Effective Prayer

As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word. (1 Kings 17:1)

This verse has been a puzzle for most who have read 1 Kings. Abruptly, Elijah comes out of Gilead[1] onto the scene and announces to King Ahab of Israel that there will not be rain until the prophet shall announce it. That is some serious chutzpah. How does he get away with it? Input from preachers and commentators in my past have stated that Elijah was probably associated with a school of prophets, and YHWH picked him out to deliver the message. The answer is reasonable, since both factors are within the realm of possibility for the time. The problem is that neither is stated in the narrative. We begin with points that can be deduced.

First, Elijah had a good understanding of Torah. Drought was one judgment that could be brought on the people for idolatry.

Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you. (Deuteronomy 11:16-17)

The northern kingdom had been following false gods since the days of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, however King Ahab was described as worse than all before him (1 Kings 16:30-33). Drought would have been the proper punish.

Second, the drought had already started. Both Luke 4:25 and James 5:17 state the drought at this time lasted three years and six months. Compare this with 1 Kings 18:1 which states that in the third year Elijah was to go up again, and rain was promised. The drought had been going for a minimum of six months at the first appearance before Ahab.[2]

The question still remains: what caused Elijah to shamelessly make his initial pronouncement? Maybe the answer is simply that he was a man of faith. He acted based on the certain promises of the God coupled with an understanding of the time. Men of faith do this. Several examples come to mind--David, David's chief mighty men, Daniel and his three friends, and the apostles. The difficulty comes in making some kind of application of this faith-living. History is replete with those who would falsely lead people astray by promising that a certain type of lifestyle would allow the power of God to move so that the extraordinary would occur in the believer's life. What is the dividing line between faith and presumption?

The answer has already been given. The Bible tells us what the Lord's desire is and explains in great detail those things that are in accordance with his will. We must pray accordingly. James 4:3 explains that we "ask and do not receive, because [we] ask wrongly," i.e., we pray for what we want. We would be more effective by praying for what the Lord Almighty wants. Elijah was no different than we. He prayed fervently, believing the word of God, and the Lord withheld the rain. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16b)

[1] Central part of the territory east of the Jordan extending from the Sea of Galilee in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. After the Israelite conquest it was divided between the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh (Deut. 3:12–13). See Avraham Negev, The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land (3rd ed.; New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1996, c1990).

[2] See Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), 1 Ki 17:1.