Prayer Requires Faith

"As the Lord God lives..." (I Kings 17:1)

Those were the first words that the prophet Elijah spoke to the wicked King Ahab as he prepared to tell him that it would not rain in Israel until he said so. Elijah was convinced of the reality of the one true and living God. In fact, faith begins with the confidence that the opening words of the Bible are true.
"In the beginning, God..." If you believe in the reality of the living God, the rest is downhill from there.

James 5 tells us that Elijah prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain for 3 1/2 years. When Elijah stood before Ahab again, he pointed out that the rain had been withheld because of the wickedness the king had led God's people into. You remember in I Kings 18 there was the real show down between the prophets of Baal and Elijah, and God had responded with fire that consumed the offering.

Here is what I want you to see. Elijah then told Ahab to get ready because "there is the sound of the abundance of rain."The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. The sun was shining bright. All of the evidence suggested 'no rain'. But Elijah's eyes were not on the sky, but on God. Elijah began to pray, and six times he had sent a servant to look, and the sky was as clear as it could be. But the seventh time, it says, "Behold a cloud as small as a man's hand is coming up from the sea."

When you pray for rain, can you hear the sound of its coming, even when the sky is clear? When you pray 7 times and finally see only a small cloud in the distance, can you still trust God? Jesus said, when you pray, believe. Now, do not misunderstand. Prayer that is wishful and not based on the promises of God's Word is merely presumption. But when God has promised, trust Him to do what He has said.