Prayer

The preacher is preaching a series on prayer. The Sunday school lesson is on Elisha feeling discouraged after such a triumphant victory on Mount Carmel. Elisha had heard God so loud, so plain, and now he only heard a whisper. Elisha knew how to pray and when to pray, but now, he prayed to die. “I’ve had enough,” he yelled at God.

We live in a “Wal-Mart” world of instant gratification. Almost anything you want, or need, can be gotten off any shelf. Just walk in and pick it up. Now. We want everything “Our Way." But this is not Burger King.

Laura Story’s song, “Blessings," asks, “What if your blessings come through raindrops...healing comes through tears...what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?”

We want our prayers answered our way. And when they are not answered the way we think they should be, we feel they were not answered. Elisha's prayer was answered on Mount Carmel. We do not see that he prayed again, but based on what is written, he probably prayed something like, "I need a vacation. I have done a great job". Instead of being rewarded, Jezebel put a price on his head. Not a vacation. Then we see his prayer, “I’ve had enough! Lord take my life!”

But God was not done working in him and through him.

When we feel downtrodden when the world feels too heavy for us to bear. (1 Cor 10:13) “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with your testing, He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”