READING:
One-year plan: 1 Kings 17-19, John 7:10-36
Two-year plan: Numbers 31, Mark 13:24-37
———-
Today’s Old Testament reading includes stories that are likely familiar to many, like Elijah’s raising the woman’s son to life again. It’s a story of resurrection and grace, but it’s also a story of prayer. Let’s let the Word speak for itself:
- The boy became ill and died: “After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.” His mother turned to Elijah to understand: “She said to Elijah, ‘Man of God, why are you here? Have you come to call attention to my iniquity so that my son is put to death?’” (1 Kgs 17:17-18)
- Elijah pleaded to the Lord in prayer: “Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the Lord and said, ‘Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!’ So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.” (1 Kgs 17:21-22, emphasis added)
Obviously, God was sovereign over the entire event, but He clearly used the prayers of Elijah to accomplish His miraculous plan. It’s as simple, yet as magnificent as this: the man of God prayed, God heard, and God answered his prayers with a miracle. The almighty God of creation listened to the desperate words of the prophet, and God brought life on the wings of those words. Prayer made the difference.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How much does prayer mean to you?
PRAYER: “God, teach me to pray.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: 1 Kings 20-21, John 7:37-8:11
Two-year plan: Numbers 32, Mark 14:1-16
*Adapted from a first publication in 2019
