Passivity or Full Engagement
Passivity or Full
Engagement
Passivity is a robber. The prophet Elijah was anything but passive when he prayed for
rain. There had been no rain on the land for three years. By anyone’s definition, that is a
serious situation. How the rain came about is very interesting.
In I Kings 18:1, God tells the prophet, “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send
rain upon the land.” In I Kings 18:41, Elijah tells Ahab that God is going to send rain, in
abundance nonetheless. Then Elijah goes to the top of Mount Carmel, bows himself onto the
earth, and prays that God will send the rain. He does this seven times, sending his servant to
go find out if there are any rain clouds coming over the sea. He does not stop praying until he
sees the cloud.
The question is, why does he pray for what God has already said He would do? And why
does he pray so intently, until he actually sees what God has promised? The answer to these
questions lies in the great priority that God places on prayer; He longs to see His desires
—the very things He has already promised to us—fulfilled in our lives. The New Testament
puts it clearly; “You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2). Perhaps there
are things that God has promised you that remain unseen. There may be promises God has
given His Church that we are not experiencing. Do not sit idly waiting for them to come
about. This is no time for passivity; take those promises and pray them determinedly until
you see them realized.
FURTHER SCRIPTURE REFLECTION: I KINGS 18:1, 41-46
REFLECTION
1. What is it that God has promised you that you do not yet see?
2. What are the promises God has given His Church that we are not experiencing?
Bill Dyck is Senior Pastor of Toronto Alliance Church, in Southern Ontario. He and his wife,
Donna, have been serving there for twenty-one years, rebuilding hope for a future in the
heart of the city
BE BLESSED!!! Marsha A. Lyles
Engagement
Passivity is a robber. The prophet Elijah was anything but passive when he prayed for
rain. There had been no rain on the land for three years. By anyone’s definition, that is a
serious situation. How the rain came about is very interesting.
In I Kings 18:1, God tells the prophet, “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send
rain upon the land.” In I Kings 18:41, Elijah tells Ahab that God is going to send rain, in
abundance nonetheless. Then Elijah goes to the top of Mount Carmel, bows himself onto the
earth, and prays that God will send the rain. He does this seven times, sending his servant to
go find out if there are any rain clouds coming over the sea. He does not stop praying until he
sees the cloud.
The question is, why does he pray for what God has already said He would do? And why
does he pray so intently, until he actually sees what God has promised? The answer to these
questions lies in the great priority that God places on prayer; He longs to see His desires
—the very things He has already promised to us—fulfilled in our lives. The New Testament
puts it clearly; “You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2). Perhaps there
are things that God has promised you that remain unseen. There may be promises God has
given His Church that we are not experiencing. Do not sit idly waiting for them to come
about. This is no time for passivity; take those promises and pray them determinedly until
you see them realized.
FURTHER SCRIPTURE REFLECTION: I KINGS 18:1, 41-46
REFLECTION
1. What is it that God has promised you that you do not yet see?
2. What are the promises God has given His Church that we are not experiencing?
Bill Dyck is Senior Pastor of Toronto Alliance Church, in Southern Ontario. He and his wife,
Donna, have been serving there for twenty-one years, rebuilding hope for a future in the
heart of the city
BE BLESSED!!! Marsha A. Lyles