Prophetic Intercession: Elijah’s Secret to Persevering Prayer

We are indeed hurtling into a season of great anticipation of the coming of the Lord.

Just as His first coming required many details to be unfolded, His second coming will also require even more unfolding details.

The importance of prophetic prayer is also increasingly being recognized. Strategies, both new and old, are being brought out of heaven as God is revealing them to us. He is at work! God is inviting us to work with Him in the unfolding of His plan.

We are now living in a day when the fear of God is diminishing, and just like the days of the prophet Elijah, the worship of false gods is increasing. There is something we are to do about that! God has plans already written in heaven to address the days we are living in. So how do we get hold of those plans? Let’s take a look at two prophets whose life and ministry are an inspiration to us: John the Baptist and Elijah.

John the Baptist

John the Baptist had a ministry and role in the first coming of Jesus that was of such great importance that Jesus said there was no prophet ever before him who was greater. But John the Baptist didn’t call down fire from heaven or do anything really spectacular (John 10:41). Even though he came in the spirit and power of Elijah, John had no major miracles.

A prophecy at the time of John’s birth through his father, Zechariah, shows us the importance of John’s ministry and his connection directly to Jesus’ ministry and purpose on earth.

And you, little one, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; for you shall go on before the face of the Lord to make ready His ways (Luke 1:76 AMPC).

Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will make ready Your way—a voice of one crying in the wilderness [shouting in the desert], Prepare the way of the Lord, make His beaten tracks straight (level and passable)! (Mark 1:2-3 AMPC)

Mark, in this scripture, was quoting Isaiah, so let’s see what Isaiah had to say about road building:

A voice of one who cries: Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God! Every valley shall be lifted and filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked and uneven shall be made straight and level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory (majesty and splendor) of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it (Isaiah 40:3-5 AMPC).

John’s ministry was to prepare a highway for Jesus to walk on. In fact, he was to prepare the people for Jesus’ ministry on earth. He called for repentance and baptized people to make them ready for Jesus’ earthly ministry. In some ways, the highway was people—lifted up, brought down, crooked things made straight, and rough places smooth. All these things can be applied to readying people for the ministry of Jesus.

John and Elijah

There is a second aspect to the ministry of John the Baptist that is also significant. He was to come in the “spirit and power of Elijah.”

The Angel that came to Zechariah said this:

He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly (Luke 1:17 NLT).

As we have already mentioned, John had no spectacular elements in his ministry. Even more significant is the fact that John’s ministry actually began in the wilderness. Such a remote place is not an ideal place for one to choose to launch a ministry! In the wilderness there's no one to hear you. Could it be that John's primary voice was to the heavenlies and those who dwelt there? Keep all this in mind about John and let’s look a little closer at Elijah’s ministry where we will see something rather interesting.

Elijah’s Zeal for God

In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah made a bold statement. He said, “There shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (NKJV). There was no indication God told him to declare that. However, Elijah must have had a revelation of a degree of authority in God, as well as his position as a prophet, to be able to make such a bold declaration and know God was honor-bound to respond to his faith. Isn’t that just like our God!

Then, three and a half years after Elijah declared that there would be no rain, God told Elijah to show himself to King Ahab and declare that rain will come (1 Kings 18:1). Elijah went on to draw attention to what was at stake through the calling down of fire on the altar. He threw out the challenge and said, “If the Lord be God, then serve Him” (1 Kings 18:21). God worked with Elijah to separate Israel from Baal, the god of that region. Baal worship had infiltrated the people of God. They had become so mixed up with the spirit of the world that there was no clear delineation between God’s people and the people of Baal. So, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. He called down fire out of heaven and triumphed over them.

God’s people once again proclaimed that Jehovah is indeed God after witnessing this demonstration of the almighty power of God (1 Kings 18:17-40). Yet we can’t see in Scripture that God actually instructed him to do any of that. Even though there was a temporary shift in the land for a time, the worship of Baal wasn’t completely eradicated.

Elijah Holds on to God’s Promise

Finally, toward the end of 1 Kings chapter 18, we see Elijah praying for the one thing that God did promise him, that it would rain. God promised him nothing about the fire out of heaven or any of the other miracles. What God had promised him was rain, but rain was the onlything that didn’t happen without persevering prayer! Elijah put his head between his knees, and he called on God. He sent his servant to check for rain six times, but each time there was nothing. Aren’t you hopeful to see that even Elijah didn’t get an instant answer!

Elijah would never ever let go of the promise until he saw the answer, and he didn’t need a huge indication. A cloud the size of a man’s hand was enough to send him outrunning the king’s chariot to get out of the rain! James 5:7-8 uses the account of Elijah’s prayer for rain to illus-trate something that should encourage us. He persevered in prayer! Persevering prayer is what precedes and prepares for the coming of the Lord. That should encourage us all to persevere in prayer and contend for the promise of God.

But that is not the end of the story. There was more to come that took Elijah to the end of himself.

Elijah’s Fear

Following what could be said to be the most spectacular and supernatural highlight of his ministry, Elijah came face-to-face with his humanity.

Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have [with feelings, affections, and a constitution like ours] … (James 5:17 AMPC).

The spectacular nature of that event on Mount Carmel certainly unleashed a hornet’s nest when Elijah provoked the god, Baal. Jezebel, as queen, was influenced by that god, and she made some startling threats toward Elijah. This mighty man of faith, ran off in fear of a woman! Being so intimidated, Elijah made an amazing confession before the Lord.

Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too” (1 Kings 19:10 NLT).

What Elijah was intimating was, “Look, Lord, I saw what the people were doing and it wasn’t good. It made me mad! In my own zeal, I addressed it. But pity me! I did it all by myself and no one was there to help me! Now my life is in danger!”

This seems to be an acknowledgment by Elijah that he did this for God and did it in his own strength and his own zeal.

In the scripture passage in Luke 9:51-56 we see Jesus said something to His disciples that could be almost a commentary on Elijah’s approach by his own zeal. When faced with non-acceptance by the Samaritans, the disciples said “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” Jesus responded with a reprimand by saying “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Luke 9:55-56 NKJV).

Obviously, the disciples’ approach was prompted by their own zeal, not led by the Spirit. Our own ideas and zeal for dealing with contrary opinions or situations will not result in the full unfolding of God’s perfect plan. Let’s see how Elijah was led by God to address the spirit of Baal.

Elijah’s Commission from God

Elijah’s experience on Mount Carmel was the scene of a spectacular display of God’s power, and it did have an impact on the nation of Israel. However, with Jezebel still under Baal’s influence and she still influencing the nation, the worship of Baal was far from finished. It would have to be completely uprooted. God had something for Elijah to do that would deal with the nation in a much more significant and effective way.

When Elijah was at his lowest, at a point where his own zeal had been exhausted, God began to unfold His mighty plan!

We read in 1 Kings 19:13 (NKJV) that Elijah “wrapped his face in his mantle.” Now that’s an interesting thing for Elijah to do. If his face was wrapped in his mantle, obviously his eyes were covered. He could not see what was all around him. He could only see the mantle. It was covering his face and probably his other senses too.

There are times when we, too, need to cover our faces with our “mantle.” A “mantle” could symbolize our divine calling and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for a specific assignment or ministry. When God calls you, your confidence is not in your own abilities. Neither is it in your assessment of the situation. Your confidence is in His calling and the grace to do it. What your eyes and senses receive may actually be a distraction.

So, Elijah covered his face. And when all he could see was the mantle, or his divine calling and the empowerment that came with that calling, God was able to speak and Elijah heard Him.