Is this a cloud?

“Go up now, look toward the sea.” It is hard to imagine this servant, looking for rain, had any faith that he would see something.It had been 3 and a half years without rain. Why is prayer going to change that? “Go again.” Certainly, the prophet with his face between his knees had full confidence God was sending the rain. “Go again.” Maybe the servant had complete faith the prophets prayer would bring rain. “Go again.” Maybe he grew weary of hoping. “Go again.” Maybe he thought the prophet looked crazy, so focused on his prayer that his face was between his knees and he would not be moved. “Go again.” One thing is certain, nothing was going to move this prophet, nothing was going to stop his prayer. “Go again.” “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand rising out of the sea!” But will this really turn into a rainstorm?

Elijah’s prayers in 1 Kings were all motivated by the need for revival in the nation. James 5 makes it clear that Elijah was an ordinary man who prayed in faith and God answered. But why did Elijah pray for the rain to stop? Because of how 1 Kings 16:29-34 describes the state of the nation, full of idolatry with a king who was provoking God to anger “more than all the kings of Israel before Him.” The next verse Elijah declares the rain will stop. This declaration came from Elijah’s knowledge of Deuteronomy 11:13-17 where God had already declared that the rain would stop if the idolatry ran rampant. This rain is literally and metaphorically connected to spiritual revival. Yet, Elijah was “a man with a nature like ours.” He saw the rain but a threat to his life sent him on the run asking God, essentially, is this really what rain looks like? Is this really a revival?

The revivals sparked by Asbury college has the church in America asking, is this a cloud? Is this what “rain” really looks like. We are like Elijah sitting in the cave asking God to answer this simple question. God says it is Elijah’s faith, not his doubt, that made his prayers effective. Elijah had a moment of doubt, of questioning. But God spoke and told him to get back out of the cave and train the next prophet. God has a habit of answering questions in this indirect way. It was a spiritual revival for the nation, God had saved people and told Elijah to get working. So, are these revivals spiritual rain? I suppose the answer we might hear to that question if we are truly listening for the still small voice is “go.”

Are we willing to go? Elijah sat in the wilderness for 3 and a half years waiting for God’s timing. Waiting for it to be time for the rain. Because he knew the need for spiritual revival in his time, amongst God’s people. We do need a revival in the church, amongst God’s people. How many of us in ministry have been sitting and waiting for almost 4 years due to COVID? How much have we held back as a church? Here we have a cloud, small as a man’s hand, but do we have the faith to pray that God sends the rain of revival that sweeps the nation? And how many of us have the courage to live like this is a revival? We need to be ready to be called, for our children to be called, for our friends to be called. We need to be preparing ourselves and encouraging those around us to be willing to follow the call. To go to the nations, to serve at home, and to lay our lives down for the cause of Christ.

The Holy Spirit is powerful and God’s plans are never thwarted. But God does not control us as robots. God moves and we respond in submission or rebellion. If God’s people resist the Holy Spirit we will not see a revival in this generation. But if God’s people are soft hearted to His will, submissive and humble as Christ who willingly died to save the nations, then the spark of revival will become a burning flame. If we smother the spark, the revival will die. But if we kindle the flame with faith, we will see fire and rain from heaven as it opens on us. I love the way Longfellow says, “let us then be up and doing, with a heart for any fate. Still achieving still pursuing, for my end is not the grave.” We know the end is not the grave, so let us pray as Jim Elliot did “Lord, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee.”