After this the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe. She asked Elijah, “Why, prophet, have you come to me to confront me with my sin and kill my son?” He said to her, “Hand me your son.” He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed. Then he called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?” He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, please let this boy’s breath return to him.” The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer; the boy’s breath returned to him and he lived. Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper room to the house, and handed him to his mother. Elijah then said, “See, your son is alive!” The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a prophet and that the Lord really does speak through you.”

1 Kings 17:17-24 (NET)

How can we develop a powerful and effective prayer life? Often, prayer is considered something secondary to ministry or as preparation for ministry. However, Oswald Chambers, the writer of the famous devotional, My Utmost of His Highest, rightly said, “Prayer is not preparation for the great work. Prayer is the great work!” It is by prayer that individuals are saved, relationships are reconciled, prisoners are set free, and nations are healed. Prayer is how we access God’s power and get his work done. If this is so, then we must ask, “How can we grow in prayer both individually and corporately?”

This question is especially relevant as we continue our look at the story of Elijah. In Scripture, Elijah is given as a model of prayer. James 5:16-18 says,

… The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.

Elijah was like us, and yet when he prayed for the heavens to be shut for three and a half years, it happened. He then prayed for it to rain, and it happened again. Elijah’s prayers were powerful, and James implies that our prayers can be powerful as well.

In fact, a powerful prayer life is a common component in the lives of those God used greatly. Abraham was a man of prayer—in his narrative, he is constantly seen communicating with God and even interceding for people. Moses, Nehemiah, and the prophets were also people of prayer. Likewise, when Christ was preparing weak disciples who would one day turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6), he constantly emphasized their need to pray. He modeled faithful prayer for them (Lk 11:1), taught them the Lord’s Prayer at least twice (Matt 6, Lk 11), taught them parables emphasizing their need to pray (Lk 18:1-8), took them away for prayer retreats (Lk 22:39-46), and at times rebuked them for their lack of prayer (Mk 9:19, 29). In the book of Acts, the world is turned upside down, in part, because the disciples developed powerful prayer lives (Acts 17:6). They prayed in the upper room and the Holy Spirit fell on them at Pentecost (Acts 1:14, Acts 2:1-4). They had a corporate prayer meeting after being told to no longer preach the gospel, and the building was shaken, the Spirit fell on them again, and they left proclaiming God’s Word boldly (Acts 4:23-31). They, like Christ, at times even turned down ministry because they needed to stay committed to prayer (cf. Mk 1:35-37). In Acts 6:1-4, they told the Jerusalem church members to find someone else to care for the widows because they needed to be committed to prayer and God’s Word.

God using people who were faithful in prayer is not just clear in the narratives of Scripture but also the history of the church. Martin Luther, upon being asked by his friend about his plans for the next day, said, “Work, work from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” When God raises up someone to mightily use, he trains him or her to be mighty in prayer. Therefore, as we look at Elijah resurrecting this young boy, which is the first resurrection in Scripture, we learn principles about developing an effective prayer life.

Big Question: What principles about developing an effective prayer life can we learn from Elijah’s raising the widow’s dead son?

To Develop an Effective Prayer Life, We Must Develop Strong Faith

After this the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe. She asked Elijah, “Why, prophet, have you come to me to confront me with my sin and kill my son?” He said to her, “Hand me your son.” He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed. Then he called out to the Lord…

1 Kings 17:17-20a

Observation Question: How did the widow respond to the death of her son, and how did Elijah respond to it?

In verses 17-18, we see how the widow responded to the death of her son. Instead of trusting the God who had faithfully provided for her needs through the prophet, she accused Elijah (and by implication God) of punishing her, reminding her of the sins she committed, and killing her son. Unfortunately, when many people encounter a trial or difficult situation, instead of responding in faith by praying to God and trusting him, they get mad at God and mad at others.

How did Elijah respond when accused by the woman? He didn’t argue with her. He immediately asked for her son, took him to the upper room of the house, laid him on the bed, and began to cry out to God for a resurrection.

Here we see the first step in developing a powerful prayer life: It is developing a strong faith. Why pray at all if we don’t believe in God’s power, wisdom, and goodness—that he desires to answer our prayers and that he will always do what’s best?

Again, at this point in Scripture, there has been no resurrection; therefore, Elijah is taking a leap of faith. No doubt, he must have rationalized to himself, “Cannot the God who created the heavens and the earth, stopped the rain, fed me by ravens and through this poor widow also resurrect this dead boy?”

This is an important step in developing a powerful prayer life. We must develop our faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Also, Hebrews 11:35 says this, no doubt in describing Elijah’s great faith, “women received back their dead raised to life.” Hebrews 11 is commonly called the Heroes of the Faith chapter, and apparently Elijah is given not only as a model of prayer but also of faith. If we’re going to develop powerful prayer, we must, like Elijah, have great faith in God. It takes great faith in God to move mountains, heal people, bring revival in communities, and be used in our weakness.

Throughout Scripture, the importance of faith is often emphasized as a prerequisite for receiving blessings from God. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus taught if we only had the faith of a mustard seed, we could move mountains, which probably refers to insurmountable difficulties. And likewise, when Christ went to his hometown of Nazareth, Matthew 13:58 says he didn’t do many miracles there because of “their unbelief.” How many people don’t receive from God and can’t be used by God simply because of a lack of belief? Faith is believing and trusting in God despite our feelings or circumstances. And when there is true faith, God often rewards it (Heb 11:6).

In Mark 2:3-5 and verse 11, we see a great example of faith in Christ’s healing of a paralytic. The verses say,

Some people came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus. Then, after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” … “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.”

Even though the four men could not get their friend to Christ because of the crowds, they were willing to climb the roof, tear a hole in it (regardless of damage and cost), and lower the paralytic down so he could be healed. They demonstrated great faith in the midst of what seemed like a closed or delayed door. The text says Christ forgave the paralytic’s sin and healed him because of seeing “their faith” (v. 5). Christ rewarded their faith by healing and forgiving their friend. Likewise, when Elijah was confronted with insurmountable odds—the death of the widow’s son—he did not give up either. He demonstrated his great faith by pleading for a resurrection.

Similarly, in order to have a powerful prayer life, we also must take steps of faith by bringing impossible situations and grand requests to God. Taking a step of faith doesn’t necessarily mean that God will always answer our prayers affirmatively, but it is often one of the prerequisites for God to do so. In James 5:14-17, James encouraged the sick to seek prayers from their elders because the prayer of faith will bring healing. Certainly, God will not always heal when elders pray, but according to James, taking a step of faith by seeking prayer from our leadership, in obedience to Scripture, is often needed for Divine healing.

Likewise, in James 1:5, James encourages believers going through trials to ask God for wisdom because he gives generously; however, he then prefaces this promise in verses 6-8 by saying:

But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways.

Apart from faith, we won’t receive anything from God; it renders our prayers ineffective.

Lifestyle of Faith

With that said, Scripture not only demands faith—trust and belief in God—when we bring our requests before God but also lifestyles of faith. Elijah’s bringing the dead son to God was just one step in his continual walk with God. Hebrews 10:38 says, “my righteous one will live by faith.” A lifestyle of faith is also a prerequisite for powerful prayer. Moments or steps of faith when encountering the impossible should only be parts of a faithful life which God rewards. James taught the necessity of a faithful life to answered prayer by applying it to Elijah’s effective prayer life. In James 5:16-17, he said, “So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. Elijah was a human being like us…”

There are two types of righteousness described in the Scripture. There is the righteousness that God gives us by faith in Christ so we can be saved and not punished for our sins. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” But there is also practical righteousness, which true believers must demonstrate as an outworking of their faith in God. This is the righteousness James is talking about. In John 15:7, Christ said the same thing: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.” Christ’s words abide in us as we read Scripture, study it, and obey it as a lifestyle. When this is true, we will find that our prayers are more effective. This happens, in part, because as Scripture saturates our hearts, we start to pray God’s will and not our own. Our prayers become selfless instead of selfish.

Living in sin, and therefore apart from faith, hinders the power of our prayers. In Psalm 66:18, David said, “If I had harbored sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” When living in sin, David’s prayers were ineffective. To the believers James wrote, he said, “You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions” (Jam 4:2b-3). Their wrong heart motives hindered the effectiveness of their prayers, and sin does the same for us.

In considering Elijah’s response to the dead son, we cannot but be struck by his great faith. Since God is honored by faith and rewards those with it (Heb 11:6), it is no surprise that God commonly moves on behalf of those who trust him supremely.

Application Question: How can we grow our faith?

1. Our faith grows by knowing God’s Word. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing God’s Word” (paraphrase). The more we know what God says in his Word by reading and meditating on it, the more faith we will have. (1) By diligent study, we’ll know God’s promises, which we can pray in accordance with (cf. Phil 4:6-7, Matt 6:33). (2) And when praying about something we don’t have a promise on, we’ll know God’s character and will trust him when he responds with “No,” “Yes,” or, “Wait.”

2. Our faith grows through disciplined praying. Communication is essential for trust. If we are not communicating with a person regularly, we will be more prone to doubt his or her character. Likewise, when we are weak in prayer, our faith in God, especially when in trials, will be weak as well. Like the widow who had seen God’s miraculous provisions, we’ll be more prone to doubt God or get angry at him and others when encountering an unexpected difficulty.

3. Our faith grows as we repent of things hurting our relationship with God. Sin creates distance in our relationship with God and erodes trust. Therefore, to grow in our faith, we must continually repent of wrong attitudes and actions hindering our relationship with God. When we repent, God is faithful to forgive and restore our relationship (1 John 1:9).

4. Our faith grows as we develop a history with God. As God parts our Red Seas, provides refreshment in dry seasons, restores relationships, and resurrects dreams, we’ll be more prone to trust him in the various stages of life. Elijah had seen God shut the heavens, provide food through ravens, and multiply oil, so he could eat in a famine which strengthened his faith to pray for a resurrection. Likewise, as we walk faithfully with God, our faith will increase, which will allow us to experience more of God’s grace through prayer.

Are we growing in our faith?

Application Question: What are some ways that you have developed a history with God—watched him provide in drought, use bad for good, and use you in weakness, among other things? How has your history increased your faith? How is God calling you to practice and grow in your faith in this current season of life?

To Develop an Effective Prayer Life, We Must Practice Private Prayer

He said to her, “Hand me your son.” He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed.

1 Kings 17:19

After being accused by the widow for the death of her son, Elijah took the boy away from the mother, went to his room, and laid him on a bed before God. Why did Elijah not simply pray there with the mom? Why did he choose to be alone? No doubt, because there is tremendous power in the practice of private prayer. In Matthew 6:5-6, Christ said this to his disciples:

Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Christ said there is a reward for those who endeavor in secret prayer when no one is watching. This doesn’t mean there is no power in public or cooperate prayer, because there is, especially when done with a right heart. But God especially rewards those who are champions when nobody is watching, when it’s just God and the person. God favors and rewards those who diligently seek him in the quiet place.

Have we developed the practice of private prayer? Do we have a place where we consistently go to block out distractions and meet with God alone? Do we go there commonly to rest in our Lord and bring our requests and fears before him? This is something God enjoys and rewards.

No doubt, this was a discipline that Elijah further developed while at Kerith Valley, the place of cutting. While there, he was isolated from the world and grew in the discipline of solitude with God. Often, God uses trials to help us develop or restore our private prayer discipline—our intimacy with him.

Example of Christ

Certainly, we see this discipline in Christ who would constantly leave the disciples and his ministry to go up on a mountain to pray (Mark 1:35). It is very easy to be busy serving God and not ever go to the mountain to be intimate with him. Christ not only constantly went to a mountain, but he even went to the wilderness to fast for forty days before beginning his ministry—undoubtedly, a season of intense private prayer (cf. Matt 4, Lk 4). God saw Christ’s discipline and rewarded him. Luke 4:13 says that Christ left the wilderness in the “power of the Spirit,” as he began his ministry. After this season of quality prayer, God began to use Christ to do the miraculous. He healed people, cast out demons, multiplied bread, and turned water into wine, all in response to his prayer and reliance on God (cf. Matt 12:28).

What about us? Have we developed the discipline of private prayer—including getting up early before our family, roommates, and neighbors to be with God? David practiced this, even as Christ did (Mk 1:35). In Psalm 119:147, he said, “I am up before dawn crying for help. I find hope in your word.”

When encountering this impossible situation, Elijah left the widow and went straight to his room to privately cry out to God; therefore, God rewarded him publicly. Have we developed secrecy in our prayer lives? Do we have a prayer closet? Certainly, we should pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)—at all times and in all places—but Scripture also teaches the importance and power of being alone with God in prayer. Again, Christ said, “But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you” (Matt 6:6).

Application Question: Why is the practice of private prayer so important? Where is your prayer closet? How do you practice intimacy with God in prayer? How is God calling you to grow in this discipline?

To Develop an Effective Prayer Life, We Must Grow in Empathy

He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, please let this boy’s breath return to him.”

1 Kings 17:21

Interpretation Question: Why did Elijah stretch out over the dead boy’s body three times?

After taking the boy to the room, Elijah stretched himself out over the boy’s dead body three times. We don’t know how long the boy had been dead, but as one might imagine, his body was probably cold. Elijah’s lips would be pressed against his lips, his chest against the boy’s chest, and his arms against the boy’s arms. Elijah could feel his cold and lifeless body.

Why did he do this? What did this do to increase his capacity to pray for him? It seems this created a form of empathy for the boy. By touching the boy’s cold lifeless body, Elijah was entering into his pain. Likewise, if we are going to be effective in our prayer life, we must learn how to enter into people’s pain and feel what they feel.

Christ’s Ministry

Certainly, we get a picture of this with Christ before he raised Lazarus from the dead. He goes to the tomb and weeps (John 11:35). He saw the pain—the effects of sin and death—and wept. For Christ, in one sense, it made no sense to cry, as he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. Why weep? In mourning for Lazarus before praying for him, Christ felt the sting of his death, the pain of losing him, and the mourning of others. Christ entered Lazarus’ pain and that of his family and friends. Only after this did Christ pray, leading to Lazarus’ resurrection.

However, this is not only true in how Christ related to Lazarus before his resurrection but also throughout Christ’s whole ministry. Why did Christ become a man? He became a man in part to relate to us so he could effectively minister to us, including through intercession (cf. Heb 7:25). It is the mystery of the incarnation. He became like us so he could understand us and be our interceding high priest. Consider these verses:

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.

Hebrews 2:14-15

For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.

Hebrews 4:15-16

So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Hebrews 7:25

No doubt, this is the very reason many of us struggle with prayer. We only know our own problems and pain and, therefore, struggle with interceding for others. Empathy—a holy burden—is very important for being an intercessor. For this reason, we can trust that this is one of the major reasons God allows trials into our lives. He does this to break us down and make us weak so he can empower us (2 Cor 12:7-9), but he also does this to make us empathetic, so we can feel and relate to the pain of others and pray.

This is one of the reasons that people with the gift of mercy are such good intercessors. These people have a God-given ability to enter into the pain of others and care for them. This gift continually brings them to their knees in prayer for others and also to their feet to serve them.

Application Question: What should we do to develop empathy, so we can feel others’ pain and effectively pray for them?

1. To develop empathy, we should touch those who are hurting.

Oftentimes, the best thing we can do is go to a hospice or a mission trip and touch the sick, the poor, and the hurting. By doing this, we start to develop a holy burden for a person or community that helps us faithfully pray for and serve them.

In Ecclesiastes 7:4, Solomon said, “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.” The heart of the wise—referring to those who love God and follow him (cf. Prov 9:10)—is in the place where people are hurting. It is there that they learn to love God and others better. However, the fool, who doesn’t acknowledge God (cf. Ps 14:1), only focuses on his pleasure instead of serving others in their pain. There is great wisdom in the house of mourning—it is good for us to go there. It is where we gain both wisdom and empathy.

2. To develop empathy, we must walk with the Lord.

Ephesians 2:4 says God is “rich in mercy.” Because of this, in the Gospels, we commonly see Christ having “compassion” on the hurting. Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Therefore, to grow in empathy, we must continually walk with God—the merciful one. As we abide in prayer, the Word, worship, and service, we will become more like him. In Philippians 1:8, Paul said that he actually longed for the Philippians with the “affection of Christ.” As Paul walked with the Lord, he gained his heart, and we can do the same by walking faithfully with the Lord as well.

3. To develop empathy, we must pray specifically for it.

In Romans 12:8, “mercy” is called a spiritual gift. And in 1 Corinthians 12:31 and 14:1, we are continually encouraged to desire greater gifts. Certainly, as James says, we have not because we ask not (4:2). Being merciful to others is not a gift that many pray for, but it is a gift that will enable us to both serve others and effectively pray for them. So we should pray for God to remove our hardened and often self-consumed hearts and give us soft, merciful hearts like his—ones that empathize with others, serve them, and pray for them.

Application Question: Why is empathy so important for intercessory prayer? What’s the difference between empathy and mercy? How have you experienced empathy by being with someone who was struggling or simply different from you? How is God calling you to grow in empathy so you can pray more effectively?

To Develop an Effective Prayer Life, We Must Practice Persistence in Prayer

Then he called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?” He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, please let this boy’s breath return to him.”

1 Kings 17:20-21

It must be noticed that Elijah called out to the Lord twice in verses 20-21. He called out to the Lord, stretched out on the boy three times, and then called out to the Lord again. What can we gain from that? Elijah practiced persistence in prayer. We will see this again when he prays for rain in 1 Kings 18:41-45. In that narrative, he prays seven times as he waits for a rain cloud to show up.

Certainly, we see the practice of persistent prayer throughout Scripture and commands for us to do the same. With Christ, right before he was betrayed, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray for three separate hours. During each hour of prayer, he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42). Also, in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, Paul shared how he prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. He said, “I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness...” In both circumstances, God said no; however, with Elijah, God was pleased to answer his prayer. Either way, persistence is an important step to developing a powerful prayer life.

God desires us to be persistent in prayer. Persistence shows that our petition is genuine and important to us. Many people lift a prayer to God and then they never bring it back up. Sometimes, our lack of consistency shows that we are not truly concerned or only mildly concerned with what we are bringing before the Lord.

In Luke 18:1-8, through a parable about a persistent widow bringing her request before a judge, Jesus emphasized the importance of persistence in prayer to his disciples. The text says:

Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them? I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

In training his disciples, Jesus said that they must be like this widow by praying and not giving up. In fact, he implies that people who pray persistently will be in short supply when he returns to the earth (v. 8). He ends the parable by saying, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” The implied answer is “No.” People who demonstrate their faith by persistently praying will be in very short supply. Sure, some people will pray, but there will be very few “persistent intercessors” who turn the world upside down like Elijah and the disciples did.

We see another example of persistent prayer in the story of the Canaanite widow who approached Christ about healing her daughter who was demon-possessed in Matthew 15:22-28. In response, Christ first said nothing (v. 23), and then eventually he said “no,” because he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. However, she persisted in asking Christ, and then Christ said, “Woman, your faith is great,” and he healed her daughter (v. 28). She was not willing to give up, even when Christ seemed uninterested in healing her daughter by being silent, or when he essentially said no. This is “persistent prayer” that God enjoys. Persistence is the fruit of great faith—faith that won’t give up regardless of circumstances.

In fact, God looks for people who will pray persistently and deploys them to pray over strategic targets. In Isaiah 62:6-7, God said this:

I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don’t be silent! Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.

God strategically calls men and women to persistently pray over difficult situations, people, and nations. He commands them to give him no rest until he accomplishes his will on the earth. Unfortunately, sometimes he cannot find people to persistently pray. Ezekiel 22:30 says, “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.”

What is God calling us to continually cry out over, like Elijah? What is he calling us to persistently pray over to accomplish his will in the land? For many of our prayer assignments, we may never see the results in this lifetime. We will faithfully pray, God will eventually take us home, and he will call someone else to continue in prayer until he accomplishes his will. Christ told the disciples they were reaping where others had sown and done all the hard work. In John 4:37-38, Christ said, “‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” One day, the sower and reaper will rejoice together in heaven (John 4:36). Amen!

Are we willing to pray persistently? God looks for willing intercessors and puts them to work.

Application Question: Why is persistence in prayer so difficult? Is there something you feel God has called you to persistently pray for in the past? If so, what, and how have you seen the fruit of those prayers? In what ways is God calling you to pray persistently in this season?

To Develop an Effective Prayer Life, We Must Practice Fervency in Prayer

Then he called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?” He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, please let this boy’s breath return to him.”

1 Kings 17:20-21

The last principle we learn about developing a powerful prayer life from Elijah’s ministry to the dead boy is the need for fervency. Where do we see this? As mentioned, twice in the passage, it says Elijah “called out to the Lord” (1 Kgs 17:20-21). It can also be translated as “cried out” (NIV). This not only represents persistency but also fervency. It is clear that Elijah passionately prayed for the dead child. He was fervent, no doubt inspired by his entering into the widow’s pain and touching the child’s dead cold body.

We see the importance of fervency throughout Scripture. In James 5:17, it was used of Elijah’s prayer life. It says, “Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!” Elijah not only prayed fervently for this child but also for it to not rain and then later for it to rain in Israel. His prayer life was characterized by fervency.

We also see this with Christ’s prayers. Consider how Hebrews 5:7 describes them before his death: “During his earthly life Christ offered both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.” This probably refers to Christ’s prayers in Gethsemane before he went to the cross. Though he asked for God to take away the cup of suffering, he clearly discerned God’s will was for him to die, and therefore, he prayed fervently to be resurrected, and his prayers were heard (Lk 22:39-46).

In addition, Scripture uses similar language about the early church praying for Peter to be released from prison. Acts 12:5 says, “So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly praying to God for him.” In fact, in James 5:16, the KJV says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Interpretation Question: What does it mean to pray “earnestly” or “fervently”?

First, let’s consider what it is not: (1) It is not vain repetitions. Matthew 6:7 says, “When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.” Christ commands us to not “babble repetitiously” or use “vain repetitions” (KJV) like the heathens. This means we should not use rote, mindless prayers like many of us do when praying for our meals or even when quoting the Lord’s Prayer. (2) Also, praying with fervency doesn’t necessarily mean praying long prayers. We won’t be heard for our many words. Though persistence in prayer is important, Elijah prayed for fire from heaven in 1 Kings 18:36-37 with a short, quick, effective prayer, while the pagans had prayed for hours and received nothing. (3) It is also not conjured up emotions to act like we are passionate. Some will pray in a loud manner and it will be fervent; some will pray in the silence of their heart and it will be fervent.

Therefore, what is fervent prayer? Fervent prayer is simply genuine prayer that includes effort, sacrifice, and focus. It is prayer that fully engages a person’s mind, will, and emotions. It is focused prayer and not drifting prayer. It is God-exalting and not self-exalting.

Most prayers are not fervent; they are rote and casual, and often lack a truly engaged heart and mind. There are lots of prayers that are not effective because they are not earnest. To develop a powerful prayer life, our prayers must be fervent—engaging our mind, will, and emotions.

Application Question: What is fervent prayer? Why does prayer often lack passion and instead become rote, dry, and lifeless? How can we develop more fervency in our prayer lives?

Conclusion

As we consider Elijah praying for the first resurrection in Scripture, we learn principles about having effective, powerful prayer lives. This is important because when God sought to bring revival in Israel, he found a man of prayer. Prayer taps into the power of God to bring about truly great works. Likewise, when Jesus sought to reach the world, he raised up the apostles to be men committed to prayer, even more than ministry (Acts 6:6). In order to be used greatly by God, we must be people of prayer—not talent, ambition, wealth, or influence, which many expect—but people of prayer.

How can we develop a powerful prayer life which God can use greatly to display his grace to a lost and needy world?

1. To develop an effective prayer life, we must develop strong faith. Faith includes taking steps of faith as we bring problems and impossible situations before God. But it also includes a continuous faith walk with God where we practice righteousness and integrity, even when encountering difficulties. God looks for faith and rewards those who continually approach him with it (Heb 11:6).
2. To develop an effective prayer life, we must practice private prayer. Elijah went to his prayer room when tragedy struck. Where do we go? Have we developed a vital, private prayer life? We need to practice stepping away from busyness and blocking all things out to be with God. There is power in private prayer. Those who continually approach God in the secret place, he rewards in the open.
3. To develop an effective prayer life, we must develop empathy. Elijah stretched his body over the dead boy. He felt the boy’s lack of a heartbeat, cold lips, and lifeless body. We will never truly grow in intercession unless we develop empathy—a deep understanding and care for the needs of others. Maybe God is calling us to touch the leper and interact with struggling people to develop a love and care for them. In addition, he might be using various trials in our life to do the same—to help us feel and empathize with the suffering of others.
4. To develop an effective prayer life, we must practice persistent prayer. Twice, Elijah prayed to God for healing, and as we’ll see later, he prayed seven times for rain (1 Kgs 18:42-45). Likewise, we must continually bring our requests before God, even when there is no change or things get worse. There is power in persistent prayer.
5. To develop an effective prayer life, we must practice fervency in prayer. Fervency is an urgent passion for God to move. Elijah fervently cried out for the boy’s life. Christ fervently prayed until he sweat drops like blood. What are we fervently praying about?

Again, Ezekiel 22:30 says God is seeking for people to stand in the gap—people who will pray, and because of those prayers, he will move mightily to save people. Are we willing to allow God to develop us into effective intercessors? Lord, according to the riches of your grace, use us!

Application Question: What stood out most in the reading and why? What questions or applications did you take from the reading?

Prayer Prompts

• Pray for God to forgive us for our lack of praying, lack of spending time alone with him, and lack of caring enough about others to sacrifice sleep, work, and entertainment to petition for them and serve them.
• Pray for God to give us a heart and passion to pray. Pray that God would give us supernatural empathy for our family, our church, our co-workers, and our nations, and a passion to see them blessed and healed.
• Pray that we as individuals and as a church would grow greatly in prayer this year. Pray that we would not neglect our private prayer, corporate prayer, and seasons of especially devoted prayer.
• Pray for those who are dead in their sins to be resurrected to a new life—those who have rejected God to turn back to him and be saved. Also, pray for strongholds hindering the gospel and God’s will for families, workplaces, governments, and nations to come down, so God can bring transformation and healing.

Copyright © 2022 Gregory Brown

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When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?” Elijah replied, “I have not brought disaster on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals. Now send out messengers and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports. Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. Elijah said to them: “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.” Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.” So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response. Elijah then told all the people, “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, “Israel will be your new name.” With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord. Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” When they had done so, he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench. When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance.” Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!” Elijah told them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed them there.

1 Kings 18:16-40 (NET)

What are necessary steps for experiencing revival in our lives, communities, and nations?

The background to this narrative is that Israel is under judgment. They had Ahab as their king, and he was the worst king in Israel’s history (1 Kgs 21:25). He and his wife, Jezebel, had led Israel to turn away from God and instead worship Baal. Because of this, God brought a three-and-a-half-year drought on the land. Baal was considered the sky god, the lord who controlled the weather¹—he controlled the sun and brought the rain. By not allowing it to rain, God was showing Israel that Baal was actually not in control of the weather. At the end of the three-and-a-half years, Elijah returned to Israel to confront them and turn them back to God. He does this by setting up a contest with the prophets of Baal to prove who is the true God. Before beginning it, in verse 21, he says to Israel, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” Then, at the end of the confrontation, Israel falls down and says, “The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!”

It is clear that Israel had not turned away from God totally; apparently, they had become syncretic—worshiping God and Baal. Because of this, God judged them. Sadly, this often happens to the church in various ways—causing us to lose God’s blessing and experience spiritual dryness in our lives. With the believers James wrote to, he said this in James 4:4: “Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy.” It is not that these believers had stopped worshiping God, it was that their hearts were divided. They loved the world and the things of this world. They were consumed with money, prestige, and success, and God was simply a means to these blessings. James said they prayed with wrong motives to get their selfish desires (Jam 4:3). They were spiritual adulterers, and because of this, they had become enemies of God. God began to fight against them in many ways, though they might not have recognized his disciplining hand on their lives—possibly hindering their business ventures, family life, and even health. God will not share our hearts with others.

But this judgment of God not only happens to individual believers; it also happens to communities—churches, cities, and nations. God told the church of Ephesus that if they didn’t return to their first love, he would remove their lampstand—removing their witness to the surrounding communities and possibly the church altogether (Rev 2:4-5). Likewise, God told the church of Laodicea that he would vomit them out of his mouth for being lukewarm (Rev 3:16) and that all those he loved, he would “rebuke and discipline” (Rev 3:19).

Therefore, we must understand that it is a dangerous thing to live in compromise, worldliness, and spiritual apathy. God is a jealous God who wants our hearts. James 4:5 says, “He jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” Therefore, it behooves us to consider how to experience spiritual revival both in our lives and communities because God will not be our second.

In the previous text, 1 Kings 18:1-15, we considered that when bringing revival:

1. God often allows desperate circumstances to help people recognize their weakness and depend more on him. The drought was meant to show Israel they needed God and not Baal or anyone else. God will often allow desperate circumstances in our lives and others’ as well to help prepare our hearts for revival—a renewal in our passion for the things of God.
2. God often raises up the righteous to faithfully, boldly, and sacrificially serve others. Often during these desperate times, God will bring a faithful believer in our lives to pray for us, serve us, and show us something in his Word to help us turn back to him. During the drought, God raised up both Elijah and a man named Obadiah. God used Elijah to challenge Ahab and pray for the drought. Then, he hid him from Israel and had him serve a Sidonian widow and her son in private. However, Obadiah’s ministry was different. He was meant to stay in Israel, working for the king in the palace. He was a light in a dark place. While Ahab and Jezebel were killing prophets, Obadiah was hiding them in caves. When bringing revival, God raises up the righteous to faithfully serve others.
3. Finally, God often unifies believers so they can more effectively complete his work together. Discord and independence in the church commonly hinder God’s work. Believers in local congregations often are independent and divided and so are our churches. Typically, when God brings a revival, he unifies his church to pray, serve, and minister to others. In this context with Israel, God brought Elijah and Obadiah together. Apparently, Elijah did not think highly of Obadiah—probably because of his ministry in the king’s palace. Though Obadiah shared how he had been hiding prophets, Elijah will repeatedly share that he is the only prophet left both to Israel in this narrative and later to God in 1 Kings 19. He didn’t trust Obadiah; however, Elijah needed him to prepare a meeting with Ahab and to help bring revival in Israel. God often does the same today when bringing revival. He brings his divided children together to complete his work.

In 1 Kings 18:16-40, we’ll consider further steps to revival as we study Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal and Israel’s eventual return to God.

Big Question: What are other common steps in the revival process as discerned from 1 Kings 18:16-40?

When Bringing Revival, God Uses the Righteous to Confront Sin, Even at Great Risk to Themselves

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?” Elijah replied, “I have not brought disaster on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals. Now send out messengers and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports. Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. Elijah said to them: “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal.

1 Kings 18:17-22

This narrative is full of Elijah confronting sin. First, he confronts Ahab, then Israel, and then the false prophets. When Ahab initially sees Elijah, he says, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?” (v.17). The phrase “brings disaster” Ahab used can also be translated “troubler” (NIV) or “snake.”² Though Elijah had committed no sin, Ahab said that Elijah was the cause of all of Israel’s troubles. He was a dirty snake.

Unfortunately, this has been common throughout history when believers confront sin—they often are accused or condemned for doing so. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah was jailed for confronting the leaders of Israel for their rebellion against God. Also, when John the Baptist, who came in the spirit of Elijah, confronted Herod for committing adultery with his brother’s wife, Herod put him in prison and eventually beheaded him. Jesus confronted the Pharisees for their hypocritical behavior and false teaching which led to him being crucified.

Likewise, when God brings revival, he empowers and emboldens the righteous to confront sin and compromise, even at great cost to themselves. There can be no revival when people hold onto sin both individually and within a community; consequently, it must be confronted.

Certainly, we must realize there are great costs and difficulties with this type of ministry. It’s uncomfortable. We don’t want to feel judgmental. Our friends could get mad at us and cut us off. However, Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” This type of ministry is needed for personal revival, revival with our friends and in our communities. Elijah was willing to be hated by Ahab, Jezebel, the false prophets, and no doubt much of Israel who was suffering from the drought. In order to bring revival, Elijah had to confront the sins around him.

Application Question: How should we confront sin personally and corporately?

1. To confront sin, we must understand its contagious nature.

When encouraging the Corinthians to remove an unrepentant adulterer from the church, Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 5:6, “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough?” If the Corinthians did not confront this sin, it would only spread throughout the church. Likewise, if we don’t confront sin in our own lives, it will spread. A little compromise leads to big compromises. If we don’t confront sin in the lives of others, it will begin to spread as well—rumors will grow, ungodly language will become normal, and dishonesty, sexual immorality, and maybe even violence will become commonplace. If we don’t understand sin’s contagious nature, we might be tempted to leave it alone—possibly hoping that it will go away. It won’t. It will most likely just become worse.

2. To confront sin, we must remove it from our lives first before focusing on others.

In Matthew 7:1-5, Christ said:

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

This is an often-abused text in the church and the world. People will say that we should never judge anything; however, that is not what Christ was teaching. He said that we must first remove the beam from our eye before we remove the speck from someone else’s. Confronting sin is like doing surgery. When a doctor does surgery, he first washes his hands and makes sure his clothing is clean, so he does not make the patient’s infection worse. Likewise, if we don’t take proper precautions, we can hurt someone we intend to help. A person with a beam in his eye cannot see clearly and therefore will either be too harsh in the surgery or too light. People who are not properly cleansing themselves from sin often become judgmental Pharisees that hurt others, or libertarians who focus only on God’s love and therefore never hold themselves or others to God’s standards. If we are going to confront sin, it must first start with us, as individuals.

3. To confront sin, we must be wise in confronting others by using the pattern Christ gave for church discipline.

In Matthew 18:15-17, Christ said this about the process of confronting sin:

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.

In short, when a person is in sin, (1) we must approach him one on one first. This allows us to find out if there was some misunderstanding and to see where his heart is. We must treat people who are struggling with sin and want to be free differently than a person who is willfully living in sin and doesn’t want to change. A person struggling with sin needs encouragement and help; a person willfully living in sin needs rebuke and possibly discipline. In addition, approaching them one on one before going to others also stops gossip from going around the church which will only harden the person’s heart further. (2) If he doesn’t respond to the one on one, we should approach him with one or two other people (possibly another mature Christian or church elder that knows him). (3) If he still doesn’t respond, it should be brought before the church. At this point, the elders are involved, if they weren’t involved previously. The elders will share with the church (possibly at a members’ meeting) and encourage them to plead with the person or persons to repent. (4) If he still doesn’t repent, believers are to separate from this person. He is to be removed from the church in hopes that he will see the seriousness of his sin and repent.

When dealing with sin outside of a local church, many of the same principles should still be applied. First, confrontation should happen one-on-one. Only if the person is unrepentant should it go before a boss or others. If we rebuke people publicly or share it with others first, we will often lose the struggling person’s ear and often become a source of unnecessary division in a community. What Christ taught are wisdom principles, which should even be applied outside the church.

With that said, without confronting sin, there can be no revival—no renewal in our relationship with God and no proper relationships with others. The sin will continue to fester in that person’s life and spread to others. This no doubt happened in Israel. (1) First, a little Baal worship was despised but tolerated. (2) Then it was accepted as an alternative way of life and celebrated for the diversity it brought to the community. (3) Then, it spread quickly and soon became the national religion. If we’re going to experience revival, sin must be confronted, and the sooner the better.

Application Question: Why is confronting sin so important for personal and corporate revival? What makes the process of confronting sin difficult? How have you seen or been involved in the process of church discipline?

When Bringing Revival, God Confronts and Often Destroys People’s Idols

Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.” So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response.

1 Kings 18:25-29

This point overlaps with the previous one. Not only did Elijah confront Ahab and Israel about their sins, but also God confronted Baal by demonstrating his superior power. God was already doing this through the drought, since Baal was believed to control the rain, but God was also going to do this dramatically through Elijah’s contest with the false prophets. When Elijah called for the prophets, he asked for both the prophets of Baal and Asherah. Asherah was supposedly a wife of Baal and the goddess of sex and war.³ Israel worshiped both of them. Therefore, to make sure Israel had no doubts about who was God, Elijah stacked the deck, or rigged the contest, in Baal’s favor.

Observation Question: How did Elijah rig the contest in Baal’s favor?

He did this in several ways: (1) He gave Baal homecourt advantage. Archaeological findings tell us that Mount Carmel was considered a sanctuary of Baal. Roman inscriptions state that the Phoenicians would come to the mount to worship the “Baal of Carmel.”⁴ Assyrian inscriptions also called it “Bal-rasi” which means “Baal of Carmel.”⁵ This is important to understand since most ancient people believed that the gods were territorial. For example, there was one time in 1 Kings 20:28 when Israel defeated the Arameans in a battle, and the Aramean wise men made an excuse for their loss by saying it happened because Israel’s God was “a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys.” So when Baal lost, Elijah wanted to make sure they had no excuses. Baal had homecourt advantage. (2) Elijah also gave Baal a number advantage. There were to be 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. It was going to be 850 to 1. (3) Elijah also let the prophets of Baal and Asherah call on their god first. Again, he did this so they would have no excuse for losing the contest.

What happens next? The prophets were to slay a bull, prepare the offering, and then call on Baal to send fire from heaven. After, Elijah would do the same and whoever’s god answered was the true God. In verse 26, it says the false prophets called on Baal from morning to noon, possibly for six hours, but there was no response. During this time, they jumped “around the altar”—no doubt dancing in a provocative manner, seeking to elicit a response from Baal. Because of the ineffectiveness of the prophets’ antics, Elijah began to mock them and Baal. In verse 27, he said, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” When Elijah said that Baal perhaps had “stepped out for a moment,” in the Hebrew, this phrase is probably a euphemism for Baal going to the bathroom.⁶ After Elijah mocked them, they began to yell louder, cut themselves, and went into an ecstatic frenzy; however, there was silence. They probably cried out to Baal for up to twelve hours since they did it from morning to “throughout the afternoon” (v. 29).

When there was no response, Elijah called the people to himself and repaired the altar of God (v. 30). This was probably one of the high places where people used to worship God at when Solomon was king. In repairing the altar, he did it with twelve stones which symbolized the people of Israel (v. 31)—reminding them that they were a people called by God to be his own from the twelve sons of Jacob. Around the altar, he built a ditch and then had the people pour four large jugs of water over the altar three times (v.32-34). Consequently, the water was dripping off the altar and had filled the ditch (v. 35). Finally, Elijah prayed a short prayer that God would prove that he was the true God and that he was turning the people back to him (v. 36-37). In response, fire from heaven consumed the sacrifice, the altar, and the water.

What can we learn from this? Certainly, we must realize that this is a common thing God does when bringing revival. He confronts people’s idols—anything that competes for his allegiance and affection in their hearts. How else do we see this in Scripture? We see this with Israel in Egypt. Often when we think of God delivering Israel from Egypt, we think of him delivering Israel from slavery and oppression, which was certainly part of it. However, he was also delivering them from worshipping the Egyptian gods. It’s clear that this had become a problem for Israel because soon after they were delivered from Egypt, they made a golden calf to worship while waiting for Moses who was on Mount Sinai (Ex 32).

Because of their idolatry, when God was delivering them, he continually showed his power over the Egyptian gods. Each of the ten plagues were confrontations with these gods. When God made it dark for three days (Ex 10), he confronted Ra, the sun god. When God turned the Nile river into blood (Ex 7), he was confronting the god of the Nile. In fact, consider what God said when he brought the last plague in Exodus 12:12:

I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.

Through the plagues, God was executing judgment on the Egyptians and their gods, so that the Egyptians would know their gods weren’t real but also so Israel would know.

Likewise, we see God becoming angry at the Northern Kingdom of Israel for worshiping pagan gods in the book of Hosea, where he calls them adulterers (cf. Hos 2:2). In Hosea 8:5-6, God said this to Israel:

O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol! My anger burns against them! They will not survive much longer without being punished, even though they are Israelites! That idol was made by a workman—it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

When God is going to bring revival, he often confronts the idols of people and at times destroys them.

In the New Testament, I also believe we see this when Paul brought the Gospel to Ephesus in Acts 19. The Ephesians were known for their witchcraft; therefore, when the Gospel went there, God made himself known through great miracles, which demonstrated his superior power over the evil spirits and dark practices of the Ephesians. Acts 19:11-12 says,

God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

Consequently, many came to the Lord. Those who practiced witchcraft began to gather their books and burn them in front of everybody. The cost was 50,000 silver coins (Acts 19:18-19). By doing extraordinary miracles, God confronted the evil spirits and witchcraft in that city, bringing a great revival.

Does this happen today? Certainly. In places that are animistic and steeped in witchcraft, God often ministers in very charismatic ways—delivering people from demons, healing people, sometimes even doing dramatic things with the weather, etc.—so there will be a revival. He confronts the idols of the people and demonstrates his power over them. Some wonder why this doesn’t commonly happen in modern countries like America or Korea. I believe God does do this; he just does it in different ways because we have different idols. Certainly, in many modern countries that don’t really believe in the supernatural, God confronts their idols in natural ways. He confronts the gods of false intellectualism through apologetics, scientific discoveries, archaeology, and strong biblical teaching. Sometimes, he confronts the idols of the stock market and money through recessions to help deliver people from the idolatry of “Mammon” (Matt 6:24 KJV). God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When he begins to bring revival, he often confronts people’s idols which control their hearts.

Application Question: How should we respond to the fact that God often confronts and destroys our idols in order to bring revival in our lives and communities?

1. Because God confronts people’s idols to bring revival, we must constantly test our hearts to discern what may be stealing our affection and time away from God, so we can repent.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life.” Likewise, in Psalm 139:23-24, David prayed: “Examine me, and probe my thoughts! Test me, and know my concerns! See if there is any idolatrous tendency in me, and lead me in the reliable ancient path!” We must guard our hearts against any “idolatrous tendency”—whether that be entertainment, career, relationships, money, sexual immorality, false teaching, or anything else. We must continually ask ourselves, “Are we putting anything before God and his will for our lives?” “Is there anything that we’re putting too much time and energy into which is keeping us from reading God’s Word, prayer, worship with the saints, and service to him?” If so, we must repent by either getting rid of those things or reorganizing our time so that God is prioritized. As God told the church of Ephesus, he must be our first love—our priority—lest he remove our lampstand (Rev 2). We cannot have revival if there are idols in our lives, even as Israel could not.

2. Because God confronts people’s idols to bring revival, we must wisely and humbly confront the idols of others.

This takes tremendous discernment and humility because we cannot read people’s hearts, at least not without a tendency to misjudge. With that said, in Luke 6:45, Christ said from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Typically, a person who idolizes money and prestige will constantly talk about it and pursue it. A person who idolizes their religious works will constantly brag about them, like the Pharisees. A person consumed with their physical appearance or what people think of them will constantly display it through their language and actions. A person who loves comfort more than doing God’s will, will demonstrate that through words and actions as well. We can’t hide what’s in our heart, it will always come out. And because of this reality and because we love others, we may at times, in humility, need to point out things that may be hindering God’s best or distracting them from God. Again, this must be done in humility because only God clearly sees the heart, and our eyesight is often clouded because of our own sin (cf. Matt 7:1-5).

In addition, especially for those who have the privilege of teaching God’s Word in a small group, classroom, or even a pulpit, we must be aware of the idols of the culture we minister to. Like Elijah, we must point those things out so those we minister to may be aware of them, set free from them, and continually experience revival in their lives. Each culture has its own idols and those are often reflected in the church, whether it be an unhealthy focus on education, beauty, wealth, success, or conforming to the expectations of others, including family. When James wrote the people he ministered to, he constantly pointed out the sins in that culture. They were honoring the rich and dishonoring the poor (Jam 2:1-7). Some were seeking positions of influence not so much to serve but to be served (Jam 3:1).

To help bring revival in people’s lives, God often confronts their idols and will commonly use us in the process, as he did with Elijah. As John with pastoral care said to the Ephesians, we must also in love say to others, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).

Application Question: What things do you have a tendency to idolize and put before God and his call on your life (comfort, family, success, entertainment, etc.)? How is God calling you to respond to your idols? What are some common idols in your culture or the culture you minister to? How should we wisely and humbly expose people’s idols so they can be set free and experience revival? In what ways can confronting idols be done unwisely?

When Bringing Revival, God Draws His People into Intercession

When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance.”

1 Kings 18:36-37

After the false prophets prayed for approximately twelve hours, Elijah prayed a simple prayer, and God brought fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. It must be understood that this was not just a prayer for fire from heaven. Elijah prayed that God would “prove” he was God (v. 36) so the people would know that he was “winning back their allegiance” (v. 37). Elijah was praying for revival—that the hearts of adulterous Israel would repent and turn back to God.

With that said, certainly, this was not the only time Elijah prayed for Israel. Though we don’t see him praying in 1 Kings 17:1 when he told Ahab that it would not rain except at his word, James 5:17 says that it stopped raining in response to Elijah’s prayer. Elijah prayed for the drought which revealed that Baal was not in control of the weather, and later he prayed for fire from heaven to demonstrate that God was the true God. No doubt, Elijah had been praying for at least three-and-a-half years for revival in Israel and probably long before that.

Likewise, when there is a revival, it happens in response to prayer. As we start to pray for a family member who is far-away from God, God will often start the process of answering that prayer. As with Israel, he often does it through trials that soften their hearts and turn them away from other idols to the true God. But, this also happens as we pray for our communities, workplaces, churches, cities, and nations. God responds when people pray. And because of this, God often seeks out people like Elijah, who will be devoted to prayer. Ezekiel 22:30 says, “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.” Also, Isaiah 62:6-7 says, “I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don’t be silent! Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.”

Perseverance in Prayer

As with Elijah praying for Israel for at least three-and-a-half years, revivals typically don’t happen without perseverance in prayer. Many of our prayers won’t be answered in our lifetime. We’ll pray, God will move us to a new place (and possibly remove the burden) or take us home, and somebody else will take up our prayer burden until God answers it. When God was bringing a harvest in Israel during Christ’s ministry, Christ said this to the disciples in John 4:37-38: “… the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” Others had prayed, sown seeds of the Word and tears, and yet, the disciples were reaping the harvest without the hard work. Praying continually for a university, a city, or a nation is hard work, but the fruit is worth it. In the context of spiritual warfare, Paul said this in Ephesians 6:18: “With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.” We must pray for other saints with “all perseverance.”

Application Question: How should we apply the necessity of intercession for revival?

1. Because intercession often precedes revival, we must commit to faithfully praying for it in the areas and people God has called us to.

Again, God sought for a person to stand in the gap and pray but found none (Ez 22:30). No doubt, there were lots of believers in Israel, but most were too busy or too concerned with their own affairs to pray for the lost and for repentance in their nation and others; therefore, God destroyed the land. We must commit to praying long term for lost friends, our church, our community, and our nation because God is seeking for watchmen who will stand in the gap (Is 62:6-7).

2. Because intercession often precedes revival, we must also at times commit to praying for it corporately.

In this text, we only see Elijah praying, but no doubt, he was just part of the faithful remnant that God had preserved, who was also praying for the nation to turn back to God, including the prophets hiding in caves (1 Kgs 19:18). There seem to be special promises and power in corporate prayer. Though this promise is given specifically to Israel, certainly it has applications to the church since it reflects God’s unchanging character. Second Chronicles 7:13-15 says,

When I close up the sky so that it doesn’t rain, or command locusts to devour the land’s vegetation, or send a plague among my people, if my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Now I will be attentive and responsive to the prayers offered in this place.

God told Israel that when his people (plural) humbled themselves in prayer, sought the Lord, and turned from their sin, God would forgive them and heal their land. Certainly, this applies to the remnant of true believers in America, Korea, and other nations who cry out to God with prayer and repentance; often revival and healing will follow. In addition, Christ said this in the context of church discipline in Matthew 18:19-20, “Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

There is a special power in corporate prayer. Because of this reality, it’s wise to initiate women’s prayer meetings for specific causes, men’s prayer meetings, church-wide fasting events, and cooperative prayer with churches in a city. As believers humble themselves before God and agree together for things Scripture says God desires, like the salvation of the lost, righteousness in a nation, and revival in a church or Christian institution, God often moves in a special way in response to his people’s prayers.

Application Question: Why does God require his people to pray in order to get his will done, including bringing revival in the lives of others? What causes, individuals, or people in general do you feel God is calling you to commit to pray for and why?

When Bringing Revival, God’s People Genuinely Repent

When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!” Elijah told them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed them there.

1 Kings 18:39-40

Finally, after God hears Elijah’s prayer and sends fire to consume the sacrifice on the altar, the people cried out, “the Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!” (v. 39). Then, Elijah commands the people to seize the prophets of Baal and execute each one. Certainly, this seems cruel; however, this was in obedience to what God had called Israel to do with false prophets who tried to lead Israel away from the true God. Deuteronomy 13:4-5 says this:

You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within.

Again, this may seem cruel, but this demonstrates true repentance. In Mark 9:43-47, Christ said:

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.

Christ essentially said, if what we are doing (represented by the hand) is causing us to sin, we should cut it off. If where we are going (represented by the foot) is causing us to sin, we must get rid of it. If what we are watching (represented by the eye) is causing us to sin, we must do the same. This is warfare terminology. Commonly, when ancient armies defeated their enemies, they would gouge out their eyes or cut off their hands or feet, so they would never rise up and defeat them again, as seen with the Philistines gouging out Samson’s eyes (Jdg 16:21, cf. 1 Sam 11:1-2).

The hand, the foot, and the eye are all things dear to us, which could represent a relationship, a job, a hobby, or something else we care about. However, even though they are dear to us, we must get rid of them gladly to be holy. We must get rid of the TV show that we enjoy, the compromising relationship that is hurting our intimacy with God, and stop visiting certain places in order to be holy. Certainly, this demonstrates why many can’t be holy. They love their hand, foot, and eye too much and therefore are not willing to be ruthless in order to be holy. For this reason, revival tarries in their individual lives, and they can’t be used by God to bring revival in the lives of others. We clearly see something of this when Elijah has all the false prophets put to death after confronting them. If Israel would have kept them around, they would have been prone to go back to worshiping Baal. Likewise, we must be ruthless with sin and temptations to sin as well.

This also reminds us of the need to practice church discipline in order for a community to be holy as mentioned earlier. In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, consider how Paul challenged the Corinthians to treat believers in their church who were walking in unrepentant sin. He said:

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Certainly, this assumes the believers had already been approached one on one, with two or three, and by the church (cf. Matt 18:15-17). Because they still didn’t repent, the church should separate from them in hopes that they will see the seriousness of their sin and return to God. This is hard to do, but it is necessary to help bring revival in the person’s life and the church. Many churches can’t experience revival because they are not willing to be drastic with sin. This leads to them becoming lukewarm and God eventually removing their lampstand—their effectiveness in their community and city. Sadly, many of our once strong denominations are dead because they accepted (and possibly celebrated) sin instead of confronting it. And many Christians who were once on fire and effective at reaching others stopped being so, because they started to accept sin instead of confronting it and getting rid of it in their own lives and their community.

If we are going to experience revival, sin and temptations to sin must be removed which demonstrates genuine repentance. If we tolerate temptations to sin, we will eventually succumb to it, and others will as well.

Application Question: Why is it so difficult to be drastic in getting rid of sin in our lives—plucking out our eyes and cutting off our hands and feet (metaphorically speaking)? What happens if sin is not properly addressed in a community (cf. 1 Cor 5:6, Matt 18:15-17)? What thing is God calling you to be drastic with by getting rid of to be holy and experience deeper intimacy with him (cf. Mk 9:43-47, 2 Cor 6:14-18)?

Conclusion

In 1 Kings 18, God uses Elijah to help bring revival in Israel. What are common steps towards experiencing revival in our personal lives and communities?

1. When Bringing Revival, God Often Allows Desperate Circumstances to Help People Recognize Their Weakness and Depend More on Him
2. When Bringing Revival, God Often Raises Up the Righteous to Faithfully, Boldly, and Sacrificially Serve Others
3. When Bringing Revival, God Often Unifies Believers So They Can More Effectively Complete His Work Together
4. When Bringing Revival, God Uses the Righteous to Confront Sin, Even at Great Risk to Themselves
5. When Bringing Revival, God Confronts and Destroys People’s Idols
6. When Bringing Revival, God Draws His People into Intercession
7. When Bringing Revival, God’s People Genuinely Repent

Application Question: How is God calling you to participate in bringing spiritual renewal in your personal life and community?

Prayer Prompts

• Pray that God would expose our personal, communal, and national sins and idols, forgive us, and bring repentance. Confess corporate sins such as abortion, family, church, and political division, and the idolatry of education, wealth, and beauty, among other sins, which hinder revival.
• Pray that God would renew a spirit of intercession in our personal lives and our churches. Pray that God would raise up watchmen who will not give him rest until God brings righteousness.
• Pray that God would bring revival in his church and the cities and countries they reside in—that through the church God would reach the lost.

Copyright © 2022 Gregory Brown

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Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, “May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!” Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there, while he went a day’s journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life: “I’ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I’m no better than my ancestors.” He stretched out and fell asleep under the shrub. All of a sudden an angelic messenger touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked and right there by his head was a cake baking on hot coals and a jug of water. He ate and drank and then slept some more. The Lord’s angelic messenger came back again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, for otherwise you won’t be able to make the journey.” So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.” A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and then head for the Desert of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria. You must anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to take your place as prophet. Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword. I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.” Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen; he was near the twelfth pair. Elijah passed by him and threw his robe over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.” Elijah said to him, “Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?” Elisha went back and took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He cooked the meat over a fire that he made by burning the harness and yoke. He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

1 Kings 19:1-21 (NET)

How should we overcome seasons of depression and discouragement? Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world, with 264 million people of all ages being affected by it.¹ Statistics say that 1 in 4 women and 1 out of 10 men will be diagnosed with clinical depression at some point in their life.² Researchers say men’s stats are lower probably because they are less likely to share their feelings and seek help.³

Some of the people that God has used the most have struggled with depression. Charles Spurgeon, who is often considered the greatest preacher since Paul, would commonly take two to three months off to go to a resort in France because he was so depressed. He also would have days where he wouldn’t leave his couch.⁴ He considered these fits so common to a minister that he wrote a whole chapter on it in his book, Lectures to My Students. It’s called the “Ministers Fainting Fits.” We all have times of fainting. Martin Lloyd Jones also thought this was a common and perplexing issue for Christians in general. Since Christians have so much to be thankful for, why do we so commonly struggle with discouragement and depression? As a trained medical doctor and well-known pastor, he wrote a whole book addressing the issue called Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure.

Again, many great leaders have struggled with it. Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest American presidents once said this: “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on earth. ... To remain as I am is impossible. I must die to be better.”⁵ Here in this text, Elijah, one of the greatest prophets and spiritual heroes in the Bible, has a season of depression. During it, he cries out to God to take his life (1 Kgs 19:4). Likewise, Moses, while dealing with the demands of ministry and difficult people, cried out the same in Numbers 11:15. In 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul talked about how in his ministry in Asia he was “burdened excessively” beyond his strength and that he “despaired even of living.” In Matthew 26:38, Christ said before going to the cross that his soul was “deeply grieved, even to the point of death.”

If some of the greatest that God has ever used, including his Son, struggled with depression and discouragement, certainly, we will at times struggle with it as well. Therefore, as we consider this narrative where Elijah struggled with depression and God helped restore him, we can find basic principles that will help us work through our bouts with depression and help us help others struggling with it.

Big Question: What principles about overcoming depression can we discern from Elijah’s struggle with it and how God ministered to him in 1 Kings 19:1-21?

To Overcome Depression, We Must Beware of Circumstances Which Might Trigger it and Minimize Them When Possible

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, “May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!”

1 Kings 19:1-2

At the end of 1 Kings 18, Ahab had gathered 850 false prophets to confront Elijah on Mount Carmel. There, Elijah challenged them to prepare a sacrifice and pray for Baal to send fire from heaven on the sacrifice. After they had cried out to Baal for many hours with no response, Elijah prepared an altar, had buckets of water poured over it, prayed to the God of heaven, and God sent fire. Then, Elijah had all the false prophets killed and later prayed for rain, and it rained after a three-and-a-half-year drought. Ahab then left Carmel by chariot back to Jezreel where his wife Jezebel was staying. No doubt, Jezebel had seen the rain and assumed there was some victory on behalf of her prophets. However, there was not. Ahab gave her bad news instead. All the prophets of Baal were dead because of Elijah. She wasn’t happy that there was rain after a three-and-a-half-year drought, and she wasn’t ready to submit to God. Like Pharaoh, who saw many of God’s miracles, her heart was hardened, and therefore, she promised Elijah that he would die within a twenty-four-hour period.

When Elijah heard this, he fled for his life and eventually asked God to take his life, which was a sign of his struggle with depression. As we consider the events surrounding Elijah’s struggle with depression, we can discern common circumstances that trigger bouts with depression.

Application Question: What are common circumstances that trigger depression, especially as seen in the narrative with Elijah?

1. After experiencing great highs, it’s common to experience deep lows.

Elijah had just achieved a major victory against the false prophets of Baal, Israel had repented of their sins, and God had used him to stop the drought. This was a great victory indeed. However, after great victories, we’re very prone to great emotional lows. Part of this is our natural body chemistry. After running on adrenaline to accomplish some great goal (like completing midterms or some major project) and having the excitement after, it’s normal for the body to at times swing to the opposite extreme by struggling with emotional and physical fatigue, as the body chemistry adjusts back to normal. Sometimes, this emotional/physical fatigue can last a long time, especially when we’ve been running on adrenaline and caffeine to accomplish the task for a long period. In addition, from a spiritual side, after a major spiritual victory—a wonderful time at Sunday worship, finishing a weekend retreat, or mission trip—in the celebration and excitement, we tend to lower our guard, relax, and the enemy who does not rest attacks us. This is very normal and that probably happened to Elijah. After a major success, he was vulnerable.

2. Before major ministries, it’s common to experience deep lows.

Though we don’t see this with Elijah, it has been the common experience of many. Charles Spurgeon said this about his experience of depression before great victories as he counseled the pastors at his college:

This depression comes over me whenever the Lord is preparing a larger blessing for my ministry; the cloud is black before it breaks, and overshadows before it yields its deluge of mercy. Depression has now become to me as a prophet in rough clothing, a John the Baptist heralding the nearer coming of my Lord’s richer blessing; so have far better men found it. The scouring of the vessel has fitted it for the Master’s use. Immersion in suffering has preceded the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Fasting gives an appetite for the banquet. The Lord is revealed in the backside of the desert, while His servant keeps the sheep and waits in solitary awe. The wilderness is the way to Canaan. The low valley leads to the towering mountain. Defeat prepares for victory. The raven is sent forth before the dove. The darkest hour of the night precedes the day’s dawn.⁶

Many others have experienced this as well, right before preaching, leading worship, ministering to someone in conflict or caught in sin, and other types of ministry. The night often comes before the day. Before major victories, there is often a low.

3. When experiencing a major disappointment, it’s common to experience deep lows.

With Elijah, no doubt he was expecting positive news after God had defeated Baal and his prophets and restarted the rain after years of drought. Israel had repented. Ahab had listened to Elijah when he told him to celebrate because rain was coming and then soon told him to head home before he was overtaken by the rain. Surely, things would be better in Israel after many years of rebellion and three and a half years of drought and famine. However, after Ahab got back and gave the bad news to Jezebel, she reacted harshly and promised to kill Elijah. Certainly, this must have shocked Elijah. He probably expected a season of peace, righteousness, and probably economic stability in Israel, only to find out he was still a fugitive. This unexpected outcome, no doubt, contributed to Elijah’s depression. For the person who found out he lost his scholarship or job, or who discovered that he has cancer, or who had great dreams of happiness in marriage but now his or her mate is asking for a divorce, or who just lost a friend or family member, bouts with depression are not uncommon. We should be aware of those tendencies when we experience major disappointments, so we can guard our hearts against the lows that follow. Also, we should be aware of those tendencies when others experience them. It’s at those times that we need to reach out to lend a sympathetic ear, provide a meal, ask to babysit their kids to give them time to recover and at times grieve appropriately. Battling with bouts of depression is common after experiencing major disappointments.

4. When continually overworking without rest, it’s common to experience deep lows.

Not only had Elijah worked hard in confronting the false prophets of Baal and praying for rain to end the drought, but when it began to rain, he ran fourteen miles to Jezreel (1 Kgs 18:46). Then, after Elijah heard Jezebel was going to kill him, he fled 80 miles to Beersheba.⁷ After getting to Beersheba and leaving his servant there (v. 3), he then traveled a day’s journey into the desert (v. 4). Apparently, there was no time to rest because soon after the day’s travel, Elijah just collapsed in exhaustion and began to sleep (v. 5). There is an old Greek proverb that says, “You will break the bow if you keep it always bent.” This means if we’re constantly living under stress and not resting, we will ultimately break under the pressure. Maybe, that was happening with Elijah as well. In the Gospels, Christ, as the perfect human, demonstrated his need for rest. He would at times go away, leaving the ministry, and rest. He would also encourage his disciples to rest as well (Mk 6:31).

When God instituted the Sabbath for Israel, he instituted it to deliver them from the idolatry of work. Work, success, and accomplishment can at times become our god—our primary pursuit—and by taking a weekly sabbath day and resting, it heals and restores our bodies and delivers us from the idolatry of work. Now, certainly, we are not under the law and are not required to cease work from Friday evening till Saturday evening as the Jews were, but the sabbath principle continues. Christ said, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27). Sabbath is not our master, but by taking a sabbath, we will have more joy and productivity in life. Ray Pritchard eloquently summed up our need to rest this way:

There is a time when you need to get up and go to work, and there is a time when you need to lie down and take a nap. Sometimes the best thing we can do for the Lord is to take a vacation. Play tennis. Ride your bike. Watch a football game. Knit a sweater. Have a date with your sweetheart. Play with your grandchildren. Eat an ice cream cone. Take an evening, make some popcorn, sit on the couch, and watch a video. There are times when God’s work demands strenuous action. And there is a time when you need to sit in the recliner, crank it back, get a bowl of Cheetos and a Coke, pick up the remote control, and watch ESPN for a while. There is a time to be active and busy, and there is a time to relax. There is a time to write, a time to work, a time to preach, and a time to put on your helmet and go ride your bicycle. Solomon reminded us in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is a time for everything under the sun.⁸

Likewise, Gene Getz shared a helpful story that illustrates how rest leads to more productivity:

I’m reminded of two men who started a journey across the great northland with two separate dog teams. One driver decided to stop and rest his dogs every seventh day. The other man decided to drive his dogs straight through.

At the end of the first week, one of the men—as planned—stopped his team and rested all that day. The other man continued to travel. By the end of the next week, the man who had rested his dogs, nearly caught up with the man who traveled straight through. But again, he stopped to rest his team on the seventh day. By the end of the third week, the one who had rested his team had passed the man who traveled straight through—and in the end reached the final destination far ahead. All of us need rest and recuperation. This is part of God’s plan for all of us. Though we are not under Old Testament law, the principles still apply. Experience verifies it.⁹

Be careful of overwork, it will steal our joy and strength. It’s clear that this was a problem with Elijah because when God first ministers to him through an angel, he just allows Elijah to sleep, eat, and recover (v. 5-8). Again, a bow that is always bent will eventually break. It is no surprise that Satan tempted Christ at the end of forty days of fasting in the wilderness when he was hungry and weak (Matt 4:2-3). Satan often does the same to us when we are physically and emotionally exhausted. It’s often right before bedtime when couples are exhausted from work all day and taking care of kids at night that they get into fights. We must be aware of times of weariness; at those times, we’re especially prone to depression and attacks from the devil.

Again, we should be aware of these vulnerable seasons which can trigger depression—after a great victory, before a major ministry, when experiencing a major disappointment, and when continually working without rest. This will not only help us better navigate those seasons and the common bouts of depression that may come from them but also help us better minister to others.

Application Question: How have you experienced bouts with depression in general and specifically during these vulnerable seasons—after a great victory, before a major ministry, after a major disappointment, or after a season of strenuous work? How should we navigate these vulnerable seasons and help others do the same? What are some other seasons where people are prone to depression?

To Overcome Depression, We Must Be Aware of Its Signs and Respond to Them Appropriately

Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there, while he went a day’s journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life: “I’ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I’m no better than my ancestors.” … He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”

1 Kings 19:3-4, 10

As mentioned, after Elijah heard from Jezebel that he would surely die in the next twenty-four hours, he ran for his life to Beersheba. This trip was about 80 miles towards the very southern end of Israel right before the desert. There, he leaves his servant and goes a day’s journey into the desert. He finds a tree, sits down under it, and asks God to take his life—declaring he was no better than his ancestors.

After hearing about the death threat, Elijah starts to demonstrate some unhealthy behaviors that would only hurt him in this situation instead of helping him. These are common for people struggling with depression.

Observation Question: What signs of depression or depressive behaviors do we see in Elijah that we must be careful of?

1. Struggling with strong fears can be a sign of struggling with depression (or help lead to it).

Elijah struggled with fear of being killed. Certainly, this would be normal in his situation. He had just received a legitimate death threat. However, it’s clear that this fear hindered Elijah’s ability to trust God (cf. Matt 13:22, 1 John 4:18). God provided food from ravens to feed Elijah and multiplied oil over months so he could eat bread during the famine. God stopped the heavens from raining and brought rain all at Elijah’s request. Could God not also protect him from Jezebel’s threat? We will see later that God will in fact protect him from other physical threats. In 2 Kings 1, King Ahaziah will send soldiers to take Elijah by force several times, and God sends fire from heaven to consume them. Fear will commonly hinder our faith and blind us to God’s faithfulness. In Matthew 13:22 (NIV), Christ said the “worries of this life” “choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Even though we know about God’s faithfulness, fear commonly keeps us from living according to what we know to be true. When struggling with fear, we often can’t remember or be influenced by all the ways that God has provided for us in the past—food, shelter, family, friends, job, and even protection. In addition, fear leads to depression. Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down.” As Elijah continued to worry about being murdered, his heart sank lower and lower into depression. In fact, as mentioned, he soon asked God to kill him.

Likewise, we must be careful regarding worries about some past failure, worries about the future, or worries about some conflict. God provided for our past, and he will certainly provide for our future. As Christ said, if God cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, how much more will he care for us (Matt 6:25-34)?

To protect ourselves from depression or to overcome it, we must be careful of fears which will hinder our faith and confidence in God’s provision. Second Timothy 1:7 says, “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Application Question: How do we protect ourselves from fears that hinder our faith and lead us into discouragement?

Philippians 4:6-7 says,

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

To battle these anxious thoughts, we must (1) choose to reject them as not from God, (2) continually pray about the situation, including bringing our requests before God, and (3) give God thanks in faith. When we give God thanks in faith, it helps us remember and see God’s faithfulness around us, which will help us trust him for future grace. Also, when we do this in obedience to God’s Word, he gives us his peace “that surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7)—peace that just won’t make sense when considering our circumstances.

Elijah struggled with fears about his future, which weighed him down. Typically, people who struggle with depression are also battling various fears—some rational and some not as rational. We must help them remember God’s faithfulness, pray, and trust God so they can have peace. Isaiah 26:3 (ESV) says this, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

2. Extreme lack of perseverance or strength, especially in situations or activities that we previously enjoyed or that wouldn’t normally overwhelm us, can be a sign of struggling with depression.

After Elijah heard Jezebel’s threat, he not only ran for his life but also was ready to quit ministry and life in general. With Elijah, he had been hunted for three and a half years previously, and God protected him at a deserted brook and later at a widow’s house in Sidon. This was nothing new for him. However, this is a common sign for those struggling with depression. The things that they previously could handle now wear them out, and they just want to quit. They want to drop out of school, quit their job, end their marriage, and sometimes even their life. We should be careful when everything feels overwhelming, and we want to quit everything. When encountering those feelings, we’ll certainly need to find strength in God and through others, but we also may need to rebalance for a season including lightening our load.

3. Isolating away from people in general, but especially those who can help us or want to help us, can be a sign of struggling with depression.

For some reason, after Elijah got to Beersheba, he left his servant there (v. 3). Maybe, he left his servant because he wanted God to end his life and therefore didn’t want his servant around to see it, or he was simply embarrassed about his emotional instability. We can only speculate. After a day’s travel in the desert, Elijah laid beside a tree (v. 4-5). He was isolated and by himself. This is common for people struggling with depression. They often separate from the relationships they previously enjoyed. They separate from friends, family, co-workers, and church members. To them, this seems rational, but because they are so depressed, they even more so need the support they are separating from. By isolating themselves, they put themselves in an echo chamber of unhealthy thoughts without someone to help them have a proper perspective. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Solomon said this:

Two people are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor. For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm, but how can one person keep warm by himself? Although an assailant may overpower one person, two can withstand him. Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.

Solomon says pity the person who falls and is all by himself. Therefore, we must be careful of isolating ourselves especially from people who can build us up—friends, family, church members, and the like. Certainly, it’s clear that isolation was a problem because when Elijah met with God in the cave, God told him to anoint Elisha who would be his assistant. God gave Elijah a friend who would help him bear the burden of ministry. We also need healthy relationships with those who will help bear our burden, pray for us, and encourage us when battling depression.

4. Extremely irrational and negative thinking can be a sign of depression.

Elijah not only struggled with fears but also irrational and negative thinking. Elijah said that he was the only prophet left and that he was worse than his ancestors (v. 4), which neither were true, and he asked God to take his life, even though God clearly wasn’t done using him. He wasn’t thinking or speaking rationally, which would only increase his depression. We always reap what we sow (Gal 6:7). If we sow negative thoughts and words, we’ll reap a negative harvest in our lives and also in others.

Application Question: How should we battle the irrational, negative thinking that is so common in seasons of depression?

• To battle irrational thinking, we must recognize negative thoughts and reject them by submitting them to Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul said: “… we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.” How do we take our thoughts captive? We recognize wrong thoughts, negative thoughts that don’t align with what God’s Word says about us, our future, or others, and we confess them before Christ and continually fight to turn away from them, instead of accepting them as reality.

• To battle irrational thinking, we must think on God’s Word instead.

In Matthew 4, every time Christ was tempted by Satan, he responded with a specific Scripture text. Likewise, we need to memorize and quote God’s Word often to combat irrational thinking in seasons of depression. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.” Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.” First Timothy 6:6-8 says, “Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.” Not only do we need to remember specific verses, but it is also very helpful to increase one’s bible reading and attendance at church and small groups to saturate our minds with God’s Word and help deliver us from irrational and negative thinking during difficult seasons. Continually listening to worship songs which are full of Scripture will be tremendously helpful as well.

• To battle irrational thinking, we must allow others to correct our negative thoughts.

When Elijah eventually went into the cave and repeated twice before the Lord that all Israel had rejected God and that Elijah was the only prophet left, God eventually corrected him by saying he had reserved a remnant who had not bowed to Baal (v. 18). God had also called others to help in the ministry to Israel, two future kings and a future prophet named Elisha (v. 17). Elijah was not the only one left. Certainly, as we faithfully get in the Word and pray, God often corrects our wrong thinking. But oftentimes, he will use others to help us see things more clearly from God’s Word and a balanced perspective. We need people that we meet up with, share our thoughts with (even irrational ones), and who help us work through them from a biblical and practical lens.

Application Question: How have you struggled with some of these depressive behaviors or seen others with them? How do you battle fears and irrational thinking which bring you down? What are some other signs of struggling with depression?

To Overcome Depression, We Must Draw Near God and Rely on Him More Deeply

So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.” A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and then head for the Desert of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria. You must anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to take your place as prophet. Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword. I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.”

1 Kings 19:8-18

After God allowed Elijah to rest and have good food provided by an angel, he then sent Elijah on a spiritual retreat—to draw near God. His recovery from depression would not only happen by taking the appropriate physical measures, Elijah needed to address it spiritually as well. Elijah travels and fasts for forty days and nights and then meets with God on Mount Horeb. We have seen this forty day fast at other times in Scripture. Before God gave Moses the law, he fasted for forty days on Mount Sinai (Ex 34:28). It was after Christ fasted for forty days that God empowered him through the Spirit for his ministry to Israel (Lk 4). No doubt, God was about to use Elijah’s struggle with depression for the good. He was going to draw Elijah to a time of great weakness and dependency on God for forty days. And at the end of forty days, God was going to reveal himself to Elijah in a special way. Likewise, yes, there are physical ways to address depression, but we should not neglect the spiritual remedy as well. Scripture says we should see all our trials as God drawing us to himself and making us more into his image. James 1:2-4 says,

My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.

We should consider our various trials as a test of our faith, including depression. Therefore, the way to primarily remedy them is through our faith, which is what God called Elijah to do. Elijah fasted for forty days while traveling to Mount Horeb to meet with God. He takes a spiritual retreat, which would help restore his psycho-emotional heath.

Observation Question: What does God do with Elijah during this spiritual retreat and how does this apply to us, as we draw near God?

1. During Elijah’s spiritual retreat, God created a deeper dependence on the Lord.

Elijah’s travel from Beersheba to Mount Horeb was around 200 miles.¹⁰ The fact that this took forty days shows us that Elijah was still depressed and weak. He averaged only 5 miles a day. This especially stands out when considering Elijah’s fourteen-mile run from Mount Carmel to Jezreel ahead of Ahab’s chariots (1 Kgs 18:46). During Elijah’s travel to Horeb, he was essentially crawling. He was physically weak—traveling off a meal he had before starting the journey—and emotionally weak. No doubt, during Elijah’s travel, he had to lean on God more. He had to trust him more. He also had to believe God had good things for him. God had called him on the journey. He was going to the mountain of God to meet with the Lord. Likewise, when dealing with depression and physical weakness, our work is often harder because it takes so much energy to focus. We want to quit. However, if we are faithful to trust in God and draw near him, he will carry us through, and it will create a greater dependence on and faith in the Lord. Again, Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.” God told Paul, who struggled with a thorn in the flesh (probably some physical disease), “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). No doubt, God had allowed Elijah to be especially weak during the journey, so that Elijah could learn to rely on God more and gain special strength through him—not only for the journey, but more importantly, for his ministry after.

2. During Elijah’s spiritual retreat, God helped Elijah self-reflect by revealing his wrong motives and thoughts.

On the mountain, God questioned Elijah twice by asking, “Why are you here?” (v. 9, 13). This is reminiscent of when God questioned Adam about his sin (Gen 3) or when Christ questioned Peter about the genuineness of his love (John 21). Since God is omniscient—knowing everything—we can rightly assume that he asked these questions for their benefit. He wanted Elijah to consider the motives in his heart. Often during times of trial and pursuing God, God exposes the sins in our hearts and begins to work on them—exposing insecurities and wrong views about ourselves, God, and others. With Israel, God said he led them into the wilderness to reveal what was in their hearts (Dt 8:2). The wilderness showed idolatry, lack of trust for God, discord, and other negative things that God wanted to deal with. Likewise, God was going to expose and root wrong things out of Elijah during this time, so he could strengthen him for his future mission.

When questioned, Elijah declared that he had been faithful to God, Israel had rebelled against God and was killing the prophets, and that he was the only one left. All of that was correct except for the fact that Elijah was not the only one left. In addition, if we consider Elijah’s prayer for death in the desert and Elijah’s response to God at the cave together, they might imply some other negative views he was harboring. His responses seemingly implied that the task was too much for Elijah and that he couldn’t do it anymore. Elijah’s responses also seem to imply that Israel was hopeless—they couldn’t be helped. They also might imply that God’s mission had failed. It was over, and therefore, it was time for Elijah to go home. Elijah’s negative thoughts of him being alone, that the task was too much, that Israel was hopeless, and that the mission had failed only contributed to his depression.

3. During Elijah’s spiritual retreat, God helped Elijah learn contentment with God’s presence and his Word, even when dealing with the disappointment of unfulfilled expectations.

After questioning Elijah the first time, God told Elijah to go out of the cave to stand before the Lord who was about to pass by (v. 11). Before Elijah came out of the cave, there was a powerful wind that passed by the mountain and began to tear it apart, but God wasn’t in the windstorm. Then, an earthquake happened, but God wasn’t in the earthquake either. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but God wasn’t in the fire. Finally, God appeared in a whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and came out of the cave (v. 13).

Interpretation Question: Why did God allow a windstorm, earthquake, and fire to come by the mountain, though he wasn’t in them and then reveal himself in a whisper?

Most likely, it was because Elijah had become dependent on God revealing himself in the miraculous and expected God to do so during Elijah’s troubling circumstance. God had moved in Elijah’s life through many miracles—stopping and starting the rain in response to his prayers, providing food through ravens and angels, resurrecting the dead, and bringing fire from heaven. Maybe, part of the reason Elijah was so depressed was because he expected God to move miraculously again when Jezebel promised to kill him or that she would have repented like many in Israel did. However, God’s sovereign hand over the events of life doesn’t always guide circumstances as we would want or pray it would. Sometimes, God’s will is the difficult path instead of the easy path or the one we think is best. When Jesus asked God to take the cup of suffering from him, God still chose to send him to the cross, and Christ said God’s will be done. Again, unfulfilled expectations probably contributed to Elijah’s depression. He wanted God to move miraculously, especially in considering the leadership of Israel, but God had not, which discouraged Elijah. Essentially, God was challenging Elijah with, “Would he be content if God only provided his presence and his Word—not the miracle Elijah desired?”

Likewise, many of us get depressed and discouraged because we’re expecting God to move in some special way—maybe by deliverance, but God instead reveals himself through grace for us to persevere. We’re expecting God to move by miraculous healing, but God wants to reveal himself through grace to have gratitude and joy despite sickness. We’re expecting God to move by some quick resolution to the problem, but instead, he asks us if we’ll be content with his presence and his Word. Oftentimes the grace that God gives is not what we ask for, it’s simply, “I will be with you.” Is that enough for us? It seems God was teaching Elijah contentment in his difficult circumstance with God’s presence and his whisper and not necessarily the miracles Elijah wanted. God often does that with us as well. Is God’s presence and his Word enough, even if the circumstances aren’t changed? He may not change our circumstance, but he will be with us during our circumstance which is enough (cf. Heb 13:5-6). When we truly accept that, it can deliver us from many a fear and depression.

4. During Elijah’s spiritual retreat, God restored his mission.

Clearly, one of the reasons Elijah was struggling with depression and discouragement was the fact that he had lost a sense of mission and no longer wanted to do his ministry. Proverbs 29:18 (NIV) says, “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” In the KJV, it is translated, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” When we don’t know God’s Word and his will for our lives, we tend to go down the wrong paths; we tend to lose discipline and find ourselves in sinful, destructive places. Therefore, to restore Elijah, God needed to give him a renewed purpose and mission. So, God tells Elijah to anoint Hazael as the king of Syria, Jehu as the new king over Israel, and Elisha to take his place as the chief prophet to Israel.

Likewise, when we lose a sense of mission, God’s call on our lives, it’s easy to cast off restraint—to start thinking the way we shouldn’t think, doing things that we shouldn’t do, and going places that we shouldn’t go. It’s easy to fall into bouts of depression and discouragement because of a lack of direction which gives hope. Again, this is why a concentrated time of seeking God is so important when dealing with bouts of depression. Because it’s there, as we spend extra time in God’s Word, prayer, and with the church, that God speaks to us. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” Psalm 25:14 (NIV) says, “The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”

Do we still have a sense of mission—a sense of God’s calling on our lives? One of the greatest things that Christians have that the world often doesn’t is that we are part of a mission that is bigger than ourselves and will ripple throughout eternity. God is building a kingdom on this earth, and he has called us to be part of it—to be his co-workers (1 Cor 3:9). He has given us talents and spiritual gifts to use for his kingdom, and he has given us clear commands. We are called to seek first God’s “kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33) and “to make disciples of every nation” (Matt 28:19). He promises us if we “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” we “will be satisfied” (Matt 5:6). He promises to use us according to our hunger and also to give us satisfaction in that righteousness. To restore Elijah, God renewed his mission.

5. During Elijah’s spiritual retreat, God corrected his wrong views and thoughts.

Though Elijah had said twice that he was the only one left, God finally corrected Elijah. In verse 18, God said this to Elijah, “I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.” Elijah was not alone. The work that God was doing in Israel and the surrounding nations was too big for him to do alone. God was going to work through a pagan named Hazael, an Israelite named Jehu, and through 7,000 Jews who never bowed to Baal or kissed his images. God always keeps a remnant. For Elijah to have victory over his depression, he had to think correctly; therefore, God corrected him as Elijah drew near to God.

6. During Elijah’s spiritual retreat, God called him to take on an assistant who would be his friend and help him bear his burden.

When Elijah anointed Elisha, Elisha was not simply going to be his future replacement; he was going to be Elijah’s assistant (1 Kgs 19:21). He was going to help Elijah bear the burden of ministry. In addition, Elisha would refresh Elijah. In 2 Kings 3:11 (ESV), Elisha is described as pouring “water on the hands of Elijah.” He refreshed him, and we need people who refresh us as well, especially in seasons of depression and discouragement. As mentioned, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two people are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor. For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.”

Likewise, if we are going to overcome depression and discouragement, we must draw nearer to God, even as Elijah did. We need to have seasons of extra fasting, prayer, worship, and devoted service to the Lord, and as we draw near him, he heals us or gives us special grace to persevere and be used by him despite our weakness (2 Cor 12:7-9). Again, this does not deny the physical and chemical aspects of depression and discouragement; it recognizes that we are a complex unification of body and soul. The body affects the soul, and the soul affects the body. As we draw near God in our difficult seasons, God creates a deeper dependence on him; he exposes wrong views and motives; he teaches us contentment with his presence, Word, and plan, whatever it may be; he restores a sense of mission which is commonly lost when under the cloud of depression, and he commonly gives us people who refresh and strengthen us—who help carry our load.

Are you drawing near God in this season so you can have the hope, refreshment, strength, and direction needed for this difficult season of your life? James says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”

Application Question: What are some ways for a person struggling with depression to draw near God? In what ways have you especially pursued God during seasons of difficulty and bouts with depression, and how was it beneficial to you? How is God calling you to draw nearer to him in this season?

To Overcome Depression, We Must Get Busy Serving Others

Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen; he was near the twelfth pair. Elijah passed by him and threw his robe over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.” Elijah said to him, “Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?” Elisha went back and took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He cooked the meat over a fire that he made by burning the harness and yoke. He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

1 Kings 19:19-21

After hearing God speak in a whisper and being challenged and recommissioned, Elijah got back to work. He left Mount Horeb, traveled 160 miles from Mount Horeb to Abel Meholah¹¹ to find Elisha (v. 16, 19), and anointed him—calling him to serve as his assistant and apprentice. Likewise, one of the difficulties of battling depression is that it makes us self-centered. We become consumed with ourselves, our bad circumstances, our future, and tend to forget God and others. Often, the best thing we can do when depressed is get busy focusing on and serving others. By taking on Elisha, Elijah was going to spend a great amount of time investing into his young apprentice, somebody who would continue Elijah’s work after he was gone. Similarly, when battling depression, we should focus on serving our family members who need our care and attention, church members, co-workers, and especially those less fortunate than us. No doubt, by calling Elijah to serve others, God was bringing light into the darkness of Elijah’s depression. Serving doesn’t minimize our struggles, but it makes us realize that our struggles are not everything. Many others are in fact suffering worse than us.

Proverbs 11:25 (NIV) says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” As we refresh others by the giving of our time and resources, we can trust that God will refresh us, including giving us more joy and peace. In John 13:17, after washing his disciples’ feet, Christ said this: “If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” God blesses us when we serve others, and certainly one of the ways he often blesses us is by delivering us from our depression.

Application Question: Why is serving others so important for being delivered from depression? How have you experienced refreshment by putting others before yourself? What should people do if they are so depressed that they can’t motivate themselves to help someone else?

Applications for Ministering to Depressed People

Application Question: What are some final practical applications for ministering to those struggling with depression and helping ourselves get out of it?

1. In ministering to the depressed, we must remember that being a faithful Christian does not guarantee that we’ll never experience bouts of depression and discouragement.

Moses, Elijah, Paul, and even Christ struggled with depression. Charles Spurgeon and many other saints that God greatly used had bouts with it. This is important to remember so we don’t condemn others for having bouts with lowness and so we don’t condemn ourselves. Depression is part of the human experience (in part simply because of body chemistry), and therefore, we must learn how to navigate seasons of it and help others with it.

2. In ministering to the depressed, we must always remember that humans are a complex unity of body and soul (or body, soul, spirit).

Because of this complexity, the body affects our soul, and the soul affects our body. We haven’t dealt much with this, but sin can negatively affect our emotions and our body as well, since we were not made to live in sin. When David had not repented of his sin with Bathsheba, in Psalm 38, he describes himself as being “deprived of health” (v. 3) and struggling with “anxiety” (v. 8). Therefore, sometimes repentance is needed to get free of depression or even to gain physical healing (cf. 1 Cor 11:28-31). Other times, it must be addressed physically by taking more rest, eating properly, exercising, balancing our time, and possibly using medication. Certainly, in all seasons we must seek God in a greater manner, as he created our bodies and uses our trials for the good. When ministering to the depressed and people in general, we must consider the complex unity of body and soul.

3. In ministering to the depressed, we must spend a lot of time asking questions, allowing time for people to express their thoughts and emotions (even irrational ones) without condemnation.

Before God instructed Elijah, he asked him twice why he was there (v. 9, 13). Initially, he just allowed Elijah to vent and share without correction. Likewise, when ministering to those struggling with depression, we should also be slow to speak and quick to listen (Jam 1:19). We should ask questions like:

How long have you been struggling with depression? Have you noticed any triggers which make it come on stronger? Are there times when you experience relief? Are you sleeping and eating well? Do you feel like you’re too busy at school or work? Do you have a regular sabbath? How has your time with God been? Are you practicing regular spiritual disciplines like prayer, time in the Word, worship, and fellowship?

As God asked Elijah questions, we should ask questions as well and listen, so we can better understand the struggling person and figure out how to best minister to him or her.

4. In ministering to the depressed, we must wisely apply God’s Word and general wisdom to their situation.

Though God began asking questions, he did eventually give Elijah instruction to help him think correctly and have a sense of renewed mission. Again, James 1:19 says, “Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” As we prayerfully listen, we can discern how to best instruct the person, whether that means encouraging them with having a more balanced life with time for rest and recreation; for them to repent of sin or a lie they have accepted about themselves, their future, God, or others; for them to develop healthy relationships with people that encourage them and help them bear their burdens; and/or simply their need to draw near God for a season and listen to his voice in God’s Word. When counseling, we should use Scripture as much as possible, applying it with wisdom, gentleness, and sympathy.

5. In ministering to the depressed, we must remember to point people to a deeper pursuit of God.

Again, Elijah spent forty days fasting and then drawing near God on a mountain. There, God spoke to Elijah and helped restore his thinking and sense of mission. Often, to find relief from depression, we’ll need to pursue God in a heightened fashion for a season as well. For some, their battle with depression will require them to keep a higher devotion to the Lord than their peers for the rest of their lives to maintain peace. If that is God’s will for them, it’s actually a blessing because they might never seek God in the same way apart from such a battle. Like God said to Paul, his grace is made perfect in weakness. For those few, we must trust that God chooses to not remove the thorn in the flesh for a greater purpose (2 Cor 12:7-9).

6. In ministering to the depressed, we must be patient.

Finding relief when battling depression often won’t happen quickly. Sometimes, a good night of rest and a good meal will be enough. At other times, we’ll have to practice all the above for a season—maintaining our body, including having good rest, retraining our mind in God’s Word, having trustworthy people to vent to and bear our burdens with, and in general continually pursuing and relying on God. Galatians 6:10 says, “So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.” Also, 1 Peter 5:10-11 says, “And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him belongs the power forever. Amen.”

Application Question: Which principle stood out most and why? What are some other principles that might be helpful for a person to apply when struggling with depression and discouragement? What role should medication play with those struggling with depression?

Conclusion

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah, after hearing Jezebel’s threat of taking his life, began to battle with depression—even wanting God to take his life. From his example and how God ministered to him, we learn principles about overcoming our own bouts with depression and helping others who struggle.

1. To Overcome Depression, We Must Beware of Circumstances Which Might Trigger It and Minimize Them When Possible
2. To Overcome Depression, We Must Be Aware of Its Signs and Respond to Them Appropriately
3. To Overcome Depression, We Must Draw Near God and Rely on Him More Deeply
4. To Overcome Depression, We Must Get Busy Serving Others

Application Question: What stood out most in the reading and why? What questions or applications did you take from the reading?

Prayer Prompts

• Pray that God would give us wisdom to deal with our bouts with depression and also wisdom to help others struggling with it.
• Pray that God would give us grace to rejoice in the Lord regardless of our situation and that depression and discouragement would flee.
• Pray that God would give us grace to continually and undistractedly draw near him and that God would draw near us in a special way—that we would know his presence, hear his voice, and trust him.
• Pray that God would correct our wrong thoughts, give us a renewed sense of mission, individually and corporately, and that God would give us healthy relationships that help us have joy and complete the mission God has given us.

Copyright © 2022 Gregory Brown

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After this the following episode took place. Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard so I can make a vegetable garden out of it, for it is adjacent to my palace. I will give you an even better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will pay you silver for it.” But Naboth replied to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should sell you my ancestral inheritance.” So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, pouted, and would not eat. Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, “Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?” He answered her, “While I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, I said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard for silver, or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not sell you my vineyard.’ “His wife Jezebel said to him, “You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.” She wrote out orders, signed Ahab’s name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. This is what she wrote: “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they reported to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead.” When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. The Lord told Elijah the Tishbite: “Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Haven’t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?” ‘ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood they will also lick up your blood—yes, yours!” ‘ “When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah replied, “I have found you, because you are committed to doing evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord says, ‘Look, I am ready to bring disaster on you. I will destroy you and cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. I will make your dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah because you angered me and made Israel sin.’ The Lord says this about Jezebel, ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the outer wall of Jezreel.’ As for Ahab’s family, dogs will eat the ones who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.” (There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed to doing evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. He was so wicked he worshiped the disgusting idols, just like the Amorites whom the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.) When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He slept in sackcloth and walked around dejected. The Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son.”

1 Kings 21 (NET)

How can we guard against corruption in our families, churches, workplaces, governments, and nations? This is important to consider because Scripture says, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor 5:9). Sin starts small and then grows until it saturates all parts of a community. We each have a role in stopping the spread of corruption and injustice in the spheres God has placed us. Christ calls believers the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt 5:13-14) because we stave off spiritual and moral decay and promote righteousness.

In 1 Kings 21, we see not only a corrupt government but also how far the people of God had fallen into corruption. Ahab, the king of Israel, desired Naboth’s plot of land to build himself a vegetable garden next to his castle. When rejected, his wife, Jezebel, hatches an evil plan to have Naboth killed, and apparently his sons as well (cf. 2 Kings 9:26, “the blood of Naboth and his sons”). The elders of the land go along with this plot and trump up false witnesses to accuse Naboth of cursing the king and God. For that reason, he was stoned to death, and then Ahab took his plot of land. From this narrative, we can learn principles about guarding against corruption in the various spheres God has placed us as salt and light.

Big Question: In 1 Kings 21, what principles can be discerned about guarding against corruption in the communities God has placed us?

To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Be Careful of Greed and Covetousness

After this the following episode took place. Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard so I can make a vegetable garden out of it, for it is adjacent to my palace. I will give you an even better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will pay you silver for it.” But Naboth replied to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should sell you my ancestral inheritance.” So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, pouted, and would not eat.

1 Kings 21:1-4

As mentioned, this sad story all begins with Ahab coveting his neighbor’s vineyard. Ahab had at least two castles—one in Samaria and one in Jezreel, where Jezebel stayed. Naboth’s field was right next to the castle in Jezreel. Ahab approached Naboth with a good offer—to give him another vineyard or to pay him in silver. However, Naboth refused, saying, “The Lord forbid that I should sell you my ancestral inheritance” (v. 3). Apparently, he didn’t reject simply because it was not a good deal but out of honor for God. In the Mosaic law, God taught Israel that God actually owned the land of Canaan and that they were just tenants of land. God had distributed the land to the various tribes and their families, and because of that, they were not to sell the land permanently. Leviticus 25:23-24 (NLT) says:

The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me. “With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back.

Numbers 36:7 says, “In this way the inheritance of the Israelites will not be transferred from tribe to tribe. But every one of the Israelites must retain the ancestral heritage.” The land could only be sold in extreme circumstances when one was poor, but it had to be returned in the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:25-28). Naboth was not in dire circumstances where he needed the money, so he rightly felt that he could not sell the land in good conscience before God. It was God’s land, not his. Clearly, Naboth was one of the 7,000 faithful Jews who had not bowed his knee to Baal in the land (cf. 1 Kgs 19:18). This made Ahab angry, so like a spoiled child, he began to sulk and refused to eat. When Jezebel saw this, she challenged him to be like a king and then set a plan in motion to get the land (v. 7).

What must stand out is the fact that Naboth’s death happened because of Ahab’s greed and covetousness. Furthermore, Ahab’s family would one day be wiped out because of Ahab’s untamed desires. Though Ahab was over the entire land of Israel and owned two castles, it was not enough. Therefore, his greed led to the destruction of Naboth and his family and also Ahab’s family.

Often this is the beginning of corruption in our societies as well. It begins when children at a young age are not taught to tame their desires. They don’t have to have every toy, every piece of candy, get to watch every TV show, and stay up late at night. Untamed desires, including coveting, can lead to breaking every one of God’s commands. We blaspheme God because we didn’t get what we want. We lie to get something we don’t have. We steal to get it, and maybe even murder.

It was greed and covetousness that led the world into sin. God gave Adam and Eve everything in the entire world except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was coveting the fruit of that tree which led them to disobey God and therefore suffer the consequences of the fall, which affects all of humanity. Likewise, we must keep ourselves from covetousness and greed if we are going to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities from corruption.

In Luke 12:15, Christ warned of the dangers of greed; he said, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Likewise, in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Paul said:

Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.

The longing for wealth leads many into various temptations and traps—destroying people’s integrity, health, family, and even faith. Proverbs 27:20 says, “As Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so the eyes of a person are never satisfied.”

Contentment

Because our eyes are never satisfied, we must learn the discipline of contentment and teach our children the same to protect ourselves and them from the common consequences of covetousness and greed. In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul said:

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance. I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

Paul had learned the secret of contentment, whether well fed or in lack, and it was through finding strength and satisfaction in Christ. Likewise, in 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Paul challenged Timothy with this discipline:

Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.

Again, remember, if Ahab didn’t want the land, it would have preserved him from a curse, kept his family from destruction, and protected Naboth’s life. Likewise, if David had not longed uncontrollably for Bathsheba, it would have kept him from losing his firstborn son, having his daughter raped, his son killing his brother, and eventually the same son trying to usurp David’s throne and losing his life. Therefore, if we teach ourselves and our children contentment, it will keep us and them from many dangers. Godliness with contentment truly brings great profit (1 Tim 6:6).

Application Question: How can we learn contentment?

1. To learn contentment, we must learn the difference between a need and a want. God promises to provide our needs but not necessarily all our wants (cf. Matt 6:33). As we discern the difference, we must often decide to be content with our needs and choose to not pursue our wants. Since our “eyes … are never satisfied” this will keep us from always grasping after the next thing (Prov 27:20).
2. To learn contentment, we must practice generosity. By giving, we learn how it is truly more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). It delivers us from a grasping, discontent, and idolatrous spirit. Also, we open the door for God to continually pour into us. Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
3. To learn contentment, we must continually practice thanksgiving. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul said, “In everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Being thankful often leads to contentment. It helps keep our eyes from continually wandering and wanting something else.
4. To learn contentment, we must develop a flourishing relationship with God. As we abide in Christ, through time in the Word, prayer, worship, fellowship, and serving, God satisfies us. As Paul said, he could do all things, including being content, through Christ who strengthened him (Phil 4:11-13). If we’re not satisfied in our relationship with God, we’ll never be content, and we’ll continually seek to satisfy our discontentment with things, people, or accomplishments. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.’”

Ahab’s greed and covetousness led to government corruption, and we must guard against the same to stop corruption and injustice from spreading in our communities.

Application Question: Why is it so difficult to be content, both with what we have and in our circumstances in general? In what ways are you vulnerable to discontentment, greed, or covetousness? How is God calling you to grow in contentment and get rid of covetousness?

To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Be Careful of Ungodly Relationships

So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, pouted, and would not eat. Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, “Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?” He answered her, “While I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, I said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard for silver, or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not sell you my vineyard.’ “His wife Jezebel said to him, “You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.” She wrote out orders, signed Ahab’s name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. This is what she wrote: “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” … There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed to doing evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel.

1 Kings 21:4-10, 25

As mentioned, when Naboth denied Ahab, he went home and began to pout, even choosing to not eat. When his wife, Jezebel, noticed, she said, “Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?” (v. 5). He then explained the situation. In response, Jezebel rebukes him, “You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you” (v. 7). She essentially says, “You’re the king! You can’t let a Jezreelite deny you!” Jezebel was a daughter of the King of Sidon (1 Kgs 16:31), and in that culture, kings had absolute power—ruling with an iron fist. That’s what she saw from her daddy. Jewish kings were not known for the same leadership style, since they saw themselves as ruling under Yahweh and executing his laws. Therefore, Jezebel took things into her hands. She wrote letters telling the elders to falsely accuse Naboth and have him put to death. She used Ahab’s seal (v. 8), which implies Ahab was complicit in her evil plan.

This is not the first time that Jezebel influenced Ahab to commit evil. She had done that throughout their marriage. First Kings 16:31 says this about Ahab, “As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal.” It was after Ahab married Jezebel that he started to worship Baal. In fact, Jezebel was the power behind the throne. First Kings 21:25 describes Ahab as being “urged on by his wife” to do evil. She was the one who was hunting and killing prophets, causing them to hide in caves (1 Kgs 18:4). And she was the one who threatened to take Elijah’s life after he took the lives of the false prophets (1 Kgs 19:2). After Elijah took their lives, Ahab simply listened to Elijah. He went to eat because Elijah said the rain was coming, and when it came, he then listened to Elijah again and rode to Jezreel (1 Kgs 18:41-46). It was Jezebel who threatened Elijah’s life and aided in hardening Ahab’s heart.

Certainly, this commonly happens today, not only in marriage, but also in relationships in general. It is always easier to pull somebody down than to pull somebody up. For this reason, Scripture strongly urges us to stay away from relationships that would encourage us towards spiritual apathy and sin. In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul said, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’” In context, the Christians were being tempted to doubt the resurrection, which would nullify their faith. Paul said without the resurrection, our faith is in vain and challenged them to stay away from false teachers. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (ESV), Paul said this to the Corinthians:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Being “unequally yoked” was a farming metaphor. Two bulls would be yoked to pull a cart; however, if the bulls weren’t yoked equally in temperament and strength, one bull might harm the other, or pull in the wrong direction, and consequently, they couldn’t be effective in their work. Likewise, Paul says that yoking relationships with the world—whether in marriage, close friendships, or work relationships—can be hazardous. It is always easier to pull somebody in a sinful direction than in a righteous one. Also, by being unequally yoked one hinders his relationship with God. Consider the corresponding promise in 2 Corinthians 6:17-18:

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

It’s only by being separate from the world that God promises to “welcome” us and be our “father,” which refers to intimacy. Therefore, by joining with Jezebel, Ahab lost intimacy with God and soon became a worshiper of Baal. This happens to many as they yoke with the world. It may not be by friendships or marriage but by the music they listen to, the books they read, or the TV shows they watch. Since these are so anti-god in their message, they hinder intimacy with God and lead people down the wrong path. People who do this should not be surprised when reading the Bible and listening to sermons become dry to them, and they get nothing from corporate worship. They have yoked with the world in some way, and it is hindering their relationship with God and influencing them negatively. Friendship with the world is enmity with God (Jam 4:4).

With all that said, certainly there is a clear line between being unequally yoked with the world and being a “friend of … sinners,” which Christ was called (Matt 11:19). Christ could be friends with sinners because his relationship with them was an influencing relationship and not one where he was being influenced. It was genuine, but not as intimate as he would desire, because they had not repented of their sins to follow him. We must be salt and light to the world, and therefore be around unbelievers, but we must be careful of reducing our saltiness and dimming our light.

Ahab yoked with the world through marriage to Jezebel, and it led to him being the worst king in Israel’s history (v. 25-26). He was incited to further sin through his wife. In this narrative, apart from her, he would have simply pouted because he did not get the vineyard, but because of Jezebel, he was party both to Naboth’s death and his sons’ (2 Kgs 9:26).

If we are going to guard against corruption in our lives, we must be careful of ungodly relationships. Instead, we must seek to have our closest relationships with those who zealously love and follow God. In 2 Timothy 2:22, Paul said this to Timothy, “But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” It’s commonly been said that Christ’s relationships could be characterized by several widening circles. In his closest circle were the three strongest disciples—James, John, and Peter. Then, there was the twelve; then the seventy-two; then other believers; then the world. Our closest relationships must be with those who are zealous for the Lord as well, so they can inspire us to greater heights. Proverbs 13:20 says, “The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” Certainly, this must be true of those we marry, since they will affect us the most.

If we’re going to guard against corruption, we must be careful of ungodly relationships.

Application Question: Why are our relationships so important to our spiritual life? How have you experienced worldly relationships which influenced you negatively and also godly relationships which influenced you positively?

To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Have Righteous Leaders

His wife Jezebel said to him, “You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.” She wrote out orders, signed Ahab’s name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. This is what she wrote: “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they reported to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

1 Kings 21:7-14

Another aspect that must stand out about the corruption in this narrative is that it was all propagated by those in authority—the king, queen, and elders. This reminds us of the importance of godly character in our leaders. When God gives qualities of those who can serve as elders and deacons in the church in 1 Timothy 3, they are primarily character traits, like not being given to much wine, not being a brawler (somebody who gets into fights), being hospitable (somebody who loves strangers), running one’s household well, etc. When God looks to use somebody for the kingdom, his or her character is the primary quality. He takes a person with godly character, then trains and equips them for greater service.

Unfortunately, with the world, education, skills, experiences, beauty, contacts, and other qualifications are often the most important which commonly leads to having people with bad character in authority. When our leaders are corrupt, they only exasperate and increase ungodliness in a culture or nation.

Application Question: How should we respond to the importance of having godly leaders to restrain sin and corruption in society?

1. Because of the importance of having godly leadership to restrain sin and promote righteousness in society, believers must support their leaders through prayer and other practical ways.

They should pray that the leadership might be saved, protected from evil, and that they would be wise and righteous (cf. 1 Tim 2:1-4). They should also support them by encouraging them instead of criticizing them, obeying them, lovingly holding them accountable when needed, and serving them in other practical ways. Hebrews 13:7 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.”

2. Because of the importance of having godly leadership to restrain sin and promote righteousness in society, believers should pray for God to raise up godly leaders and prayerfully consider serving in leadership.

God put Joseph, David, Daniel, Obadiah, and Nehemiah in leadership positions. Both Joseph, Daniel, and Obadiah (who supervised Ahab’s palace and saved the prophets; 1 Kgs 18:3), served in very pagan and ungodly environments and yet remained loyal to God. Proverbs 29:2 (NLT) says, “When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.” Romans 13:1-7 says those in authority are God’s servants meant to reward the righteous and punish wrongdoers. Serving in leadership positions is a tremendous way to honor God and bless people. Those in leadership have an incredible capacity to influence communities negatively or righteously; therefore, we should continually pray for them, support them, and also consider serving in those positions.

Application Question: Why is leadership so important? What makes it so difficult to serve in leadership positions? How can we better support our leaders? Do you feel called to serve your community through leadership, and if so, how?

To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Courageously Confront Sin and Protect the Most Vulnerable

The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they reported to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead.” When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. The Lord told Elijah the Tishbite: “Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Haven’t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?”‘ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood they will also lick up your blood—yes, yours!”‘

1 Kings 21:11-19

Certainly, as mentioned, one of the things that must stand out in this narrative is the willingness of the elders to go along with Jezebel’s evil plan. Maybe, they were afraid of losing their authority and wealth or being killed by Jezebel. Therefore, they simply agreed to her request. They even instituted the evil plan with a veil of religious piety. In obedience to Jezebel, they called for a fast. Most likely, Israel was suffering a famine or plague, and the fast was to seek God’s face and determine why it was happening. After seeking the Lord, two hand-selected villains sitting next to Naboth accused him of cursing God and the king. Therefore, Naboth was killed and apparently so were his children which allowed Ahab to confiscate the land.

Again, the spiritual and administrative leaders of Israel said nothing, they just obeyed Jezebel’s plan. However, when God informed Elijah, he met Ahab at the vineyard and rebuked him for his sin—telling him that God was going to judge him and his family (v. 17-24). This must stand out because the previous time we saw Elijah in Jezreel, in 1 Kings 19, he ran for his life because he heard Jezebel was going to kill him. But, now, maybe a few years later, he boldly returns to Jezreel to confront the king outside of his home at the vineyard.

Likewise, if we are going to guard against corruption, we must also be willing to confront sin, even at risk to ourselves. This is what Christ did when he visited the Jewish temple twice (John 2, Matt 21). When religious leaders were allowing the poor and those from far away to be charged exorbitant prices to offer sacrifices at the temple, Christ turned over tables, kicked out the money changers, and rebuked the leaders. At times, we may need to wisely do the same, especially to protect the vulnerable. When corruption abounds, the bullies pick on the weak in society—the widow, the orphan, the poor, the ethnic and religious minorities (including Christians), and the sick. Like Christ (and Elijah in this context), we must stand up for them.

In addition, we must remember that if we are aware of the evil being done in the classroom, at church, or in the business, and we do nothing, God will often hold us liable. In Samuel 3, God judges Eli, the priest, because he knew his sons were cheating people at the tabernacle, including being promiscuous with the women, but he did nothing about it. He did warn his sons, but that’s all he did, even when they continued in sin (1 Sam 2:22-26). Consider what God said to Eli through Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:13-14:

You should tell him that I am about to judge his house forever because of the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God, and he did not rebuke them. Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’

Likewise, Proverbs 24:10-12 says this:

If you faint in the day of trouble, your strength is small! Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. If you say, “But we did not know about this,” does not the one who evaluates hearts consider? Does not the one who guards your life know? Will he not repay each person according to his deeds?

When there is stealing, cheating, abuse of the vulnerable, and other sins happening that we know of and can do something about, but do nothing, God will hold us accountable.

In the church, according to Christ’s teaching in Matthew 18:15-17, that means approaching people one on one to challenge them in love. If they don’t repent, it means bringing a few others to help hold them accountable, and if they still don’t repent, bringing it before the church. If they still don’t repent, it means removing them from the church, all in love to help them repent. If this is not done, a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Cor 5:6). Sin begins to spread throughout the church. Outside the church, similar principles should be followed—approaching a person one on one to confirm and challenge the person, and if that doesn’t work, possibly going to leadership.

This is hard, especially if it might negatively affect our livelihood or our friends and family. That’s part of the reason Eli never removed his children from leadership, though he knew they were morally unfit. However, we must do this at times in obedience to God. Otherwise, corruption and sin will flourish, and God will hold us partially responsible for knowing and doing nothing, as Eli did.

Application Question: Who are the most vulnerable in our churches, schools, and/or workplaces, and how can we better protect and provide for them? Why is it so hard to challenge people who are in sin, especially those we know and love? How can we challenge people wisely?

To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Fear God’s Omniscient and Righteous Judgment

When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah replied, “I have found you, because you are committed to doing evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord says, ‘Look, I am ready to bring disaster on you. I will destroy you and cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. I will make your dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah because you angered me and made Israel sin.’ The Lord says this about Jezebel, ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the outer wall of Jezreel.’ As for Ahab’s family, dogs will eat the ones who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”

1 Kings 21:20-24

One of the great hindrances to sin and corruption is a recognition of God’s omniscience and his judgment. With Ahab’s and Jezebel’s sin, it seemed like a perfectly executed plan. Nobody would tell—not the elders or the paid liars; however, God knew. He immediately told Elijah, including giving Elijah prophetic words of judgment. Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on those who are evil and those who are good.” God knows everything and will one day judge all sin.

When Elijah met with Ahab, he told Ahab that God would destroy all the males in Ahab’s family, effectively ending his dynasty (v. 22). Dogs would devour Jezebel at the wall of Jezreel (v. 23). Those who died outside the city would be eaten by birds and those who died inside would be eaten by dogs (v. 23). All of this eventually happened. As we’ll see, God had mercy on Ahab, and therefore delayed these judgments until Ahab’s son reigned. Ahab was shot while in his chariot during a battle, and when they brought the chariot back to Samaria, the dogs licked his blood (1 Kgs 22:37-38). Later, Jehu shot Jehoram, Ahab’s son, and had him thrown in Naboth’s field (2 Kgs 9:24-26). Jehu also had Jezebel thrown out of a tower in her castle at Jezreel. When Jehu wanted to bury her, there wasn’t enough of her body left because the dogs got to her. They tore apart her body in Naboth’s field (2 Kgs 9:34-37). After that, Jehu executed seventy of Ahab’s sons who were living in Samaria (2 Kgs 10).

What we can see from this narrative is that God sees and knows all, and every account will be paid. They are paid in this life. People always reap what they have sown, even if that is just the regular consequences of sin, which affects us and others (Gal 6:7-8). The person who cheats has the memory of their cheating, the lack of satisfaction when they get their grade (because of their cheating); they will have a greater propensity to cheat later on in life, including on bigger issues (like in marriage or at work) which could have drastic consequences. People always reap what they sow, because God made the earth that way. In addition, because God keeps perfect records, one day, he will judge all at Christ’s coming. For believers, that will mean reward or loss of reward, but they will still enter heaven (1 Cor 3:10-15). For unbelievers, that means being separated from God’s blessings eternally in a place of judgment (Rev 20:11-15). Though others might not see our sins, we must remember God always sees.

For this reason, when society has lost a fear of God, corruption expands and saturates all aspects of society. Romans 1:28-29, says it this way:

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice…

A lack of acknowledging God as creator, savior, and judge always leads to various forms of depravity. If the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord (Prov 9:10), to not fear God is to live without wisdom, where greater sins continue to abound.

Application Question: How should we respond to the importance of fearing God to stave off corruption?

The importance of fearing God to stave off corruption reminds us of our need to be salt and light to the world. As we live in the fear of the Lord by being obedient to God and loving others, it helps restrain and expel darkness around us. Therefore, when we compromise and become more like the world, the world loses the witness it so desperately needs and becomes more corrupt.

Being salt and light to the world includes our need to share the gospel with others. Though creation reflects that there is a powerful God, only Scripture teaches people how to be saved. Consequently, we must zealously share the gospel with others, even if it leads to being accused and mocked like Elijah was. As more people are saved and therefore rightly fear God, it staves off corruption and promotes righteousness.

Application Question: How do you see a lack of fearing God leading to greater sins in people, society, and your nation specifically (Rom 1:18-32)? Why is this happening? How can this be remedied?

To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Understand God’s Great Merciful Character

(There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed to doing evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. He was so wicked he worshiped the disgusting idols, just like the Amorites whom the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.) When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He slept in sackcloth and walked around dejected. The Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son.”

1 Kings 21:25-29

Finally, at the end of the narrative, we see God’s great mercy towards Ahab. After Elijah rebuked Ahab, Ahab mourned before the Lord. He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted (v. 27). Because of this, God told Elijah that these terrible things would not happen in Ahab’s lifetime, but in the reign of his son (v. 29). Judgment was postponed for around three years.¹ Certainly, this demonstrates how gracious and merciful God is, especially since Ahab was Israel’s worst king up to that point in their history (v. 25).

Interpretation Question: Was Ahab genuinely repentant?

There is no evidence that Ahab returned Naboth’s field, but since God honored his mourning, it must have been at least temporarily genuine, though not lasting. At the moment, he was truly repentant, but maybe after Jezebel found out and rebuked him, he snapped out of it. However, even that moment of genuine remorse moved God’s heart. God is tremendously gracious and merciful, and his graciousness is meant to draw us to repentance and righteousness. Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?” Furthermore, God’s patience with Ahab and us is always given to allow us more time to repent. First Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

Application Question: How should understanding God’s great merciful character towards sinners affect people?

1. Understanding God’s great merciful character should draw people to repent of their sins and accept God’s forgiveness.

First John 1:9 says, “But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.” If God had mercy on Ahab and gave him more time to repent towards salvation, even though he and his wife had killed the prophets and persecuted the righteous, how much more so will God demonstrate mercy towards us and our nations if we genuinely repent?

2. Understanding God’s great merciful character should help us not give up on the most hardened sinners.

Again, if God continually gave Ahab opportunities to be saved—sending Elijah to rebuke him and withholding judgment, all so there could be true repentance—then, we should not give up on those who are far away from God, including our families, communities, and countries. God mercifully saved Paul who was having Christians jailed and killed. Certainly, there are no sinners so far away from God that the Lord won’t graciously forgive them if they repent. For this reason, we should continue to pray, share the gospel, and not give up. God sent his Son to die on the cross for our sin, and he still pursues sinners today. Though God may appear indifferent towards sin, he is just being patient with sinners so that they might repent and have life. Praise God for his merciful grace.

3. Understanding God’s great merciful character should help us be quick to forgive others, even when their repentance is not sustained.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.” Likewise, Matthew 18:21-22 says this in describing Peter’s conversation with Christ over forgiveness: “‘Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!’” Certainly, this is hard, but God’s grace is available to continually help us forgive, as God forgives us.

Application Question: What makes forgiving others as God forgives us difficult? What does this look like practically?

Conclusion

How can we guard against corruption? We can discern principles from considering the great corruption in Israel, as Ahab and Jezebel framed and killed Naboth to take his land, and God’s response.

1. To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Be Careful of Greed and Covetousness
2. To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Be Careful of Ungodly Relationships
3. To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Have Righteous Leaders
4. To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Courageously Confront Sin and Protect the Vulnerable
5. To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Fear God’s Omniscient and Righteous Judgment
6. To Guard Against Corruption, We Must Understand God’s Great Merciful Character

Application Question: What stood out most in the reading and why? What questions or applications did you take from the reading?

Prayer Prompts

• Pray for God to deliver us from greed, covetousness, and discontent. Pray that God would empower us to be content through Christ whether in times of blessing or trial.
• Pray for God to help us cut any cords with the world which negatively influence us (friendships, entertainment, news sources, etc.) and that we would instead yoke ourselves to what is good and righteous.
• Pray for God to guide, protect, and give supernatural wisdom to our leaders so they can lead righteously in government, education, business, the medical field, the church, and the home.
• Pray for God to give his people boldness to confront sin, even at cost to themselves, and that they would fight for the vulnerable. Pray for grace and protection over the oppressed and neglected, including the unborn, orphans, the poor, the foreigner, and the elderly.
• Pray for God to give grace to the members of our society to fear God and therefore turn away from sin to righteousness. Pray for God to draw the lost to himself, so that they would genuinely repent and be saved.

Copyright © 2022 Gregory Brown

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