The Story of a Prayer that Stopped Rain (1 Kings, 16-17)

Ahab was king in Israel for twenty two years, and the Bible says he “did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.” His wife, Jezebel, was also a very wicked woman and together they caused the people to worship and serve a false God called Baal. We know God did not like what they were doing because the first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The king, Queen, and people of Israel had sinned in a big way, and now God must bring strong judgment upon them. Maybe if they suffer a consequence for their sin they will repent and serve God again. What do you think? Anyway, here’s what happened. God raised up a prophet named Elijah and told him to tell King Ahab, “As the Lord God liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years, but according to my word.” Do you know how long the people went without rain? The rain stopped when Elijah prayed for it to stop, and it did not rain again until Elijah prayed for it to rain again. Elijah waited until God told him to pray for rain, and the Bible says “it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” That was a long time, and no doubt King Ahab was very angry with the prophet Elijah. Do you think God kept Elijah safe from King Ahab? That’s exactly what he did. God hid him for quite a while by a brook in Jordan called Cherith. Elijah drank water from the brook, but what did he eat? The Bible says God commanded ravens (or birds) to bring him food each day. Wow! No time remaining today, but tomorrow we’ll learn more about how God took care of Elijah and kept him safe.