The Prayer from Elijah’s Heart (1 Kings 18:36-37)

This sermon was preached on 21/2/2013

There are several prayers recorded in the life of Elijah and each of them has lessons for us. We have already seen his prayers about the onset of the drought and his prayer for the dead son of the widow of Zarephath. In this incident at Carmel, there are two prayers by Elijah, one before the sacrifice is offered and the other when he prays later for rain. We will look at his prayer for rain next time, but for now we will consider his other prayer made when he offered the sacrifice. 

The first prayer that he offered comes under the category of public prayer (it was made in the presence of the crowd) and the second would be classified as private prayer. Regarding the public prayer, what stands out immediately is its shortness whereas the private prayer was more prolonged. It is also interesting, I think, that the public prayer was answered far sooner than his private prayer, but whether anything can be deduced from that distinction, I cannot say.

Arthur Pink commented on the shortness of Elijah’s prayer in this way: ‘One of the many evils engendered by lengthy prayers in the pulpit is the discouraging of simple souls in the pew: they are apt to conclude that if their private devotions are not sustained at length, then the Lord must be withholding from them the spirit of prayer. If any of our readers be distressed because of this, we would ask them to make a study of the prayers recorded in Holy Writ – in Old and New Testaments alike – and they will find that almost all of them are exceedingly short ones. The prayers which brought such remarkable responses from Heaven were like this one of Elijah’s: brief and to the point, fervent but definite. No soul is heard because of the multitude of his words, but only when his petitions come from the heart, are prompted by a longing for God’s glory, and are presented in childlike faith.’

The powerful name of God

In his prayer, we can see his confidence in the covenant God of Israel. Elijah realised that he should pray to God in the manner in which he had revealed himself. It would have been wrong for Elijah not to do so. God loved to be addressed in the specific way by which he had shown himself to Moses at the burning bush before he was informed that he would lead the enslaved nation of Israel out of Egypt – as the LORD (Exod. 3). 

Let us think about how some of the details connected to this divine name that was revealed to Moses. One important aspect is that it stresses the eternity of God – he is ‘I am that I am’ or ‘I will be what I will be’. He is without beginning and without end. It is impossible for us to understand what eternity means, but we can grasp that it points to the uniqueness of God, a feature of his greatness. Ahab, the most powerful human there, was a creature of few years; the large crowd, whatever their particular ages, would one day all be gone from this life. But God will always be there.

A second detail connected to this divine name is his covenant faithfulness. The Lord himself here refers back to what he had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It would have been easy for the Israelite slaves to assume that the Lord had forgotten them. If they had done so, they would have been guilty of walking by faith, not by sight. It was his covenant faithfulness that enabled Israel to come into existence as a nation at the Exodus. What other hope could have been given to Israel during the reign of Ahab? None but the Lord of the covenant!

A third feature of the Lord is that he can be present in his glory and holiness and yet not overwhelm his creature. Is that not the message of the burning bush? Such a bush was usually very fragile and it was common for them to burn in the hot desert sun. Of course, usually when they were burned they were destroyed. In contrast, the Lord can draw near and not destroy. Moses was a sinner, yet as long as he met the divine instructions about drawing near he was able to do so. Yahweh is a God of greatness and gentleness.

Connected to that aspect is a fourth feature and that is the ability of the Lord to use what is weak and fragile. As we have mentioned, a bush in the desert was not strong. Moses was an old man of eighty when God spoke to him on that occasion. Elijah on Mount Carmel was, as James says, a man like us, subject to all the weaknesses of human nature. Yet he was aware that his Lord, his covenant God, could use him as an effective servant. 

A fifth feature of this divine name is that it stresses the sympathy of God for his suffering people. At the time he met with Moses, the Lord was aware of what was happening to Israel in Egypt, of how they were being treated by their cruel masters. He had his plan for delivering them, but it was a plan that involved them becoming a worshipping people, especially at the gathering with him that he planned at Mount Sinai. His sympathy was not merely a desire to free them from their problems, but it also included an intention to lead them into a situation in which they would achieve the goal of their existence, which is to worship the Lord. And here is Elijah, and he wants God’s people to return to worshipping the Lord in the way that they should.

There is a sixth feature of this divine name which is that the Lord is a God of victory over his enemies. Behind the power of Egypt and her idols were the demonic authorities who influenced what was happening there. The Lord would engage in a battle with them and overpower them through the ten plagues. Elijah, too, was the Lord’s representative as he, as God’s prophet, faced the demonic powers behind the system of Baal. In himself, Elijah could not do anything, but the Lord could do anything through his servant. Carmel was another battlefield where the Lord obtained a great victory and brought further glory to his name by defeating his enemies.

No doubt, there are other aspects to this wonderful name of God. Yet we know that it is not the primary name by which we address the Lord. Because of the coming of Jesus, we know that we interact with the triune God. Each of the three divine persons possesses the features that we have observed marked the name Lord, but each of them acts in specific ways on behalf of the kingdom of God. Thinking about the Trinity is a vast project, but although it is vast it is also straightforward because all we have to do is observe what we are told about each of them in the New Testament. We are familiar with the distinction about their involvement in the plan of salvation – the Father elects, the Son redeems, and the Spirit regenerates. But that is only one aspect. For example, we could also think of how they act with regard to each spiritual blessing. Take adoption. The Father adopts us into his family, Jesus becomes our Brother, and the Spirit gives to each of his people a sense of belonging (the cry of ‘Abba, Father’).

In prayer, we can address each and all of the members of the Trinity. Does Paul not suggest this when he begins his letters by getting his readers to think about what they can receive from the Father and the Son (although the Spirit is not mentioned, he is not absent because he is the one who will convey the spiritual blessings to us). Of course, we have to watch that their names don’t become mere slogans and meaningless jargon in our prayers. Personally, I think we should aim to include each of them in our regular prayers, but there will be occasions when we will be led by the Spirit to address one of them in particular. For example, often at the Lord’s Table we will speak to the Lord Jesus.

A passion for the glory of God

It is also clear from Elijah’s prayer that he had a burning passion for the glory of God. He wanted the Lord’s name to be known once again in Israel. As a prophet he had no interest in seeing the Lord’s name despised. Neither does the Lord. When we make such a plea it goes straight from our heart to his. He does all things for his own glory.

How can we express such a passion today? Surely the most important way is by focussing on the gospel. The gospel is all about the glory of God. We don’t focus on his glory as we should if we only concentrate on his abilities as a Creator – on a far lower level this is like describing David Livingstone as only an explorer and missing out that he was also a preacher of the gospel. 

Nor do we focus on his glory as we should if we only concentrate on how civil authorities should relate to his laws – it is important that we remind them of what he as the Lawgiver requires. Not so long ago, it was the case that the Ten Commandments were recognised in our national life. Yet we cannot say that repentance marked our society – indeed, apart from a few isolated places, there had been a departure from God and a failure to spread the gospel for almost two centuries. And we are seeing the consequences.

Paul describes the gospel in these words in 2 Corinthians 4:4: ‘In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.’ And in 1 Timothy 1:11, he writes: ‘in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.’ The gospel is all about divine glory.

Spurgeon, in preaching on 2 Corinthians 4:4 describes how Paul had grasped this vision of the glory of the gospel: ‘Paul was a man of one idea. The gospel of Christ had saturated his soul as the dew saturated Gideon’s fleece. He could think of nothing else, and speak of nothing else, but the glory of Christ crucified. Important events in politics transpired in the apostle’s day, but I cannot remember an allusion to them. Great social problems were to be solved, but his one and only solution was the preaching of that great Saviour who is to cleanse the Aegean stables of the world. For Paul there was but one thing worth living for, and that one thing was worth dying for. He did not count even his life dear unto him that he might win Christ, and be found in him. Hence his spirits rose or sank according to the prosperity or decline of the kingdom of Christ. When he writes an epistle, his mood varies according to the spiritual condition of the people to whom he writes. If their faith growth exceedingly, and if from them sounds forth the word of God, then is he jubilant in his tone; but if they are declining in grace, if there are divisions among them, if false doctrine is ravaging them like a wolf in the sheep-fold, then he is solemn in spirit, and he writes with a heavy hand.’

Spurgeon continued: ‘To Paul the gospel was always a glorious gospel. He never had dim views of its excellence. He never spoke of it as though it stood in doubtful competition with Judaism, or heathenism, or the philosophies of the Stoics and the Epicureans. These things were but dross to him in comparison with the “much fine gold” of the gospel. He spoke of it in glowing terms: he felt it to be a great privilege and responsibility to be put in trust with it, and to be allowed to preach it. It was the joy of his heart to live upon it himself, and it was his one aim to proclaim it to others. “The glorious gospel of the blessed God” was his one absorbing science, and he determined to know nothing else. O you that are beginning to think lightly of the old gospel, and dream that it is becoming powerless, may the Spirit that rested upon the apostle rest on you, till you also shall perceive the glory of the divine method of grace, and shall speak of it fervently as “the glorious gospel of Christ”!’

We have often heard about the passion of Henry Martyn for the glory of Christ. On one occasion, as he observed some Hindus engaging in worship, he wrote: ‘This excited more horror in me than I can express.... I could not endure existence if Jesus was not glorified, it would be hell to me.’ Elijah would understand that outlook.

A longing for divine endorsement

Further, in his prayer he longs for public endorsement of his role as God’s servant. When he makes this request he is not asking for personal congratulations. Instead he knows that he has spoken God’s Word faithfully and he is very burdened that his message will have fruitful effects. Otherwise, what is the point of his ministry? He does not want to have only a ministry of condemnation. The vindication he wants is that through his message God’s people will return to him.

Therefore he prays that repentance would be given to the people of Israel. He wanted their hearts to be turned, not to him, but turned back to their God whom they had left. Even although they had fallen so badly, he knew that his gracious, covenant God could restore them. His longing for divine endorsement flowed from a heart of love for a backsliding people.

But how did he pray? We see in his prayer the element of urgent pleading (v. 37). Twice, it is said, that he urged God to do something. Prayer is not having a chat with God about things. Instead it must be a very emotional activity. Worship must involve our emotions, gratitude is an emotion, confession of sin must involve our emotions, and petition-making must involve the emotion of desire. Furthermore, pleading is arguing that God will keep his promise and answer our petitions. Pleading is letting God know why we want him to answer our prayers. 

We are allowed by God, as Richard Pratt, puts it to ‘build a case before God in prayer’. He points out that in doing so we are not informing God of anything he does not know already. The obvious benefit of making such a case is that we will spend longer in prayer. Thinking about why God should answer our prayers also is a method of thinking about God. Elijah here gives two reasons –first, that the people would know that the Lord is God and, second, that they would know that it was God who had turned their hearts back to him.

His prayer was heard and fire came down from heaven and consumed the offering, the altar and the water in the trench. The people could not ignore such a sign and immediately began a communal affirmation of the uniqueness of God. They showed their repentance by immediately getting rid of the prophets of Baal – Elijah slew then because God’s Word told him to do so. Whether it was a lasting repentance for all the crowd, only the Day of Judgement will reveal. Yet it was a moment of triumph in the story of God’s kingdom.