Elijah’s Story
Opening Video Illustration from sermonspice.com/sermoncentral.com “Elijah”
Thesis: Elijah gave all to serve God and to be His prophet to a lost generation. His story reminds us of how adversity drives us deeper into God and develops us into the man or women God wants us to be.
Quote: From Book by Kilpatrick - “Chariot of Fire”: “The story of Elijah is the story of Jezebel and the saga of Ahab. Elijah’s long fought war, and his spectacular rapture . . . both hinged on his victory over evil, a triumph that had to be personal before it could be national.”
Scripture texts: 1 Kings 16, 17, 18, 19; 2 Kings 1, 2
Key verses:
1 Kings 16:29-33: Ahab Becomes King of Israel
29In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.
30Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.
31He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.
32He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria.
33Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.
1 Kings 17:1-6: Elijah prophecies no rain to Ahab and he is led by the Lord to a place where he is fed by Ravens
1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
2Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:
3“Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.
4You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”
5So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.
6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
1 Kings 17: 7-24: The widow of Zarephath and her son (summary)
22The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.
23Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”
1 Kings 18:1, 2: Elijah returns with another word from the Lord for Ahab and confronts the sins of the nation and the problem of drought.
1After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”
2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
1 Kings 18:16-46: Elijah on Mount Carmel
16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the LORD’s commands and have followed the Baals.
19Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
21Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
22Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
23Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
24Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
26So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
28So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins.
31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”
32With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs£ of seed.
33He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.
35The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”
40Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
46The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
I Kings 19: 3-5; 10-18 Elijah afraid of Jezebel’s threat to kill him.
3Elijah was afraid£ and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
5Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
12After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
16Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
17Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
18Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”
2 Kings 2:1-12: Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
1When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
2Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “but do not speak of it.”
4Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “but do not speak of it.”
6Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.
7Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan.
8Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not.”
11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
12Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more.
Introduction:
Elijah’s ministry is primarily linked to the reign of Ahab and Jezebel in Israel. He is the prophet who God raises up to confront their wickedness.
To understand the times in which Elijah lived, we need to know a few more details.
The following from http://www.becomingcloser.org/elijah/elijah_the_prophet.html
The worship of Baal and Asherah (also Astarte, Astoreth and several other variants) is, for the most part, extinct. Since these are not common in our time, we need a little bit of explanation.
● Baal – is the primary male god of the Canaanite religion, centered around Sidon (from which Jezebel came). Worship of this god included such interesting features as infant sacrifice and cannibalism. Represented by the sun, he is the primary male symbol of fertility. He (and Asherah) give birth to 70 other gods who make up the pantheon of this worship style. The name is generic, and sometimes is applied to other, more particular gods.
● Asherah – is the primary female goddess of this religion. Her worship features included a host of temple prostitutes. She is represented by the moon. Lately, worship of this goddess has been revised by certain radical feminists groups. In her Babylonian guise, she is the root of much of the “New Age” worship. Here, we see her in a cruder form.
T.S. - Let’s explore the life of our super hero and learn a few life lessons about serving God in a society which has turned its back on God.
1. Elijah’s willingness and boldness to address sinful behavior (1 Kings 17:1-6).
a. The prophetic word to King Ahab
i. You are doing evil and the Lord whom I serve is sending judgment on you and the nation for their sin.
1. “Drought is coming until the Lord says different!”
2. Here this word America!
ii. Prophetic Words: The role of the prophet from http://www.becomingcloser.org/elijah/elijah_the_prophet.html
1. Prophecy, especially in the Old Testament, has two functions:
a. The prophet is to foretell – In the sense of predicting the future condition, or telling of the coming messiah, or specific words to a city or kingdom about judgment. Foretelling by a prophet always carries an “if” –“if you don’t repent, …”
b. The prophet is to forthtell – to proclaim wickedness for what it is. In this day when everything is relative and there is no absolute truth, some may think this quaint, at best. But the prophet has no choice; this is God’s work for the prophet.
i. The key to the character of the prophet is this: God does not hide his intentions from the prophet, but rather uses him to proclaim those intentions to the world.
iii. Elijah’s approach: It’s instructive to see Elijah’s approach: He did not go to the people and tell them of the impending drought. He is not to be a political rabble-rouser, or form a political party. He went instead to the source of the problem, the king.
T.S. – Elijah is raised up by God to confront the wicked king and to open the eyes to their rejection of God’s way. Elijah delivers God’s message and then God provides for him with nature and with another individual.
2. Elijah’s faith and trust in God’s provision(1 Kings 17: 3-24):
a. He allows God to led him to a brook where he is fed by the birds
i. He does as he is instructed and God provides
1. He also needed to learn God’s providence. The ravens brought him no stockpile; he learned to live from one meal to the next.
2. I suspect he also learned the difference between necessity and desire. The prophets of Baal probably dined in higher style than Elijah. Elijah was fed as befits a servant of God, not in luxury but in necessity.
b. He is able to hear Gods voice of where to go next.
i. The brook dries up from the drought and he does not panic he instead listens for the voice of the Lord.
c. He hitches up with the widow and provides for all of them
i. He meets the widow and God provides
d. He calls to God and God heals her son
i. He hears her pain and sorrow and cries out to God.
ii. She acknowledges that he is a prophet of truth not lies.
iii. His God is the real deal – He is a prophet of truth
1. “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”
T.S. – Elijah is summoned by God again to re-confront the wicked King about the drought and who is to blame for all the trouble Israel is facing.
3. Elijah’s courage and showdown with the false prophets and beliefs (1 Kings 18:1, 2):
a. He listens to God to go confront the King again
i. It is obvious through Obadiah’s response that King Ahab wants Elijah’s head.
1. Obadiah is in fear and trembling.
ii. The King blames Elijah for the drought but does not take responsibility for his sin.
1. He blames the messenger of God for God’s judgment of sin
b. Elijah wants a showdown with the false prophets of Baal
i. They meet on Mt Carmel for the showdown (1 Kings 18:16-45)
1. They cut themselves and do their rituals but no fire.
2. Elijah mocks them to show how foolish they are.
a. Where is your so-called God
i. Maybe he is?
3. Elijah puts water on his sacrifice
4. Elijah prays to God
a. Remember the people of Israel are watching to see who is worshipping the real God.
b. 36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
5. Fire comes down and consumes the sacrifice
6. The people are called on to destroy the false prophets and to return to God
7. Elijah becomes the victor – Israel’s eyes are opened but only for a moment!
T.S. – Elijah confronts the false prophets/priests and God sends fire to show that he is the true God and then as quickly as the victory happens Jezebel puts a bounty on Elijah’s head and he runs for his life as a fugitive.
4. Elijah’s reaction to death threats and stress (1 Kings 19:1-18):
a. He is afraid and on the run for his life.
i. God knew his man; Elijah is a man who calls down fire – but just afterwards he will run for his life.
1. He is like many of us!
ii. But did he not just do a great miracle and witness the power of God.
iii. He becomes suicidal – fear is distorting his thinking.
1. Murder is all around, evil seems to be winning!
2. The Queen is out for blood!
iv. He runs away, hides, and wants to die.
b. Notice how God responds to his hero – he does not beat him up – he feeds him and lets him rest up!
i. You are exhausted eat!
ii. Be encouraged I am in control!
iii. He appears to him a couple times to renew his vision and his faith.
c. Elijah runs - heads to the Mt. Horeb to the mountain of God to get encouraged!
i. The Lord appears to Him to lift him up!
1. Elijah has a divine visitation!
2. 1 Kings 19:11a, “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by…”
a. Highlight verse 11b, 12, 13: “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
12After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
ii. Elijah hears the whisper of God
1. Bill Hybel’s book: The Power of the Whisper
a. Throughout history God has spoken. For millennia, he has forged his children’s faith by promising parted waters, empowering unlikely leaders, declaring world-changing prophecies-and imparting last-minute sermons to pastors who questioned whether he really would deliver. In short, our God is communicating God. Always has been, and always will be. And if there is one story in Scripture that goes to great lengths to prove this point, it’s the story of Elijah, the prophet described in 1 Kings as a man who was ‘zealous for God.’ There comes a point in Elijah’s remarkable ministry when his zealotry has fizzled to zero. He is ready to call it quits. “I’ve been working my heart out,” he says to God, and for what? “The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me. Elijah felt undone, and perhaps the only thing that could improve his mood was a firsthand encounter with God. As the story goes, Elijah trekked into the desert and eventually collapsed from exhaustion under the shade of a tree…but eventually he ended up at Horeb…On Mount Horeb that day, Creator convened with creation, and one man’s life was forever changed. Regardless of what else Elijah might have later told his friends about this encounter-and about God himself-undoubtedly he had been a witness to two attributes at the very core of who God is: he’s relational and he is near. He is all-powerful, yes. He is righteous and holy too. He is sovereign, he majestic, he is magnificent, he is just. But what stunned Elijah on the side of the mountain-and what will stun you somebody if it hasn’t already-is that the same God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all everything, yearns to be in relationship with us. The God of the Scriptures is irrepressibly communal, hopelessly familial, and his whispers are still ours to hear” (Hybels, page 40-42).
iii. Have you ever heard the whisper of God in the midst of the storms of life?
1. That still quiet voice in the midst of a horrendous day.
a. Life is crashing in all around you but God is there.
b. Illustration: On January 17, 1994, 10,000 freight trains seemed to be thundering through our house as the Northridge earthquake hit Los Angeles. When it was over, our family was safe and our home virtually untouched. Yet in the days following the disaster, I was gripped with a fear I had never known. After four days, I desperately sought God in prayer. "Lord, I can’t understand myself! I am not afraid for my life, and I am not in doubt of your presence and protection. Is there something wrong with me?" Instantly, I sensed an inner whisper: My son, there is nothing wrong with you. I allowed you to experience the depth of the trauma and fear that has gripped multitudes so that you might comfort them beyond their fears. It was the words of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. God uses his children who have endured difficulty to become strength to others experiencing the same trial. We comfort others not from the foundation of our superior faith, but from the commonality of our mutual struggles. From Preaching Today - Comforting Others Through Mutual Struggles
Jack Hayford, How to Live Through a Bad Day: Powerful Insights from Christ’s Words on the Cross (Thomas Nelson) | posted 11/11/2002
2. That quiet whisper in the midst of despair that says “I am here!”
a. Just rest and I will take care of you!
3. In the midst of overwhelming grief that quiet voice blows into your ears and into your hearts and says “I love you, it will be okay!”
4. Maybe you hear it in the midst of a busy street with all the traffic rushing by.
a. You walk by countless people with faces expressing, stress, tiredness, happiness, hurriedness, fear, hopelessness, business like, emotionless and the like.
5. Maybe it’s in the moment of praise and worship on a Sunday morning.
6. I remember some of the times when God whispered to me and it resonated in my heart and life.
a. In my pickup truck on my way home from work.
b. The times in my office when all is quiet.
7. God’s whispers have they come to you in the middle of the night?
a. Like, “I am calling you Mike home to pastor again!” “Don’t be afraid – preach my word with boldness and clarity.”
d. Elijah is renewed he goes back and does as the Lord instructed him and once again confronts Ahab over the stealing of the vineyard and pronounces judgment on him from the Lord.
i. See 1 Kings 21:17-29
T.S. - Elijah is a different person encouraged by a vision of the Lord he returns to confront the king and queen again over their evil doings.
5. Elijah’s perseverance to fulfill his calling for God (2 Kings 1;2:1-12)
a. Elijah and the captains men
i. Notice – Elijah is no longer afraid but is secure in God and deal with each captain and his men.
b. The trust factor
i. He does not run and hide, because he has learned to completely trust in God’s provision.
c. Shortly their after it is time to go home
i. The whirlwind of fire comes and he is whisked away to heaven.
ii. The passing of the baton to Elisha then happens.
Conclusion:
Scripture Prophecy about Elijah: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse “(Malachi 4:5-6).
The prophecy of the Spirit of Elijah:
In summary, the spirit of Elijah will fall on five men in the history of time: Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist, a man with a ministry of restoration, and one of two prophets who will appear before Israel in the last days.
Characteristic Elijah Elisha John
1) A man of the wilderness, without social status. II Kings 1:8 I Kings 19:21 Matthew 3:4
2) Raised the dead I Kings 17:24
I Kings 17:22 II Kings 4:34 Fulfilled by Jesus
3) Guided by Angels I Kings 19:5 II Kings 6:17 Luke 1:13
4) Spoke with the Lord, I Kings 19:13 II Kings 8:10 Matthew 3:15
5) Hated by fashionable women. I Kings 19:2 unknown Matthew 14:8
6) Prophecy came to pass II Kings 10:10 (II Kings 2:21)
Mark 1:7-8
7) Controlled nature I Kings 17:1
II Kings 2:8 II Kings 2:14
II Kings 8:1 Fulfilled by Jesus
8) Preached the Word of the Lord. I Kings 18:18 II Kings 7:1 Matthew 3:1
9) Condemned idolatry. I Kings 18:25 II Kings 3:14 Matthew 3:2
10) Helped widows in need. I Kings 17:15-16 II Kings 4:1 Fulfilled by Jesus
11) Prophesied destruction. I Kings 21:19,23 II Kings 8:12 Fulfilled by Jesus
12) Identified with fire from heaven. II Kings 1:10
I Kings 18:38 II Kings 6:17 No
13) Preached against immoral women. I Kings 21:25 Unknown Matthew 14:3
14) Emotional I Kings 19:4 II Kings 2:24-25 Luke 7:20
15) Prophesied of children No II Kings 4:8 No
16) Healed the sick/blind No II Kings 5:10 Fulfilled by Jesus
17) Revealed unknown secrets I Kings 21:19 II Kings 6:12 Fulfilled by Jesus
18) Identified as Elijah I Kings 17:1 II Kings 2:15 Matthew 11:14
From http://en.believethesign.com/index.php?title=Elijah_the_Prophet
Elijah (Greek: Elias) was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC who raised the dead, called fire from heaven, preached against idolatry, and ascended into heaven in a whirlwind…The prophet Malachi prophesied of Elijah’s return before the "great and dreadful day of the LORD" (Malachi 4:5b) with a specific mission to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6a). This return is a sign that many Jews and Christians await as an indication of the soon coming of the Messiah.
Application point: “God throughout the life of this prophet is shaping the man Elijah to do great things, and he is doing so by adversity and Elijah completes the call and perseveres to the end.”
Thoughts from Jesus Culture Seminar this week: Praying for Chicago
When you become a spiritual leader you give your whole life to him, the cost is everything, when you say “Yes,” “You in essence say everything I have is yours Lord.”
Example: Jesus Culture seminar quote from Banning: “Tithing are you kidding me, it all belongs to Him. When you give everything then you get all of Jesus. Not just 10%!”
In the News: Prayer on Saturday called for by Gov. of Texas – Houston prayer meeting had 30,000 in attendance and 80,000 listened in by the internet to participate.
