Isaiah 35:8
One of the most encouraging things about Elijah is that he prepared a way for God to move during a very dark and sinful era. He built a highway of holiness at a time when the Israelites were worshipping the heathen god, Baal.
In Elijah’s day, evil had so infiltrated his nation that God’s own, chosen people didn’t know right from wrong anymore. They couldn’t tell what was of God and what wasn’t. For God to move among them again, light and darkness had to be separated. The wickedness of idolatry had to be removed.
That was Elijah’s primary assignment. His job was to get the obstacle of Baal-worship out of the way so that God could reach His people.
First Kings chapters 18 and 19 reveal how Elijah went about fulfilling that assignment. He started by challenging the prophets of Baal to a spiritual contest that proved before all the people of Israel that the Lord is the true God. Then he single-handedly killed 450 idolatrous prophets.
No question about it, that was a strong start but much more had to be done. God didn’t intend for just one group of prophets to be destroyed. He meant for the whole mess of Baal worship to be annihilated in Israel.
Elijah couldn’t do that by himself. He needed help. So God spoke to him and told him exactly how to get it. He said:
Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.
(1 Kings 19:15–18)
Notice that the Lord told Elijah to anoint three very different men. First, He told him to anoint Hazael who as king of Syria was a heathen civil leader. Second, He told him to anoint Jehu who had been a violent military man. (He was a General Patton type person.) Finally, God told Elijah to anoint Elisha who was a spiritual leader.
Years after Elijah was caught away to heaven, those three men—a civil leader, a military leader, and a spiritual leader—totally wiped out Baal worship in Israel. Through his prayers for them, Elijah completed his assignment. He prepared a people for the visitation of the Lord and set an example for us all to follow.
He taught a lesson that every New Testament road builder must learn.
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 18:1–40
Source: Devotions for the Praying Heart by Lynne Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries
On the chilly March night in 1972 when Lynne Hammond took her first step into a life of Spirit-led prayer, she had no idea what was about to happen. All she knew was the hunger in her heart for God wouldn’t let her sleep. In the few short months she’d been born again, her desire to fellowship with Him had grown so strong she could hardly contain it. “Help me, God!” she cried. “I want to know you. I want to be able to talk to you. Please, teach me to pray!”
Suddenly, a heavenly presence flooded the room. Lynne sensed waves of spiritual fire sweeping over her and a beautiful language began to flow like a river from within her. Although she’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she knew instantly, without a doubt—this was God!
What began that night soon blossomed into a life of prayer that ultimately became a ministry of prayer when, in 1980, Lynne and her husband, Mac, founded Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Under Lynne’s leadership, the prayer ministry at Living Word has become an internationally recognized model for developing effective pray-ers in the local church.
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”