Purpose and the Kingdom of God

Smoke spiraled from the crater on a reverse path from the fire that had just fallen from heaven, consuming Israel’s altar and everything on it. The bodies of baal’s priests lay dead in the Kishon valley, their altar untouched by fire as their sacrifices rotted in the heat of the day. It was then that God sent Elijah to King Ahab to proclaim the end of the multi-year drought and declare a heavy rain. But there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

What do you do when the God of Heaven has made a promise, you’ve acted on that promise, but it hasn’t happened?

Second Chronicles 7 reads, “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 sin and will heal their land.”

Elijah did just that; he tucked his head between his knees and began to pray. It was not the kind of prayer thanking God for food already on the table, but a prayer made up of equal parts desperation and faith.

He sent his servant to look toward the sea for the promised rain. “There is nothing,” his servant replied. Elijah kept praying, again and again, until the seventh time when the servant saw a small cloud rising from the surface of the water.

Gathering his clothes about him, Elijah ran to Jezreel, beating the king’s chariot.

We are on the precipice of the greatest move of God the world has ever known.

Will you pray?