Judgment prepares the way for blessing, and thus the fire from heaven is followed by the rain from heaven. The opened ear of Elijah catches " a sound of abundance of rain." A going in the tops of the trees, trouble on the waters—the low moaning of earth—told the listening ear of Elijah that at last the day was at hand when the Lord would send rain upon the earth.
If by a closer walk with God our ears were more attuned to catch His faintest whispers, and our minds were more enlightened to interpret them aright, should we not often, in the low sad moans that rise from this troubled world, hear His voice telling of coming blessing? In the sigh from some sick bed, or the wail of a bereaved one, or the cry of a disappointed heart, should we not discern the sound of coming blessing for the grief-stricken soul?
No such sounds reached the ear of King Ahab. Absorbed with his own selfish pleasures, his heart was waxed gross, and his ears dull of hearing. Only faith can read the signs of the times and enter into the secret of the Lord. When all seems dead among the people of God, when there is no apparent result from the preaching of the Gospel, when there are few conversions among sinners, and little growth among saints, it needs indeed a close walk with God to see His hand at work.
However, when God's voice is heard and His hand seen, it produces immediate results. Is the rain coming? then Ahab will go up to eat and drink, while Elijah—the man with the opened ear -will go up to the top of Carmel to pray.
For three and a half years the rain has been withheld and the famine has been sore in the land. Now the rain is coming, the famine is over. Surely Ahab will turn to God with thanksgiving. He has seen the vanity of idols, the exposure of the false prophets, the fire from heaven, and the awful judgment of the prophets of Baal. Alas, no impression is made on the king; God is not in all his thoughts. Little he cares for Jehovah or Baal, for the prophet of the living God or the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. His one thought is: " This tiresome famine is over, the rain is coming; I can now enjoy myself without hindrance." So he goes up to eat and drink, celebrating the occasion with a feast. It is ever thus with the world. God lays His hand upon men in government and, for a time, they are afflicted with war, or famine and pestilence. No sooner is relief afforded than they return with renewed zest to their feasting, drinking, and pleasure, and God is forgotten.
How different is the effect upon the man of God. He hears the sound of coming rain and he knows it is no time for feasting with the world, but for drawing apart from men—to get alone with God at the top of the hill. When the world goes up to feast it is the time for God's people to go up to prayer. Nature might say, if there is the sound of abundance of rain there is no need to pray, but for the spiritual man it is a divine summons to prayer.
For prayer to be effectual, however, there are certain conditions with which we must comply. These come before us in this great scene. First, effectual prayer demands that we withdraw from the hurry and press of this world into holy retirement with God. Like Elijah we must go up to the top of the hill. As the Lord Himself instructs us, " When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father " (Matt. 6:66But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:6)). How often our prayers are unavailing for the lack of the " shut door." To be consciously in the presence of God we need to compose our spirits, call in our wandering thoughts, and shut the door on the world. Holy separation and retirement is the first great requisite for effectual prayer.
Then, again, we must take our true place in the dust before God, and this we see strikingly set forth in the prophet. Arrived at the top of the hill he goes down into the valley of humiliation. " He cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees." A few short hours before he had stood for God in the presence of the king, the false prophets and all the people of Israel, and the people had fallen upon their faces. Now, the false prophets are dead, the crowds have dispersed, and Elijah is left alone with God. At once he casts himself down upon the earth and hides his face. Before all Israel God will support and honor His servant, but, alone with God, he must learn his own nothingness in the presence of God's greatness. Then, he was witnessing for God before sinners, commanding king, prophets and people; now he is alone waiting upon God as a suppliant, and, as such, he, too, must remember that he is but dust, entirely dependent upon the mercy of God. " Behold, now," says Abraham, " I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes " (Gen. 18:2727And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: (Genesis 18:27)). An old divine has said, " The lower the heart descends the higher the prayer ascends. God accepts broken expressions when they come from broken hearts."
The story discloses to us another of the secrets of effectual fervent prayer. We must not only pray but " watch and pray." As the apostle exhorts us, " Persevere in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving " (Col. 4:22Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; (Colossians 4:2)). Again we read, " Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance " (Eph. 6:1818Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:18)). In Elijah's prayer we see this watching, for he said to his servant, " Go up now look toward the sea." And he went up and looked and said, " There is nothing." He watched, but at first he saw nothing. He heard the sound that summoned him to prayer, and he prayed, and he watched, but at first he sees nothing. How often it is thus with God's people today. They pray and watch thereunto, but for a time God sees fit to keep them waiting. God has lessons to teach us, and so for a while He may keep us waiting at His door. We watch to see God's hand at work, and lo, we see nothing. Is it not to teach us that nothing of God is seen because something of self fills our vision? We must learn our own nothingness before we see God at work. We think God will hear us because of the urgency of the case, the fervency of our prayers, the justness of our cause. But God keeps us waiting until we are conscious that, though before men we may indeed have a just cause, before God we are unworthy supplicants, having nothing to claim, but only God's grace to plead. Moreover, God will teach us that prayer is not some secret charm that we can use at any moment and forthwith obtain our requests, but that the power of prayer lies in the One to whom we pray.
But apart from cause of delay in ourselves, God has His time and His way of answering prayers. If then we pray and watch, and yet have to own with Elijah's servant, " There is nothing," what more can we do? This question receives a very definite answer from Elijah. He says, " Go again seven times." In other words, we must persevere. Not only does the apostle exhort us to pray, but to watch thereunto " with all perseverance." We cannot hurry God. We think of what is agreeable to ourselves; God thinks of what is for His glory and our profit.
In the light of this scene we may well challenge our hearts as to whether we are near enough to God to hear His summons to prayer, though all the world may be feasting? And are we prepared for the holy separation for prayer, for humiliation in prayer, and for watching thereunto with all perseverance?
These conditions complied with, may we not count upon an answer to prayer, even though to sight there is little or no sign of the coming blessing? It was thus with Elijah; his perseverance was rewarded. He knew his prayer was about to be answered, though to sight there was but " a little cloud " and that no bigger than " a man's hand." But behind the likeness of a man's hand faith could discern the hand of God. With the greatest confidence Elijah at once sends a message to Ahab saying, " Prepare thy chariot and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not." To natural sight there was no sign of rain: the sky was perfectly clear save for a little cloud no bigger than a man's hand. But faith knew that God was behind the cloud, and when God is working a little goes a long way. A handful of meal and a little oil with God, can feed a household for a full year. Five barley loaves and two small fishes with God can feed five thousand people, and a little cloud with God behind it can cover the whole heavens. So it came to pass that while Ahab was preparing his chariot " the heavens were black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain."
" And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel." But " the hand of the Lord was on Elijah." The hand
of the Lord was with the man who had been with God on the top of the hill. And when the hand of the Lord is upon a man, he will do all things rightly and at the right time. Guided by the Lord, Elijah had stood before the king to rebuke him for his idolatry, and now, still guided by the Lord, the prophet runs before the king to honor and maintain the authority of the king in the eyes of the people. Elijah is instructed to maintain what is due to God while showing the proper respect to man. In season he will manifest his fear of God, and in season he will honor the king.