I Kings 17:17-24
“And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” (I Kings 17:17-18)
Several months after Elijah had begun to board at the widow’s house. Her son became sick, finally reaching a point where his breathing was no longer detectable. As so often happens when something goes wrong she began to blame others, and especially God. Since Elijah was there and he served God, she took it out on him. She said God was punishing her and Elijah had been sent to remind her, implying she wished she had never tried to help him. When emotions take over, people become irrational, and she was hurting emotionally at the thought of her son’s death.
“And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.” (I Kings 17:19-21)
Rather than remonstrating with her, Elijah asked her to give him her son, and gently took him from her. He took him up and laid him on his own bed and began to pray, in essence asking God why he had allowed such a thing to happen to someone who was trying to do what was right in helping him. He then clasped the child to him, allowing his body to warm it’s body three times, asking God to restore the body to life.
“And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.” (I Kings 17:22)
Many times, as Christians, we give up hope, forgetting who God is, forgetting that as Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Elijah had the confidence to ask God to give back the boy’s life. It is the confidence every Christian should have according to I John 5:15-15. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
James 4:2-3 says there are two reasons why Christians lack what they want. “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” First, we don’t ask because we don’t expect God to listen anyway. Secondly, we aren’t concerned about what God wants, but are focused on our own desires. Asking in Jesus’ name implies we are asking on his behalf rather than our own.
Sometimes we are afraid to ask for things because we aren’t sure what God wants or how to pray properly. Romans 8:26-27 addresses this problem pointing out that none of us really know what to pray foror how to ask properly. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
We don’t have to worry about how our prayer sounds, because the Holy Spirit will edit it so it comes across properly. I suspect that he simply discards a lot of prayers because they are selfish, or are just repeating someone else’s words. God heard Elijah’s prayer and answered. The boy revived.
“And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.” (I Kings 17:23-24)
While the widow had believed Elijah was a prophet and had helped him because of it. She hadn’t really understood that he was actually led and empowered by God. She needed to see God’s power herself. She was typical of most people in churches today, trying to serve God but with no real understanding of his power and love.
“And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” (I Kings 17:17-18)
Several months after Elijah had begun to board at the widow’s house. Her son became sick, finally reaching a point where his breathing was no longer detectable. As so often happens when something goes wrong she began to blame others, and especially God. Since Elijah was there and he served God, she took it out on him. She said God was punishing her and Elijah had been sent to remind her, implying she wished she had never tried to help him. When emotions take over, people become irrational, and she was hurting emotionally at the thought of her son’s death.
“And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.” (I Kings 17:19-21)
Rather than remonstrating with her, Elijah asked her to give him her son, and gently took him from her. He took him up and laid him on his own bed and began to pray, in essence asking God why he had allowed such a thing to happen to someone who was trying to do what was right in helping him. He then clasped the child to him, allowing his body to warm it’s body three times, asking God to restore the body to life.
“And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.” (I Kings 17:22)
Many times, as Christians, we give up hope, forgetting who God is, forgetting that as Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Elijah had the confidence to ask God to give back the boy’s life. It is the confidence every Christian should have according to I John 5:15-15. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
James 4:2-3 says there are two reasons why Christians lack what they want. “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” First, we don’t ask because we don’t expect God to listen anyway. Secondly, we aren’t concerned about what God wants, but are focused on our own desires. Asking in Jesus’ name implies we are asking on his behalf rather than our own.
Sometimes we are afraid to ask for things because we aren’t sure what God wants or how to pray properly. Romans 8:26-27 addresses this problem pointing out that none of us really know what to pray foror how to ask properly. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
We don’t have to worry about how our prayer sounds, because the Holy Spirit will edit it so it comes across properly. I suspect that he simply discards a lot of prayers because they are selfish, or are just repeating someone else’s words. God heard Elijah’s prayer and answered. The boy revived.
“And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.” (I Kings 17:23-24)
While the widow had believed Elijah was a prophet and had helped him because of it. She hadn’t really understood that he was actually led and empowered by God. She needed to see God’s power herself. She was typical of most people in churches today, trying to serve God but with no real understanding of his power and love.
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