“And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing” (1 Kings 18:43)

“And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing” (1 Kings 18:43)

Elijah was not always answered immediately, and who are we to demand a prompt answer to our first asking?….He was convinced that sooner or later God would grant his request, yet he was persuaded he should “give Him no rest” (Isa. 62:7). Six times the servant returned with his report that there was no portent of rain, yet the prophet relaxed not his supplication. And let us not be faint-hearted when no immediate success attends our praying, but be importunate, exercising faith and patience until the blessing comes…”Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you” (Isa. 30:18). Why? To teach us that we are not heard for our fervour or urgency, or because of the justness of our cause: we can claim nothing from God—all is of grace, and we must wait His time. The Lord waits, not because He is tyrannical, but “that He may be gracious.” It is for our good that He waits: that our graces may be developed, that submission to His holy will may be wrought in us; then He lovingly turns to us and says, “Great is thy faith, be it unto thee as thou wilt” (Matthew 15:28). “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (John 5:14, 15). God cannot break His own Word, but we must abide His time and, refusing to be discouraged, continue supplicating Him until He appears on our behalf.”