December 10
The Continual Burnt Offering" E lijah 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."
Helpful indeed are the lessons which the Holy Spirit has presented for us in the record of Elijah’s life. In some respects he was the greatest of all the prophets from Moses until John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11). He appears suddenly upon the page of Scripture with his amazing declaration to King Ahab, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1). Both the message and the confidence with which it was delivered were the result of a life of prayer. He had learned how to prevail with God, and his prayer shut and opened the heavens in accordance with the will of the Lord. This is most suggestive. Prayer does not cause God to change His mind, but the man who lives in fellowship with Him is guided to pray in accordance with His will. Such prayer is sure to be answered (1 John 5:14-15).
We must learn to know God in secret if we would be courageous for Him in public. The three years that Elijah spent in retirement, proving God’s faithfulness by the brook Cherith and in the widow’s home at Zarephath, gave him a background of practical experience that was of inestimable value when he had to face Ahab and the prophets of Baal. It was because he knew God that he dared to witness for Him so boldly.
Service is good when He asks it,
Labor is right in its place,
But there is one thing better—
Looking up into His face.
—Annie Johnson Flint