"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land, or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their in and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:13, 14).
God never promised that life would be easy, and in fact it appears that He purposefully allows difficult times to invade our lives. God says, "When I shut up the heavens..." The rest of the verse explains that the purpose of trials and tribulations is to encourage God's people to humble themselves before the King of the Universe, to pray, to seek God's face, and turn away from doing evil. What I would like to focus on is prayer.
While God wants to hear from us during the trials and tribulations, He also wants to hear from us the rest of the time as well. In fact, prayer is our lifeline to Heaven, without which we will drift so far from God that it will require those tough times in our life to remind us of our dependence on the Giver of Life. Often we get so caught up in the cares of this world that we forget to spend time in prayer. "Prayer is a necessity; for it is the life of the soul. Family prayer, public prayer, have their place; but it is secret communion with God that sustains the soul life" (Ed 258.3).
One of Jesus' greatest concerns is that He will return to take His people home only to discover a lack of faith in Him. In the story of the persistent widow found in Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells of a widow who kept presenting her request for justice against an adversary before the town judge. The judge "neither feared God or cared about men" (verse 2), but due to the widow's persistence eventually granted her request so she wouldn't "weary" him. Jesus then goes on to make the point that if an earthly judge who does not care for men would eventually grant the widow her request, how much more will an all-powerful and loving God grant us our requests when we continually present them before Him!!!
The warning then comes with Jesus adding, "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). Prayer is one way in which we are called to exercise our faith. God is ready and waiting to answer our requests, but first we need to show the persistence that demonstrates our faith in and complete reliance on God. Among the things Jesus wants us to pray for is that we may not fall into temptation (Luke 22:40). As time grows ever shorter and the world around us becomes more and more corrupt and sinful, a constant and life-giving connection with God is essential to avoiding temptation.
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced crops" (James 5:16-18). Scripture is clear: what Elijah had can be the experience of any believer in Christ. Jesus asked if He would find faith on the earth when He returns. It is our duty to stay true to God, and we begin first of all by maintaining our connection to Him through prayer.
In I Kings 18:41-46, we find Elijah, full of faith, convinced that God will now send rain on the land. The showdown on Mt. Carmel with the priests of Baal is complete (I Kings 18:19-41). Elijah is so sure of the God he serves that he tells King Ahab to "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain," (verse 41) and this before there is even a cloud in the sky!
Elijah then returns to the top of Mt. Carmel to intercede with God on Israel's behalf. Even though Israel has followed after foreign gods, the people have overwhelmingly made a decision to follow the true God again. Elijah begins praying, and after each prayer sends his servant to look towards the sea for any sign of the coming rain. One time, two times, three times, no clouds, no sign of rain. Four times, five times, six times, and by now most people would have given up, but not Elijah because his faith in God is total at this point. Jesus did not tell the story of the Persistent Widow randomly, but really wanted to drive home the point that we need to intercede with God not once, not twice, but many times. Finally, on the seventh time, Elijah's servant returns and reports a cloud the size of a man's hand (I Kings 18:44).
Elijah hurries down to Ahab and tells him to hurry home or else get caught in the storm which soon bursts upon the land. "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). God is seeking people who will "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17), people who will continue to pray, in faith, for God to work in their lives and the lives of those around them.
In Mark 11:24, Jesus tells us that when we ask and believe, God will answer our prayers. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6). God is waiting, yearning to hear from his children. "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer" (I Peter 3:12). If God cares about us so much and wants to hear from us, then we should give Him the honor and respect He deserves. Will you purpose to spend more time in prayer starting today so that when Jesus comes He will find faith on the earth?
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