The Power of Prayer and the Number Seven (1 Kings 18.42)

Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees.

Background

Following his successful contest with the priests of Ba’al, Elijah tells King Ahab to go up on Mount Carmel and eat, for “there is a sound of rushing rain.” The years-long drought is about to end. Elijah then climbs to the peak with his servant. He kneels, bows his head, and prays. The writer does not tell us what he said in the prayer, but we can make a general guess. (In fact, the writer does not even say that Elijah prayed, though his actions clarify that is what he was doing).

After a time, he tells his servant to go and look out towards the sea. The servant reports that he sees nothing: just empty sky. We do not know what time of year it was, though winter in that area would have been the rainy season (except that the three-year drought had been in effect). It was usually quite dry in the summers. During normal times, especially in the fall, rains almost always came out of the west from over the sea, and could appear quickly. This is what Elijah is looking for.

Six times Elijah prays, six times the servant returns with the same answer. But the seventh time, the servant says that he sees a small cloud out over the sea. So small that, if he held his fist up in front of it, he could not see it.

The sight of the little cloud is enough for Elijah to know his prayer has been answered. He orders his servant to ask Ahab to get in his chariot and hurry to his winter palace in Jezreel before a deluge makes it impossible to travel. Sure enough, the sky is soon dark with black clouds and the rain pours down.

Meaning

There is a lot of symbolism in this passage. Elijah, Ahab, and others climb the mountain to share a meal, just as Moses, Aaron, and the seventy elders of Israel did the same for a covenant meal in Exod 24.9–14. Elijah ascends to the crest of the mountain, with a servant, just as Moses did, to speak with God. Elijah prayed seven times, and the servant checked the sky seven times. In that culture, “seven” was a symbol for completeness or fulfillment. The small cloud, over the sea, reminds us of the cloud of God which was with the Israelites in the desert.

Application

What do we learn about prayer from this short passage? Of course, the major themes are that God, as the sovereign Creator, controls the sky, the wind, the clouds, and rain. He can bring a drought; He can end a drought. The prayer, and its answer, emphasize that God never gives up, and is always ready with grace and mercy. No matter the unfaithfulness or selfishness of his children, even their worship of things apart from Him, He keeps promises.

The prayer passage also confirms that Elijah is the authoritative messenger of God. In 17.1, Elijah told Ahab that the rain would not come back until he said it would. In 18.41, he said to him, “there is the sound of rushing rain.” Surely, Ahab would believe now? (Alas, no.)

These are themes we can always consider when we pray. God controls everything, He is always ready to offer mercy and grace, and He keeps His promises.

We might also note Elijah’s constancy in prayer. He believed God would end the drought; he did not just pray once, or twice, or three times. He prayed until it was answered. Not only that, but he continued to believe, no matter how long God was silent.

This week, in your prayers, use the idea of constancy by adopting the symbolism from this passage. You could also employ the symbolism of “seven,” for this is a number that God’s people have considered a special number for thousands of years. It need not be that there is something “magical” about seven (or three), but that it is a number that connects you with all the people of God as they have prayed all over the world through all time.

Choose a topic of prayer; perhaps a petition about something you are concerned about, or an intercession for someone else’s situation. Pray for that issue seven times, with a brief break in between. Or perhaps you plan to pray seven times a day for seven days, or once for seven days in a row.

Write about the experience of using these themes and symbols in prayer.