“A Prayer Warrior”
1 Kings 17:1 “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

James 5:17, 18 “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.”

1 Kings 18:41-46 “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.”

King Ahab was 7th in line from King David’s day. However he ruled over a split nation because after Solomon’s death the Northern Kingdom Israel consisting of ten tribes and the Southern Kingdom Judah consisting of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin split. Ahab was a “false King”. In fact his whole linage was full of corruption and you can read about this in 1 Kings 16.

-The first two Kings of Israel did not serve God and were alcoholics.                   

-The third and the fourth were murderers.                                                             

-The fifth was accused of spiritual treason.                                                                                                                      

-The sixth was described as worse than those who had gone before.

When Ahab married Jezebel it was a marriage of political convenience and spiritual consequences. It was he that introduced the worship of male and female false gods Baal and Asherah. He also executed, persecuted and imprisoned the prophets of God.

There are some things about Baal and Asherah you need to know.

a. They were false god’s that could be bribed. You give them the right offering and all would be well around you.

b. They were also false god’s that invoked fertility and/or barrenness depending on your sacrifice.

c. They were also false god’s that required child sacrifices to really appease them.

In Ahab’s time Jericho was rebuilt and we see a group of people that had been infiltrated with idolatry, immorality and irreverence.

It was into this setting God sends the man Elijah with this declaration in 1 Kings 17:1-

“As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

God was dramatically challenging Baalism or the belief of the people in Baal. You see the very thing they worshipped Baal for was rain! On the one side there was Ahab the King, the ruthless and notorious Jezebel, the impotent and false god Baal, and the Baal priests and priestesses. On the other side were Yahweh and a single servant, the prophet Elijah, a man of faith, deeply committed to God. It was a question of authenticity.

There are 3 truths that identify Elijah as a confident and faithful prayer warrior:

(1) A prayer warrior knows the living God-“As the LORD God of Israel lives!”
Elijah through his opening statement was convinced and confident in God’s person. “Living” is the first word in the statement of Elijah in the Hebrew text. It is emphatic by its position and stresses his faith in the fact of the reality of God. In the Hebrew text, the words “living” and “LORD” (Yahweh) are bound together rather than separated as in the English Bible. This combination was a device for introducing an oath or a solemn statement of fact. We are to translate it like the NASB with the word “as.” Literally, it is “As living is Yahweh”

Let’s focus in on the name, Yahweh. Yahweh means “I Am that I Am.” It is derived from the Hebrew verb “hayah” meaning “to be or exist.” This name itself stresses God’s aliveness, His dynamic and active self-existence. It is the name by which God revealed Himself to Israel as their redeemer as seen in Exodus 3. It reminds us that He is the God of special revelation and redemptive love.

God was not just a theological idea to Elijah. He was a living and personal God. He did not just know about God, but he knew God in such a personal way that it transformed his life.

Daniel 11:32 declares, “…but the people who know God will display strength and take action.”

Knowing and believing this was the secret of Elijah’s boldness. Elijah was convinced God was not only alive, but personally and actively involved in the affairs of both Israel and the nations. Elijah acted on God’s promises. He prayed and proclaimed his message to King Ahab. Elijah was declaring it was not just any man’s ideas about God that counted, but the revelation of the God of the Bible-that is the one true God. Likewise, our responsibility is to know God intimately and then to proclaim the Christ of the Bible as the true Savior and God.

(2) A prayer warrior stands before the living God in faith believing-“Before whom I stand!”
Elijah knew that God was with him and had sent him to King Ahab. He was under God’s watchful eye, protection, supply, enabling, and orders.

Elijah’s faith was anchored in three biblical concepts that were on his mind and in his consciousness and that motivated and controlled his life.

-God’s Person. Elijah knew that there was no place where he would be absent from the caring and watchful eye of God
-God’s Plan. Elijah knew he was a personal representative of the living God
-God’s Power and Provision. With God’s presence and orders, also came God’s power, protection and provision to do what he was called to do.
Elijah was living in the light of God’s omnipresence and was practicing the presence of God. Our need is to flee to the Lord, to draw near to Him and know His presence, rather than to flee to our strategies for handling life. Elijah understood as a believer, he was not on earth merely to have a good time or seek his own satisfaction and comfort. He knew he was there to represent the Lord boldly and courageously in the battle with satanic forces for the souls of men and for the glory of God. Elijah lived in a time when many believers were hiding in caves, afraid to speak.

(3) A prayer warrior believes in the authority of God’s Word-“Surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

Elijah was confident in God’s promises. He could stand before King Ahab and make this statement because he was confident in the principles, promises and warnings of God’s Word.

He was also confident of answered prayer when it is based on God’s Word and concerned for God’s glory. Elijah’s prayer for no rain was not just something out of his own imagination or because he was angry at Jezebel. He was acting on the truth of the Word. He was standing firmly on the promises.

Elijah’s declaration in 1 Kings 17:1 strongly challenged the reality of their god and their faith.

It showed two things:

-First, that Baal was false and impotent and that the prophets of Baal were liars.

-It also showed truth and salvation could only be found in the prophets of Yahweh who alone spoke for God.

So let us pray with confidence and know God will respond to praying people.

(4) A prayer warrior seeks the will of God over every situation!

In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah had been God’s instrument to bring the drought upon the nation. Elijah knew that the drought had been sent because of the idolatry of the people. The rain had stopped because the people were worshiping Baal instead of Jehovah. Now, the Baal prophets were dead, the people had repented and had returned to the Lord God. Elijah knew it was time for the rains to return.

In 1 Kings 18:1, God told Elijah to confront Ahab and He would send the rain. Elijah did as he was commanded, and he knew the rain was coming. Elijah believed God when God said something.

Here in the 18^th chapter we read that Elijah prayed the word of God based on Deuteronomy 11:13-17:                                                                     

“And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.”

When God’s will is revealed about a matter, it is settled already. It will be done!

Some may ask, "Why bother to pray about it?"

-Because, God’s promises are not given to restrict our prayer life, but to energize it!

-When God reveals His will in a matter, we have direction, purpose and power in prayer.

-We can pray specifically about a situation with the confidence that God will do as He has purposed and willed.