Jun 18thDevotion 1 Kings 17:7-24 Living An Unbelievably Good Life Part 6

1 Kings 17:7-24 – Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”  12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”  13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”  15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.  17 Sometime later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”  19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”  22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah 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!”  24 Then 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.”

““Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!””  Elijah was as surprised as the widow.  He knew what to do and immediately went into action.  He did what he always did, He turned to God.  He took the boy to his room, away from the eyes of the curious, and cried out to His God for the life of the boy.  Elijah had been living with this little family and we can safely assume that He had grown to love this boy.  His heart was pierced for the sake of the widow.  The boy was her last treasure on earth and now he was gone.  Elijah instantly pleaded with God to bring the boy back to her.

He took the boy to a private place to pray for him.   This time it was a physically private place.  It is good is we have a place, or places, to get alone and be with God.  Yet, sometimes we need a private conversation with God and don’t have physical privacy at the moment.  After pursuing God on a regular and persistent basis, one learns how to “be in the Spirit.”  It is possible to take a breath, clear the mind, and to be instantly in His presence (here, without explanation to those who would cry out “God is omnipresent so we are always in His presence).  Seek God in a private place until we are in His presence, with location being a secondary consideration.  Alone with God, riches flow from His eternal and majestic being into our soul.  We are in His presence and changed by it.   Even when being physically in a public place we can be alone with God in a very intimate way.  Once we know the path, it is easy to find, the Way is within.  Travel the path often and the destination will never fail to delight the soul.

It is easy to see that Elijah prayed, stretched himself out on the boy, and continued in prayer, and then to think that if we do the same thing, then we can pray for the dead and they will rise.  This is similar to being at the beach, watching the sun rise and having the presence of the Lord engulf us.  It is a human tendency to then later return to that exact spot expecting the same experience, only to be disappointed.  It is not the place that blessed us but the presence of the Lord.  So we do not need a specific place to be in God’s presence, we need to seek God’s presence with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13), from within our heart, and we will find it.  He must be the treasure of our lives, and if being with Him is our treasure, our heart will remain there forever in the present with Him.  (Matthew 6:21)  Communion with God can be a perpetual present if we truly desire that.  Like we can be sad from worldly circumstances while never losing our joy in the Lord, so our conscious mind can be pre-occupied with present tasks while our spirit remains in the presence of God.

Elijah prayed three times.  He didn’t pray once, he prayed three times before the Lord answered his prayer for the boy.  Be persistent, but also listen for the Lord and watch for His guidance.  The Apostle Paul prayed three times to be relieved from a “thorn in his flesh.”  He was listening and watching for the answer.  He got the answer, and it was not what he had asked for, but he accepted it and he learned that the thorn was a blessing.  (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)  The point is that praying three times is not the solution to having our prayers answered as we have prayed.  Rather the point is to yes, be persistent, but no, do not be formulaic.  Reaching God is not a matter of being at a certain physical space or doing certain physical exercises, it is seeking God with all our heart and when we do, He has promised us that we will find Him. (Deuteronomy 4:29, Proverbs 8:17, Acts 17:24-28) The only method to being in the presence of God is to seek Him and once we find Him, to remember the path and spend as much time as we can with Him.  For us His door is always open.  We are family.  We are welcome.  Our company is desired.  When our hearts, or our minds, need peace, it is found through knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord.  He said He left His peace with us.  (John 14:27)  Since that peace come from the Lord, no-one and nothing can halt our reception of that flow of peace.  No-one but us can halt our reception of it.  We cannot stop the flow to us from the throne, but we can turn away from it, like a patient who will not open his mouth to receive sustenance. We need not be afraid or troubled, when Jesus is our Lord, the Holy Spirit is within us and is our comforter.  (John 14:26-27)  When our hearts truly seek, the Holy Spirit surely guides.  Praise God who has every answer provided for us!  Praise God who loves us so greatly!  Praise God!

Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord!

Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”