1 Kings 17:7-24<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.\u00a08\u00a0Then the word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0came to him:\u00a09\u00a0\u201cGo at once to Zarephath\u00a0in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow\u00a0there to supply you with food.\u201d\u00a010\u00a0So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, \u201cWould you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?\u201d\u00a011\u00a0As she was going to get it, he called, \u201cAnd bring me, please, a piece of bread.\u201d\u00a0\u00a012\u00a0\u201cAs surely as the Lord your God lives,\u201d she replied, \u201cI don\u2019t have any bread\u2014only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil\u00a0in 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\u2014and die.\u201d\u00a0\u00a013\u00a0Elijah said to her, \u201cDon\u2019t 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.\u00a014\u00a0For this is what the\u00a0Lord, the God of Israel, says: \u2018The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the\u00a0Lord\u00a0sends rain\u00a0on the land.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a015\u00a0She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.\u00a016\u00a0For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0spoken by Elijah.\u00a0\u00a017\u00a0Sometime later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.\u00a018\u00a0She said to Elijah, \u201cWhat do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin\u00a0and kill my son?\u201d\u00a0\u00a019\u00a0\u201cGive me your son,\u201d Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.\u00a020\u00a0Then he cried\u00a0out to the\u00a0Lord, \u201cLord\u00a0my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?\u201d\u00a021\u00a0Then he stretched\u00a0himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the\u00a0Lord, \u201cLord\u00a0my God, let this boy\u2019s life return to him!\u201d\u00a0\u00a022\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0heard Elijah\u2019s cry, and the boy\u2019s life returned to him, and he lived.\u00a023\u00a0Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother\u00a0and said, \u201cLook, your son is alive!\u201d\u00a0\u00a024\u00a0Then the woman said to Elijah, \u201cNow I know\u00a0that you are a man of God\u00a0and that the word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0from your mouth is the truth.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201c\u201cGive me your son,\u201d Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.\u00a020\u00a0Then he cried\u00a0out to the\u00a0Lord, \u201cLord\u00a0my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?\u201d\u00a021\u00a0Then he stretched\u00a0himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the\u00a0Lord, \u201cLord\u00a0my God, let this boy\u2019s life return to him!\u201d<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Elijah was as surprised as the widow.\u00a0\u00a0He knew what to do and immediately went into action.\u00a0\u00a0He did what he always did, He turned to God.\u00a0\u00a0He 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.\u00a0\u00a0Elijah had been living with this little family and we can safely assume that He had grown to love this boy.\u00a0\u00a0His heart was pierced for the sake of the widow.\u00a0\u00a0The boy was her last treasure on earth and now he was gone.\u00a0\u00a0Elijah instantly pleaded with God to bring the boy back to her.<\/p>\n
He took the boy to a private place to pray for him.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This time it was a physically private place.\u00a0\u00a0It is good is we have a place, or places, to get alone and be with God.\u00a0\u00a0Yet, sometimes we need a private conversation with God and don\u2019t have physical privacy at the moment.\u00a0\u00a0After pursuing God on a regular and persistent basis, one learns how to \u201cbe in the Spirit.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0It 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 \u201cGod is omnipresent so we are always in His presence).\u00a0\u00a0Seek God in a private place until we are in His presence, with location being a secondary consideration.\u00a0\u00a0Alone with God, riches flow from His eternal and majestic being into our soul.\u00a0\u00a0We are in His presence and changed by it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even when being physically in a public place we can be alone with God in a very intimate way.\u00a0\u00a0Once we know the path, it is easy to find, the Way is within.\u00a0\u00a0Travel the path often and the destination will never fail to delight the soul.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0\u00a0This is similar to being at the beach, watching the sun rise and having the presence of the Lord engulf us.\u00a0\u00a0It is a human tendency to then later return to that exact spot expecting the same experience, only to be disappointed.\u00a0\u00a0It is not the place that blessed us but the presence of the Lord.\u00a0\u00a0So we do not need a specific place to be in God\u2019s presence, we need to seek God\u2019s presence with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13<\/b>), from within our heart, and we will find it.\u00a0\u00a0He 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.\u00a0\u00a0(Matthew 6:21<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Communion with God can be a perpetual present if we truly desire that.\u00a0\u00a0Like 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.<\/p>\n
Elijah prayed three times.\u00a0\u00a0He didn\u2019t pray once, he prayed three times before the Lord answered his prayer for the boy.\u00a0\u00a0Be persistent, but also listen for the Lord and watch for His guidance.\u00a0\u00a0The Apostle Paul prayed three times to be relieved from a \u201cthorn in his flesh.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He was listening and watching for the answer.\u00a0\u00a0He 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.\u00a0\u00a0(2 Corinthians 12:7-10<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0The point is that praying three times is not the solution to having our prayers answered as we have prayed.\u00a0\u00a0Rather the point is to yes, be persistent, but no, do not be formulaic.\u00a0\u00a0Reaching 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<\/b>) 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.\u00a0\u00a0For us His door is always open.\u00a0\u00a0We are family.\u00a0\u00a0We are welcome.\u00a0\u00a0Our company is desired.\u00a0\u00a0When our hearts, or our minds, need peace, it is found through knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord.\u00a0\u00a0He said He left His peace with us.\u00a0\u00a0(John 14:27<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Since that peace come from the Lord, no-one and nothing can halt our reception of that flow of peace.\u00a0\u00a0No-one but us can halt our reception of it.\u00a0\u00a0We 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.\u00a0\u00a0(John 14:26-27<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0When our hearts truly seek, the Holy Spirit surely guides.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God who has every answer provided for us!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God who loves us so greatly!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1 Kings 17:7-24\u00a0–\u00a0Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.\u00a08\u00a0Then the word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0came to him:\u00a09\u00a0\u201cGo at once to Zarephath\u00a0in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow\u00a0there to supply you with food.\u201d\u00a010\u00a0So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,129,1872,99,100,2148,101,94,1874,88,17],"class_list":["post-2280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-corinthians","tag-deuteronomy","tag-jeremiah","tag-john","tag-kings","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-proverbs","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2281,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/revisions\/2281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}