The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 19:3-8 (day four)

We tend to think there is a dichotomy between the spiritual and the physical. We experience mountain top “spiritual” moments, but then life quickly returns to worrying about things that are much more “physical.” Elijah experiences these things back to back. He has this wonderful mountain top moment with the Lord, but then is quickly brought into the visceral experience of running for his life, feeling exhausted and hungry, lonely and depressed.

But this is a false dichotomy. I don’t believe the Lord created us to live in this divided way. As we see with Elijah, the Lord was very near when the mountain top moment had evaporated, ministering to him through food and sleep. Eating and sleeping are not unspiritual. Prayer and worship are not non-physical.

Let’s ditch this divided way of thinking and simply walk with the Lord, inviting him into every inch of our lives. Romans 12:1 (MSG): “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 19:3-8 (day two) And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. Vs. 3

Why do emotional and spiritual valleys seemingly ALWAYS follow mountains? We see here in Elijah a truth which often parallels our own. When we are on the mountain it is so clear to see the plan and purpose of God. We can discern steps forward, and be assured of success. We do not fear assault because our defenses are sure and strong. And then, we need rest. We get tired. The mountain is behind us, and our defenses are lowered. We feel every assault, and we are easily defeated.

Does this sound familiar? You are in good spiritual company, but notice God does not give Elijah his request. Elijah asks to die and be removed from this strife. The Lord provides food and rest for the task and journey ahead. The valleys WILL come. You will feel at your end. Don’t stop talking to God. Ask for the next breath, the next rest, the next bite. He’s as near in the valley as he was on the mountain.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 18:30-39 (day six)

Israel’s brazen idolatry began more subtly. Baal was the very popular local god of the weather (lightning and rain), manifested out of the Canaanites’ need for fertile soil and a fruitful harvest. Initially, the Israelites never intended to abandon God; they only thought it wise to cover their bases and worship Baal too, just in case God didn’t pull through. As the old saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

It was only a matter of time, slow at first, but then quickly, that the local very popular god of the weather was all they worshipped; their hearts enslaved to its demands-which were their very lives.

Divided loyalties never stay divided for long.

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money (or Baal).” -Jesus

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 18:30-39 (day five)  

“How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”  The Israelites had a heart problem. Nothing new. Same tendency we see throughout scripture and even in believers today. The word “hesitate” is translated in other versions as “waver”, “sit on the fence”, and “limp” to name a few. Speaks of a divided heart and faith. Presents as weakness and  godlessness. Trust and commitment that has waned and drifted to things and people other than the Living God. Anything that supersedes God in our trust, priorities, obedience = idol. The result often looks like spiritual hesitancy, inactivity, apathy, and powerlessness. (The Israelites) The New Testament has plenty to say about this common condition too…

“But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭8‬

“They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” 2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭16‬

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 18:30-39 (day four)

In this showdown between God and Baal, the Israelites worked with all their might to get a showing from their idol. They called, but no one answered. They leapt and danced before the altar, but nothing stirred. They even sacrificed their bodies, pouring their own blood on the altar. Verse 29 gives us a haunting image: “…but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”

We may not be as familiar with Baal, but we are all guilty of flailing before an idol in an attempt to get what we need, to find satisfaction, or to find meaning. We call out for the approval of others to boost our confidence, but their response gets lost to the wind. We leap and dance before the altar of money, but nothing ever comes to satisfy us. We pour ourselves out for status and prestige, but we’re only left bleeding. When we sacrifice to the idols of the world, there is no voice, no one to answer, no one paying attention.

But when we remember the Lord and draw in close to him, as Elijah encouraged the people to do, we’ll find that God will make himself known to us every time, and we will lack nothing. The Lord shows up in a way that nothing and no one else can do. As it says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 18:30-39 (day three)

“Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come near to me.’”

Elijah didn’t treat this occasion as a scolding, but rather as a time of participating in the forgotten ways. He didn’t keep the people at a distance like an audience at a lecture. His method was “show, don’t tell.” He drew the men and women close to him so they could experience the reality that an alter used to point beyond the material realm. It used to speak of heaven. It used to appeal to God for help, for mercy, for forgiveness, for hope in a tired world. The priests of Ba’al had exhausted themselves and their followers. Elijah tenderly bids the people to move in close, foreshadowing Jesus’s invitation to all who are weary and heavy laden: “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

Re:Verse passage – 1 Kings 18:30-39 (day two)

“O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant…” vs 36b

Elijah makes sure to set things in the proper perspective. His first actions were to repair the altar. By doing so he was honoring the covenant that God had with Moses and the people of Israel. His prayer is one that we should take notice of. Elijah makes clear nothing wonderful that is about to take place is due to him. All the glory, all the honor belongs to the Lord. When we pray, how do we focus our prayers? How much attention do we give to honoring the Lord? Examine your prayer life today, and make an effort to not only exalt him, but to surrender any sort of pride, ego, or adulation that would take any focus from God. See how the Lord shapes your heart as a result.