A PROCESS OF COURAGE: PRAY

• DAY 270
• FAITH FILE: ELIJAH
• SCRIPTURES: I KINGS 18:20-40

And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

1 KINGS 18:36-37

Prayer is the life of courage. It is the beginning, sustenance, and crowning of every act of courage and life of faith. Remove prayer and courage will die a natural death. Without prayer the process is incomplete. You can choose the right time, repair the altar, remind God of His covenant, set things in order, and trust God to do the hard stuff but, at some point, you need to call on God. You need to make a request or ask God something.

Elijah did everything right but fire was not yet on the sacrifice. You would think that since God sent him on this thing, the moment he does his part, that’s it, fire falls but not quite. The plan here was that they would call on the one they believed. Baal’s prophets had called and failed and now Elijah has to do the same. Had fire just come down he would have been accused of some magic trick or something. It had to be clear to the people that their God hears, understands, and answers when we call. That He is not some dead, incapacitated diety on vacation, seeking blind worship. He is real, alive, and powerful. Elijah also needed them to know that prayer is powerful and important.

When we examine the prayer we find that it was not about him. He said, “God, I’m here on your behalf; this is what You sent me to do, I’m not doing this for me or for fun. I didn’t come here to show the people that I had the capacity to do magic, no. I came here because You sent me to turn their hearts to You, so come and show them that You are still their God.” He made the prayer about God and not about himself or what he can achieve. I believe that the most effective prayers are unselfish.

Beloved, prayer cannot be tossed aside and forgotten like it doesn’t matter because courage cannot exist without it. (and I mean all kinds of prayer). Your life is a process of faith and courage and these principles we have studied for the past few days are what you ought to live by.

Maintain a steady relationship with Him. Consider all He says and all He does so important that you take note of them and make them a memorial. Live according to the order he set before you. Trust Him with the hard stuff. Go with His timing for your life and pray always.

Shalom.