Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man‟s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, „Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don‟t hurry, the rain will stop you!‟” - 1 Kings 18:43–44, NLT

Greetings Church,
When my sister Tammy and I would be demanding about something when we were kids; my mom would often shoot back at us, “I want my Maypo and I want it now!” Well, I never did ask her what Maypo was (I looked it up…cereal). During our January 21 day fast one of the many things that I realized about myself and our congregation is that because we work hard; because we are devoted; because we like to believe that we know what is best, that we, “Want our Maypo and we want it now!” But as I reflect on God’s good work in God’s good time, I wonder are we ready for everything we ask for “right now?!”
The fasting devotion for Week 2, Day 11(fumchomestead.org) addresses the very matter of the timing of answered prayer. If you desire, read I Kings 18. For three years there had not been rain in the land. Obadiah sent Ahab and others out to look for even a drink of water or green grass. Instead, Ahab found Elijah who was furious because the leaders and people had turned away from God to rely on the false gods of Baal. Af-ter an amazing display of faithfulness on Elijah’s part (you really must read this passage, I Kings 18), Elijah tells Ahaz’s servant to go to the edge of Mt. Carmel and look for rain. Seven times Elijah sends him. Finally, the tiny rain cloud is spotted! And so the devotion of day 11 of our fasting guide reads:
How do I know God is going to say „yes‟ to my prayers?” This is a common question many people have as they seek a confident prayer life. However, it‟s important to recognize that prayer is not just about the answer; it‟s also about glorifying God in the process of waiting for the answer. It is our responsibility to check our mo-tives and believe God hears us. We see an example of the process of prayer in this story of Elijah (1 Kings 18). Elijah climbed to the top of the mountain to pray for rain to come. As he waited for the rain, he continued to pray, believing God would answer. When he finally saw a small cloud, he told Ahab to get ready because the rain was coming. Elijah knew what to pray for and God heard him the first time he prayed. But there was preparation that needed to take place in order for Elijah to receive the answer to his prayer. Prayer is not just about the answer; it‟s also about glorifying God in the process of waiting for the answer. It is no mistake that God waited until Elijah had prayed seven times before He answered. In the Bible, seven represents comple-tion. In this story, seven represents the completion of God‟s process regarding Elijah‟s prayer request. God does not want merely to answer our prayers; He wants to spend time with us to prepare us for the answer that will come. Many times we want to skip over the process involved in engaging God in prayer as we wait for our answer. But it is this very process that works maturity in us and prepares us for the answers our prayers bring (James 1:4). R. A Torrey writes: The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came… Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory. As a congregation, can we bask in the joy of the process…waiting on the Lord to do His promised good will? In the church sometimes we will have to wait 5 minutes and other times we may have to wait a year or more…even a generation. Are you willing to be in ministry together for the long haul? Will you trust God to move the ministry when God says the time is right? I am!

 

With more love than you know…see ya’ Sunday! Joy, joy