With this summer set to be the UK’s hottest on record, and my garden looking decidedly parched, I’ve found myself (like so many of us) yearning for rain.
This is unusual, because the solar-powered part of me is normally decrying the British summertime for being too wet!
But this year feels different, and it’s got me thinking …
I’ve written before about why rain is always a sign of God’s blessing. (See here.)
I’ve also written previously about the time when I witnessed God sending rain, on sun-scorched land, in a quite remarkable way. (See here.)
So, this time, I want to write about how to posture ourselves to pray for rain during a prolonged drought – because I think it can teach us so much how to posture ourselves to pray for breakthrough in other seemingly impossible situations.
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There’s a story in the Bible about a prolonged drought.
It’s in 1 Kings 18, where we read how the drought has been sent by God as judgement against the nation of Israel – because of their blatant idolatry, particularly their worship of Baal, a fertility ‘god’.
At the point where I want us to join the story, the drought has been going on for three years.
Elijah, God’s main prophet in Israel at that time, has just won a significant public victory over the false prophets of Baal. He has called down fire from heaven, and God has responded. The sacrifice and altar, both of which were drenched with water, have been completely consumed by the fire. And those who worship Baal have been left in no doubt about who is the one, true, living God!
It’s then that we read this pivotal verse:
“So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.” (1 Kings 18:42)
For me, this verse is pivotal because I think it teaches us four things about the posture of prayer that we need to adopt when praying for a seemingly impossible situation:
1. Get your priorities in order
The first thing we read in this verse is that, “Ahab went off to eat and drink”.
Ahab is concerned only for himself. He is indulging his physical appetites. He is focusing solely on satiating his hunger and thirst.
Elijah, on the other hand, isn’t joining Ahab in eating and drinking. He is concerned for the people and their need for rain. He knows that only God can bring them the breakthrough they so desperately need. He is focusing not on food and drink, but on God; not on the carnal, but the spiritual.
The contrast between these two men’s priorities is stark.
2. Get alone with God
The second thing we read in this verse is that, “Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel”.
He does this to remove himself from all distractions and demands. His desire is to get alone with God. He knows that, at the top of the mountain, he will be able to come into God’s presence and pray in peace. So he seeks out solitude.
Incidentally, it reminds me of Moses climbing to the top of Mount Sinai, which I have written about elsewhere. (See here.)
3. Humble yourself before God
The third thing we read in this verse is that Elijah, “bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees”.
Now try to visualise what this looks like!
You should be picturing a man, kneeling in a foetal-like position – with his torso touching his thighs, his thighs enclosing his head, and his forehead touching the ground.
This prayer posture is so unusual that it’s not recorded anywhere else in the Scriptures.
But I think it reveals Elijah’s heart attitude.
By lowering himself into the dust, he is humbling himself before God, and acknowledging his total dependence on him. He is outworking Psalm 95:6: “Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker.”
And by putting his head between his thighs, he is blocking out sight, sound and every conceivable distraction. He is deliberately reducing all sensory input, in order to focus single-mindedly on the task in hand: pleading with God to send rain to end the drought.
4. Hold onto God’s promise
The fourth thing to note is that, right at the start of this story, God has promised Elijah: “I will send rain on the land.” (1 Kings 18:1)
There’s no room for doubt in this statement. Elijah knows that rain will come. But he doesn’t know God’s timing. So he’s holding onto God’s promise, as he prays in the waiting.
With this in mind, I think Elijah’s curled up foetal-like posture can be compared to that of a pregnant woman in labour. She knows her baby will be born. She knows the moment is imminent. But she has to keep pushing until it happens.
In the same way, Eiljah knows that God is going to send rain on the land. Elijah knows that he can stand firm on God’s promise. But until it actually happens, Elijah has to keep travailing in prayer, earnestly interceding, contending with God to bring breakthrough.
And a couple of verses later, we discover that his perseverance has paid off, because “a cloud the size of a man’s hand” can be seen over the sea (1 Kings 18:44).
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As we unpack these four aspects of Elijah’s prayer posture, let me ask you about each one in turn:
- How often are you prioritising your relationship with God above your carnal appetites?
- How often are you deliberately setting aside the distractions and demands, which so often dominate your time, to get alone with God?
- When you come before God, what is your heart attitude like? How often do you humble yourself before him and submit yourself to him?
- What promise has God spoken over your situation? Are you trusting what he has said, standing firm on it, and persevering in prayer over it, until you see the breakthrough he has promised?
[If not, then you might want to read the opening chapter of my book, ‘It’s All About the Light: How to Find God in Tough Times‘.]
At the end of the day, if we want God to do the seemingly impossible – the equivalent of sending rain to end a prolonged period of drought – let’s learn from Elijah’s example and adopt a similar prayer posture.
As always, constructive comments are welcome below.
(Please note: This is my ‘thought for the month’ reflection for August. You can find all my ‘thought for the month’ reflections here.)
Image from Naassom Azevedo via Unsplash
