“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 earth for three years and six months.” (James 5:17)
Do you remember the story about Elijah and King Ahab in 1 Kings 17? Elijah told King Ahab that it would not rain. How did Elijah know that God would answer his prayer for it not to rain? Maybe because he knew Deuteronomy 11:13-17.
Deuteronomy 11:13-17 contains some of God’s promises and instructions for Israel before they enter the Promised Land. God says to them: if you listen to God’s commandments to love and serve him with all your heart and soul, He will give you rain “in his due season,” so you can gather in the crops you have planted. He will also send grass to your fields for your cattle, so you can eat and be full. He warns, however, that you need to pay attention so that you are not deceived into serving and worshipping other gods. If you serve and worship other gods, the Lord will be angry and He will “shut up the heaven, that there be no rain,” Then your crops will not grow, and you will die “quickly” in “the good land which the Lord giveth you.”
Read 1 Kings 16:30-33. Who was King Ahab serving? The Bible says that “he reared up an altar for Baal.” God was not going to answer his prayers, because he was worshipping a false god named Baal. Instead, He answered Elijah’s prayer, because Elijah worshipped and served God with his whole heart.
God wants to answer the prayers of those who worship and serve Him with their whole heart.
My Response:
» Do I expect God to answer my prayers when I’m worshipping things or people other than God?