DCLM Daily Manna Sunday 3 March 2024

TOPIC: Go Again Seven Times

TEXT:  1 Kings 18:41-46 (KJV) 
⁴¹ And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

⁴³ And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

⁴⁴ And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

⁴⁵ And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶ And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

KEY VERSE
“And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.”
1 Kings 18:43

DCLM Daily Manna 3 March 2024 Message

It was Calvin Coolidge who said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.” He concludes by emphatically recommending persistence and determination as unbeatable virtues for excellence in life.

Elijah is unique among the prophets of God. He was bold and courageous in the fight for truth. When he confronted hundreds of prophets of Baal on Mount Camel, he prayed and fire came down. In the New Testament, Apostle James presents him as the model of a prayerful believer who would not accept ‘No’ for an answer, whose earnest prayer locked up the heaven for three and half years; and opened it again when he prayed (James 5:17,18).

READ DCLM Daily Manna Saturday 2 March 2024 – An Epistle To The Noble

This model of importunity and undeniable persistence in obtaining answers to our prayers forms the central message in today’s passage. Elijah prayed and told his servant to look out for the sign of rain. The servant went to observe the sky seven times before reporting that he saw a cloud as small as the size of a man’s hand. That small cloud became the sign of a downpour of rain that made the “earth to bring forth her fruits”.

We learn that even when a believer prays in faith, it is God that determines when and how to answer. Also, delay is no denial. Elijah was convinced about the faithfulness of God to his words as expressed in (2 Chronicles 7:13,14). Hence, he persisted.

We should learn to tarry in the place of prayer until the answer comes. God is faithful to fulfill His promises (Hebrews 10:23).

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Tarrying without tiring attracts torrents of answered prayers.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Corinthians 11-13