"The Life-Changing Power Of Prayer”

It has been said about prayer that “Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes me.” Indeed, God uses prayer to teach us some things about ourselves to reveal things to us that can change our lives for the better.

This is what God used prayer to do for Elijah. Through prayer, God changed Elijah from being a victim to being a victor.

1. Elijah started out in a bad place - vs. 1-4

Elijah was in a bad place, and God wanted him to recognize it. So God asked Elijah a question, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v. 9).

How did Elijah get to this bad place?

A. He was paralyzed by fear - vs. 1-3a

Verse 3 says that “Elijah was afraid.” What kind of fear crippled Elijah? The same kinds of fears that can cripple you and me.

1) Fear of the unknown - Elijah bravely faced the prophets of Baal because God had clearly spoken to him and he simply followed God’s instructions. But now, he had no idea what to do next.

2) Fear of failure - Although he had just experienced a great victory over the prophets of Baal, he feared that he might end up a failure in the future.

3) Fear of man - To be threaten by the king and queen intimidated Elijah.

B. He had isolated himself from others - v. 3b-4a

We can do the same when we’re plagued by fear, worry and anxiety. This is why when one of our brothers of sisters in Christ start missing the fellowship of the church, we need to check on them. Often, the pressures of life are causing them to isolating themselves from others.

C. He had adopted a victim mentality - vs. 4b

Elijah decided that he wanted to die, he had isolated himself from others, and had given in to his fears. That is how he had got into a bad place. Yet, despite all the wrong things Elijah had done, he did one thing right, he prayed! And that is what we need to do whenever we find that we’ve gotten ourselves in a bad place, we need to pray!

And notice how Elijah was honest in his prayer. Elijah asked to die. He told God what was on his heart, and we should do the same.

“Don’t worry about having the right words; worry more about having the right heart. It’s not eloquence he seeks, just honesty.” - Max Lucado

2. How Elijah started moving out of that bad place - vs. 5-14

God called Elijah to go on a literal journey to get to a place where God would give him the word he needed. In the same way, when we pray, God often calls us to a spiritual journey to get to a place where God can give us the word we need.

Elijah was call to persevere in his seeking after God and sometimes, God requires us to persevere in our seeking after Him in prayer.

“Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.” - Matthew 7:7-8 (Amplified)

Why does God call us to persevere in prayer? Because prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. You see, prayer isn’t about our overcoming God’s reluctance, but it’s about God overcoming our unreadiness. God was going to move Elijah out of the bad place he was in, but to do that, there were some things He needed to do in Elijah’s life through the process of prayer to get him ready to move on to a good place, the place where God wanted him. By the way, where ever God wants me to be is the best place for me to be!

So, in order to get Elijah where God wanted him to be, required a 40 day journey. In the same way, to get us to where God wants us to be sometimes requires 40 days or more of persisting prayer! Why? To get us in a position to receive God’s answer to our prayer.

It’s been said that there are 3 ways God can answer our prayers: Yes, No, or Wait a while. When he tells us to “wait a while,” it is to prepare us to receive the answer he has for us, whether it be “Yes or No.”

Sometimes, God needs to prepare us to receive His “Yes” answer. But more often than not, He needs to prepare us to receive His “No” answer. This was the case with Elijah. God’s answer to Elijah’s request that he be allowed to die was a “No” answer. God had other things for him to do, but He had to prepare Elijah to receive God’s “No” answer.