Kingdom Prayer

Elijah: A human being like us

Oswald Chambers, a 20th century Baptist minister, famously said, ‘Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work.’

‍In the Bible, Elijah was a forerunner. He was a human being, just like you and me (James 5:17-18), who prayed and prepared the way for the Lord. There are 3 things we can learn from the life of Elijah:

1)       Elijah’s voice

‘Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’ 1 Kings 17:1

‍Elijah’s voice had power. Elijah’s voice counteracted the voice of evil at the time and represented the Kingdom of God.  

‍The power to Elijah’s voice came through being formed in the wilderness. Elijah was formed in the secret place so that when it came to the public place, his voice carried a weighty authority.

‍His voice was known in heaven before it was known on earth.

We can develop a powerful voice as a body of Christ and we can push back the forces of darkness in this nation, but it can take months, even years, to form this voice.

2)       Elijah’s posture

‘And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.’ 1 Kings 18:41-42.

Elijah took a posture of prayer. He took a birthing position and from that place, he knew what to do (1 Kings 18:43-44).

In a birthing environment, there is an undivided focus on the task at hand. When my wife was birthing our 2 children, we weren’t scrolling on our phones or checking the football score!

‍We must take the same posture in prayer if we want to birth revival in this nation.

‍Travailing prayer is a posture that we take of tenacity and fervency.

Elijah took hold of a promise from God given prophetically and had the tenacity and fervency to pray until he felt a shift in the spirit and saw the physical manifestation of rain in the land.

‍ ‍3)       Elijah’s mantle

‘When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.’ 2 Kings 2:9 (and onto 16)

Something significant passed onto Elisha from Elijah when he was taken up to heaven.

My conviction is that the Elijah forerunner spirit is falling on a generation and that God wants to ignite a fire to cause lasting change in the nation and the nations of the world.

We can respond to this in 2 ways.

‍ ‍1)       Build personal altars

‍ ‍- Devotion to the Word

‍ ‍- Devotion to prayer

‍ 2)       Build corporate altars

‍ ‍-  Pray through the Word

‍ ‍-  Praying in tongues/the Spirit

- Pray in the same ‘direction of travel’ as the person before you has prayed

‍ ‍-   Declare the Word together over a situation

‍ ‍Next steps:

1)       Set a time, place and a plan to build your altars. ‍

2)       Join our monthly prayer and fasting rhythms: https://www.allnations.org.uk/prayer

3)       Catch up with the service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eomtNjZjbg