Elijah’s Example: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Prayer

Devotional From The Sermon: Healing Prayers

Rev. Rev. Dr. Bankole Akinbinu

Reading: 1 Kings 18:41-45

Devotional:

Elijah was not a superhuman figure operating on a level of faith unavailable to ordinary believers. He was a man who struggled with fear, battled depression, and knew seasons of deep weariness. Yet he prayed, and heaven responded. He prayed again, and heaven opened. What made Elijah effective in prayer was not the absence of weakness but the presence of persistent, God-directed faith. He did not stop at one prayer and declare it unanswered. He pressed in, kept looking, kept believing, and refused to conclude that God was silent simply because the answer had not yet appeared. This is the invitation extended to you. Press in. Keep praying. The cloud is coming.

Personal Reflection: 

• Have you given up on a prayer that God may still be answering?
• What would it look like for you to pray with the persistent, expectant faith that Elijah demonstrated?

Practical Application: Return today to a prayer you have abandoned or grown weary of praying. Bring it before God with renewed faith. Remind yourself that the size of the initial sign does not determine the magnitude of what God is about to do. A cloud the size of a man’s hand became a downpour. Do not despise small beginnings in prayer.