Journey of Prayer: Day 29

Journey of Prayer

Day 29

Thursday February 11, 2021

At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God” (1 Kings 18:36-39)

For the full story, please read 1 Kings 18:20-40

Do we expect great things from God? Elijah did. Before he called on God in the above scripture passage, he had actually gone out of his way to prove to the Israelites (who had started worshipping Baal ) that the God they used to worship was beyond awesome. He had poured water over the altars and even flooded the trough around the altar with water. Then, calling on God to light the fire (which was seemingly more impossible due to the soaking) , Elijah demonstrated his own faith and challenged the faith of the people. Once they saw with their own eyes what God could do, they believed. There was no more doubt about who the true God was… and it wasn’t their idol, Baal!

In the Bible, we have the living record of hundreds of examples of God’s astounding power. If God “is the same, yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), then He is capable today of doing acts that are just as powerful and miraculous as those in the Old and New Testaments. Sister, let us never forget that He is still in the miracle business! Why then do we hesitate when asking God to act powerfully in our own lives? He is faithful! We just have to ask and believe that He will step into our circumstances and bless, heal, and rescue us.

When Jesus calmed the seas that were about to overturn the disciples’ boat, He asked them, “Why is your faith so small?” They had been looking at their circumstances and believed that nothing could be done about them. If Elijah had looked at his circumstances and given up before even trying, those flames from heaven would have never come down and Elijah would have missed an opportunity to let his faith point others to God. His act of faith built up the faith of millions of people.

Has God ever acted amazingly in your life? Have you ever seen Him break into your situation and do something out of the ordinary—even something miraculous? I’m believing that He has. And that you, like the Jewish people, discovered that God works in a mighty way for those who believe in Him and call on His name. We are reminded multiple times in scripture God promises to bless “the righteous”. “For You, O Lord, willbless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12). Since we have been made righteous through Christ, (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:19), we can claim all the promises in the Bible that He made to the “righteous.” Because of this, we can pray using the words of scripture to claim those promises for ourselves and for those we are praying for.

When you pray and worship to the one true God, how big do you picture God to be? Is He able? Is He big enough to make a true miracle happen in your life or the life of someone you are praying for? Expect great things from God. He is faithful and can answer prayer in a big way – always for His glory!

Dear Awesome God, I pray for every Soul Sister reading this devotion today. I pray for You to show up and show out in each of our lives! I pray that Your favor surrounds us like a shield and that Your blessings fall down on us like rain, like the spring rain. We want You to get the glory for every blessing in our life. Lord, we believe that You are the One True God. Please reveal any idols in our lives because we only want to worship You. We know there is no God but you; help us keep You first. You know the desires of our heart, those that are personal and those we are praying on the behalf of others. We believe that you are still in miracle business and so we will look for Your miracles today and every day. In Jesus’ name and for the Father’s glory. Amen.

For further reading: 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:19; Jeremiah 33:3; Acts 2:1-4