Have you got your brolly? {how we need to pray}

Elijah is one of my favourite Bible characters. The scene where he confornts the prophets of Baal is both amusing and challenging. So many parts of his life are challenging, but I was reminded of one last Lord's day, in the morning sermon.

It was a concept that brought memories, of my years in Scotland, back to me. You see, Scotland is notoriously rainy. Did you know? It rains a LOT.

It's still beautiful, obviously... 

Who am I kidding, though? It looked more like this, for me, a city girl....

You don't really think about it much if you grow up there. It's just part of life. One thing you DO learn, from a young age, is to be ready for rain at any point, and you carry a brolly everywhere.

Brolly?  An umbrella! (Not sure if that's an American word?)

I have left many a brolly behind on a bus, because the rain can stop as quickly as it started. I can also still smell that "wet brolly" smell, in my sensory memory!

Where I live in England gets far less rain, and because I homeschool, we also go out in the rain less. (No essential walk to school, rain or shine...) So, the handy brolly isn't so necessary.

If you know the life of Elijah well, you know that he was a man of great faith. He is recognised, in the New Testament, as a man of faith, who was fervent in prayer. It's what we think of, when we think of Elijah. He prayed for no rain, and it didn't rain for YEARS! Then, he prayed for rain, and it rained! 

What was noteworthy about it all, was that he prayed with great FAITH. He absolutely believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that God could do what he asked. 

No rain? No problem! 

Rain? You'd better believe it! 

Elijah had such great faith, that when he prayed for rain, he sent his servant running to look for the cloud, and he spotted it when it was still the size of a man's hand. Have you ever thought about how tiny a cloud is, of that size, away up there in the sky?? But he saw it, because he was LOOKING FOR IT. 

My husband had a relative with great faith like that. They were farmers, in a farming community. They had no rain for a long time, and the crops were suffering. They knew that if they had no rain the crops would fail, and they would struggle financially. His great-grandfather (I believe?), went along with some of the other men, to a prayer meeting, specially to pray for rain. They knew they needed to ask The Lord, and made special effort to do so. The thing is, only his great-grandfather came with living faith. He brought a pile of potato sacks, the old, burlap style ones, to the meeting. He BELIEVED that God would answer their prayers, and he would need to take shelter from the rain that would come. Not a single other man came with a brolly or rain covering. Do you know what?? IT RAINED ON THE WAY HOME!! He was able to hand out the sacks to the other men, who hadn't been prepared for such an immediate answer!  Praying, in FAITH.

It got me thinking about my prayer life. I think our small, human minds, can too easily take away from the absolute omnipotence of God. HE IS ABLE to answer our prayers, if we pray according to His will. That simply means not praying for anything sinful, which goes against His Word. He can do "great and mighty things" which we know not, if we but call out to Him in prayer. Praying, in FAITH.... BELIEVING. 

Have you got an unsaved husband, unsaved children, unsaved family members?? Keep calling out to God in prayer... BELIEVING that He can answer!

Are you having problems in your marriage? God, the creator of marriage, longs to hear and answer your prayers. Have faith....He can answer! 

Are you struggling as a mother? Is teaching and training your children tiring you out, and frustrating you? Do you long to see The Lord at work in their hearts and lives?  He can answer prayer! 

Is your health a trial? Do you suffer in physical ways, and struggle to find a remedy? God, the great Jehovah-Rophi, can answer your prayers! 

Work, relationships, health, emotions, attitudes, day to day life situations. Everything. Anything. God can do it!

But.....

Are you praying with your brolly in your hand? 

We must not neglect to BELIEVE. To really, truly, with FAITH, call out to God. Waiting, expecting, for the "rain" of answered prayer to fall. 

Before Elijah even went to look for the rain, he told Ahab it was coming. His ears were sensitive, or His eye of faith was 20-20 vison, because he told his there was the "sound of abundance of rain".  He wasn't just expecting a light, English shower. He was expecting "tipping it down" torrents! 

Oh, for faith like Elijah!! I WANT a prayer life like that. I WANT to see God's amazing answer to prayer, in so, so many ways. 

Don't you? 

Get praying, with your brolly in your hand!