1 Kings 19:1-13 ESV
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”
Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
And [God] said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
O Lord my God, whose low whisper speaks with greater authority and carries infinitely greater power than anything on earth that shakes or burns or blows, hear our cries today.
We, too, have felt fear like your servant Elijah felt when facing threat and opposition.
We, too, have felt utter exhaustion and deep despair and wanted to run away to an isolated place.
We, too, have wondered why your call on our lives led to places of insurmountable trouble; why our faithfulness to you is rewarded with loss.
We, too, cry out that we “have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts” but that it seems we only are “left, and they seek our lives.”
We are weak.
We are spent.
We are afraid.
We need hope.
We need your Spirit to blow on us with your “low whisper.”
Forgive us, and deliver us, for seeking you in ways and in places that boast of natural strength."
We don’t need winds to blow or the earth to shake or a fire to consume. We need your low whisper – your still small voice – the gentle blowing of your Spirit that stirs in our soul, renews our hope, and refocuses our confidence in you. Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on us today.
Amen.
He Giveth More Grace
https://youtu.be/rXidLQ7SWkk?si=N7Mr7iWpTV2gzOI1
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If you have found this study helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).