sat at his side all night. He groaned. She mopped his brow. His breath became labored. She held him close. She’d already lost a husband; she couldn’t bear to bury a child.
But he began to drift from her. He didn’t respond to her voice. His limbs grew limp. His breath became shallow and skin pale.
She implored, “Don’t go! Don’t go!” But he did. He had no breath left in him.
Maybe you can relate. You didn’t lose a child, but you lost a dream, a parent, a dear friend. Her son had no breath in him. In your case your future has no hope in it. Your career has no potential in it. Your marriage has no joy in it. Have you felt what she felt? If so, you won’t judge her reaction. Even though the prophet had done nothing to warrant her anger, she faulted him.
The woman said to Elijah, ‘Why did you ever show up here in the first place—a holy man barging in, exposing my sins, and killing my son?’ Elijah said, ‘Hand me your son.’ He then took him from her bosom, carried him up to the loft where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. — 1 Kings 17:18–19 MSG
I see a metaphor in this moment. What if Elijah holding the dead boy is a picture of you and me in the midst of a sick society? Think about it. So much has died. Integrity among our leaders. Morality in our movies. Fidelity in our families. And meaning: Did you know that nine out of ten young people in Great Britain believe that life has no meaning?1 Nine out of ten! What happens when 90 percent of a generation find no reason to live? Anxiety happens. Anger happens. Depression and despair happen. Suicide happens.
We, like Elijah, have been handed a corpse. Heartbeat? Gone. Pulse? Undetectable. Something needs to be done.
Elijah shows us what to do.
Continue reading on our blog…
No comments:
Post a Comment