singing this morning and our worship and song. And we'll take our Bibles and we'll turn to 1 Kings and chapter 18. And then again, once you get there, go to the end of the chapter. Again, we look forward to what God's gonna do tonight. Look forward to Logan sharing from the book of James with us. Look forward to next Sunday night and what God's gonna do next Sunday. We'll be praying about these special things that we've got coming up as Daniel preaches next Sunday night, that God will bless that. Now I recently preached a message on Elijah. You might remember the message that I re-preached from depression to refreshment. And we looked at the book of James there and that statement that James gives, he was a man subject to like passions as we are. We talked about he was human and he struggled like all of us do. And we took comfort in the fact that he's just a man and that's revealed by the word of God. The emphasis of the verse there in James is on the prayer of faith that Elijah prayed as just a man. And so the Bible says in James 5, verse 17, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. It rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months, And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. And if somebody doesn't have a great Bible knowledge, they may not know the story or the historical context of what it's about, but it's about a wicked king, King Ahab, the king of Israel, and his wife Jezebel, Queen Jezebel, and also a wicked woman. And they were idolaters. They worshiped the idol Baal, and they were Baal worshipers. They got in great disobedience to God, led the children of Israel into great disobedience against God, but Elijah was a man that was a godly man. He feared the Lord and he began to pray and he asked God, okay God, you said in your word, if you read the scriptures this past week with our scripture reading as a church, you read about Deuteronomy chapter 11. And I noticed, as I was reading that last night, that there Moses said that God's judgment, if people didn't obey him, didn't honor him in the land, that God would withhold the rain. Also Solomon, when King Solomon dedicated the temple and he stood up and he was dedicating the temple, he also spoke about that judgment of God that would come if the people turned away from him, that withholding of the rain. And so it says in 1 Kings 18.35, when heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against thee. And he's going to talk about the repentance aspect of that, but he's saying that that would be a testimony to the people that, you know, God is upset if there's not rain. And so Elijah comes along, he looks at the disobedience of the nation. He goes to God and he says, God, based upon what you said in your word, I ask you that it not rain. until this people get right with God. Now, in our story here, 1 Kings chapter 18, it's the great duel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. He gets King Ahab, gets the prophets of Baal, goes up to the top of Mount Carmel and says, we're gonna have a duel here. Your prophets are gonna, the prophets, the idolatrous prophets are gonna make an altar, put a bullock on it, and I'm gonna make an altar, put a bullock on it, and the God that answers by fire, that's God. And you know the story, they try everything and nothing works and finally it's Elijah's turn. He saturates that altar with water and then he cries out to God and he asks God to send fire from heaven. 1 Kings 18 verse 37, if you want to look there. He says, hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, that Thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, the Lord, He is the God, the Lord, He is the God. So I mean, picture them, they're down there on their face. The Lord, He is the God, the Lord, He is the God. What have they done? They have repented. They got right with God. Therefore, God no longer needed to judge them by the lack of rain, but he could send the rain, and Elijah knows that. And so Elijah goes back to prayer. That's our story that we're gonna look at today because he took the truth of, again, Solomon's statement there. When the heavens shut up, there is no rain because they have sinned against thee. If they pray toward this place, and confess thy name and turn from their sin when thou afflictest them, all right? Then God is gonna intervene, then hear thou in heaven, forgive the sin of thy servants and of thy people, Israel, and teach them thy good way wherein they should walk and give rain upon the land which thou has given to thy people for inheritance. And so again, the man of God knows the word of God. He goes to God and says, God, you said in your word, if these people are in sin, do not allow the rain to come. And so he claims that, then afterwards, when God's people repented, he's got a basis for faith to go again to God and say, God, now it's time, please, oh God, send the blessing of the rain again. You know, we look at Elijah. And we think, again, we can't pray like that because Elijah was a prophet, and I can't pray like a prophet, but it's what James said, isn't it? Elijah was a man, and praise God today, we could pray like men, a man subject to like passions as we are. And so what I wanna preach to us this morning is that you too can have prophetic faith. because he was a man, all right? That make sense? I mean, looking at the man, this man was a prophet of God. He saw God do something incredible, but it's not a faith that's beyond us. It's a faith that you and I ought to expect to have, that by the grace of God, we can go to the same God in the same way and say to God, God, I am here, you know, claiming the promises of the word of God, believing that you're a God that can answer. And so, you know, we ask ourselves this morning, are we praying down any rain from heaven? We just sung two hymns about revival. There's a great need that we have in our day for spiritual reign. We need a spiritual awakening. We need to look at some promises in the Bible that speak about God pouring out of his spirit and the grace that God can give. We might need other things in our family life or things that are going on emotionally, mentally, spiritually, other things that we're burdened about, but to be able to be somebody that can go to God and get a very specific answer to prayer is something that we greatly, greatly need. And so God help us to have that kind of prophetic faith. Let's pray and ask the spirit of God to work now in our hearts. Father, we praise you for the grace that you give and thank you. for the opportunity that we have to look at the word of God. And Lord, as we do this, yes, we're looking at a prophet. But Father, as James emphasized, with regard to this idea of prayer, he was a man. And Father, as a man, he prayed. And Father, I pray for this prophetic faith in our hearts that would just grab a hold of what it was in the life of Elijah, how he prayed, the aspects of that, and think, you know what, I can have that. aspect in my life. I pray for every believer that's here. I pray God strengthen our faith. The greatest thing that could be possibly done at Free Baptist Church in Lone Head for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the exalting of the Savior, Father, will be done on our knees. And so God, give us grace to be men and women of prayer. And Father, if somebody hears this message today, they're not yet saved, I pray that the Spirit of God would awaken them to their need in their heart, that they could cry out today and confess that they're a sinner, that they need a Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for them, to come into their heart and cleanse them of their sin, and give them God's gift of everlasting life. And Father, if they pray that in faith today, we know that you'd hear them, and I pray for their salvation. And so, Father, we commit ourselves to your good care, ask that we'd have ears to hear, ask that you please give me lips to speak forth your truth plainly, and that God, in all of this, that you'd receive the glory and be glorified. It's in Christ, and we pray, amen. So you too can have prophetic faith and pray accordingly. And so if we're going to do that, there's seven aspects to it. And they're going to be brief as we move through them. But the first one is have faith that unashamedly believes God. We need to have faith that is unashamed to declare that we are praying about this, that we believe God will do something about it. And so look at verse one. It says, and Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. He's speaking there to the king and he's not ashamed to say, you know what, something's going to happen. You better get ready because I'm about ready to pray. You know, Elijah had seen God answer prayer incredibly. Had he not? For three years, God has withheld rain in answer to the prayers of this man. Just then he had seen fire fall from heaven in answer to his prayer. So he knows this, if I get on my knees, God's going to answer. And so King, I'm just going to let you know, I'm going to pray about this. So get ready because there is a sound of abundance of rain. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ, It's obviously the premier example when it comes to prayer, but also in this idea of unashamed praying, Jesus Christ knew that if he prayed, God would answer, and so he declared it at times before God did answer. Remember the story of Lazarus? As Lazarus is there, he's in the tomb, and Jesus has been praying about what's gonna take place, but he prays out loud so that the people that are there observe the fact that he's asking God to do something so that they get to see the glory of God as God answers. And so John 11, verse 42, Jesus said, I know that thou curious me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou has sent me. Yeah, he wasn't ashamed, and I understand he's the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows what is gonna happen. He knows that man is gonna walk out of that tomb, and he's not afraid to testify to his prayer about that, and the fact that God the Father would answer that in power. You know, the Apostle Paul had this kind of faith that would declare itself and say, you know, I'm trusting God about this. And Acts 27 verse 21 is the story of the shipwreck. And they're out there, he's a prisoner going to Rome and they're out on the sea and in a terrible storm. And the Bible says, after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and he said, sirs, "'You should have hearkened unto me, "'not have loosed from Crete, "'and to have gained this harm and loss.'" And he had told them, don't go out into the Mediterranean, it's not right, this isn't gonna be good. He had warned them, and this is kind of a scriptural, you know what, I told you so, as he speaks to them, he knows that there's gonna be loss because of this, but he says this, "'Now I exhort you, be of good cheer, "'for there shall be no loss "'of any man's life among you, but of the ship.'" "'For there stood by me this night the angel of God "'whose I am and whom I serve, saying, "'Fear not, Paul, for thou must be brought before Caesar, "'and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. "'Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God, "'it shall be even as it was told me.'" And he had been praying and he had been seeking the face of God and he was convinced by God. And yes, God told him, Paul, you've got everybody's life on the ship, but he was not ashamed to step out and to take that position by faith in front of these men and say, listen, God has heard me and God will answer accordingly. You know, praise God, our church has participated in this kind of faith at times, as we've prayed, as you know, for the Gala Day that takes place there in Lone Head. The first several years that we were here, our family were not participating in the Gala Day. Our church wasn't participating in the Gala Day, but we would go and be there for it, and the weather was horrible. Every single time we came, I mean, it was just storm and wind and rain. And so when we joined it and we started coming and we're gonna be in the parade and we're gonna be in the gala day, we started praying about it. And we started asking God, God, give us good weather for that day or for that event. And we would ask God to withhold the rain for those events. And we would testify to the gala committee that would come in after us. They would occupy the same space that we had and they'd come in on a Thursday night after us. And we would say to them, you know what? We are praying, we're asking God for good weather. And we would do this year after year, and every year, if you were here during those years, you understand, every year, God stayed the weather. There were times it didn't look that great, or it looked like it was gonna rain, but God withheld it every single time. And to the point of the last time that we had the Gala Day, some of the gala workers came up and say, you know, Ben, to me, God has answered your prayers. Because we told them, we let them know, look, we're praying about this, we believe God can do something about this. You know, why don't we often say to unbelievers, I believe God can do something about that, I just want you to know I'm gonna pray about it. I'm going to ask God, and I guess in a sense, it's kind of putting our faith on the line, or a little bit, and it's a little bit, it's a step of faith to say, I'm going to pray about this, and I want you to know that I'm praying about it, but that's what faith is. Faith is God can, and I believe God will. And so I'm gonna ask God to do something about this. You know, there's a little maid in Israel that was taken captive, and she had this kind of faith. 2 Kings 5-2, the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel, a little maid, and she waited on Naaman's wife, and she said unto her mistress, would God, my Lord, were with the prophet that's in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy. She said if Naaman would just get to that prophet, I know that prophet has the power of God upon his life, and I believe this, that if he went there, he would be healed. Now we know the end of the story, he does go there, God does heal him, but that little maid unashamedly said, look, my God can do something about that. Y'all wonder today, do we have a faith that's unashamed, that will just speak up a little bit and say, you know what, I believe God can do something about that. I want you to know, I'm gonna be praying about that because I believe God can. And so to have prophetic faith, a faith that first of all, unashamedly believes God, and then secondly, have faith that perceptively believes God. Believes God. Have faith that perceptively believes God. It says in verse 41, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. Did Elijah actually hear thunder? Did he hear the raindrops? No. It's that in his heart, there was a spiritual sense that knew that God was about to answer and that that answer was coming. And so in a spiritual sense, he says, I perceive this, I hear it. Do you ever sense that God has answered your prayers before you receive it? Just that awareness that God's got it, God's gonna do something great here. when the revival on the Isle of Lewis happened in 1949. I'm reading a book about it again, I've read it before, but it's called Channels of Revival. And Duncan Campbell, it's his biography and what took place in this man's life as God used him as an instrument in that awakening on the Isle of Lewis. But it said this, it said the Christians longed to see a renewed manifestation of God's power. This was evident in the earnestness of the weekly prayer meetings and in the conversations of God's people when they met together. Gradually, in many praying hearts, concern deepened into a conviction that God's time to favor them with a further outpouring of his spirit had come. Prayer was intensified and faith encouraged. Expectation, that something would happen. Okay, what is it? I mean, there's a sense in their hearts, hey, the rain's coming, it's coming. They weren't wrong about that either. There was an anticipation that God had heard and there was a perceptiveness that said, you know what, it's almost like I can hear what's going to take place before it even happens. You know, this idea in prayer has been called at times, praying it through. You know, the idea where people get on their knees before God, and like Jacob, they say to God, God, I'm not gonna let thee go except thou bless me. And they earnestly pray and earnestly pray and earnestly pray to the point where there is a convincement that's in their heart that God has heard and that God has answered. 1 John 5.15 says, if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If today I understand that God has heard me, God's listening is active. Obviously anytime I pray God hears me, but there's a difference between knowing that God hears me and God hears me, right? That he doesn't just audibly perceive it, but that in audibly perceiving it that God has in fact, answered that prayer before that prayer is actually answered, physically answered. There've been times in my Christian life and experience that I've experienced something like this, is I've been praying about something, and I remember as a college student doing my internship in 1998 out in Tucson, Arizona, and I was a poor college student, but I was dating, and I was in love, you know, and I was finishing up my undergrad, then I was looking at two years of grad school, and I was thinking, Lord, I can't wait two years to get married. I wanna get married soon, and I was begging God and saying, God, can we get married next summer? Actually, a year from that coming summer. Can we get married a year earlier than it seems like we could get married? And I was praying about that. I remember where I was. I remember I probably shouldn't have been in it, but I had tears coming down my cheeks, you know, praying about getting married. And I know right where I was when God answered in my car as I was driving across Tucson, Arizona. And God did that for Katie and I. We got married a year before finishing school. As I was praying about engagement, I was literally in the closet in my dorm room. I shared a dorm room with my brother at that time, we were roommates, and I was actually in the closet praying and asking God, God, I'm gonna get engaged. My plan was on a night, the sun would be setting, I'd be up at a waterfall, up over that waterfall, and I had it all planned out. The only thing I couldn't control was the weather. And I remember crying out to God, asking God to answer and the convincement in my heart that God had heard in that time. And I just knew God had it. You know, it stormed the three nights previous to that, if I'm not mistaken, all the nights, the week following after that, but that night was a beautiful night as God allowed us to get engaged. Most recently, I was running near the land that God's put on our hearts that we're praying about as a church, and I was praying Peter's prayer, Lord, if it be Thou bid me come. Because I was praying about, you know, I was gonna talk to Steve Anderson. You remember we were praying about that. I was gonna talk to Steve Anderson, gonna talk to my pastor and ask him for counsel about that. And just praying, God, if it be thou, bid me come. You understand, God had us come. And God miraculously through that provided incredible finances that we still have. We're still in the process of defining exactly what God's gonna do through that. But it's one of those times where I can look at my life and say, I know where I was when God answered. And I went to God, I was more sensitive in areas like that or maybe better at praying it through or something like that. But it ought to be our desire to say, God, please help me to pray perceptively so that in my heart there's an understanding that God is heard and that God is answered. And so faith that unashamedly and perceptively believes God. And then thirdly, Faith that specifically believes God, specifically. Verse 41, it says, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. Why rain? Because he was going to pray, he was going to say to God, God, you withheld that blessing. That is the blessing that we need. It was a very specific thing for which he was going to go to God and access God's answer. You know, today, do you know the difference between specific and generic praying? It's easy to pray generically at times, but there's a need to pray specifically. I've noticed with my kids, when they come to me, they've got a need or something, they get an allowance, they work at the house and do different jobs at the house, and on a Friday, somebody will come and they will say something like this, can we get paid? They're very specific about it. They do not say this, Father, you know what blessing I need today and I wait on you to give it. They're very specific. They just go to me as their dad and say, Dad, you know what, can we get paid? If they're asking to buy something. They'll ask again very specifically. Sledges have been a big thing recently, kind of hoping that we get some snow this year. Their sledges got busted last year, so some of them wanted to buy sledges. So they come and they ask very specifically. They don't say, if you see fit to guide my wandering feet, and you know what, a mystical idea about that. They just say very specifically, Dad, you know what, can I buy that? And they ask specifically so that I answer accordingly. Again, as we pray, God's blessed us with three missionaries that we have and it'd be easy to pray God bless the missionaries, but it's good to be specific as we look at the missionaries that God's given to us. We think about the Colleens and their need for a congregation as they're struggling right now and they've lost some and Sandra's Health or the Olmsteads and Sue's need to get into the schools and their burden to see families come to their church. the need for contacts through the evangelism that they're doing, or we look at in Ireland, the Kelly's and the men's home, and the need for finance, or the need for God's protection, or God's grace, and we're asking God as we read their prayer letters, we're asking God to meet their need according to specifics that we're asking God to do. Again, as we pray about our church building, and property need, there's been a good way that God's allowed us to pray specifically. I don't know if you've been praying this way, but we've been praying together about visible, durable, functional, beautiful, affordable, accessible, maintainable, expandable. As we look at what we desire and what would be best to serve God, there's a list of things that we've said to God, God, this is what we're asking about. It's already allowed us to eliminate potential property that we look at and say, it does not meet the criteria that we're asking God to do. Jesus, on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7, in verse eight, it says, for everyone that asketh, receiveth, and he that seeketh, findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone, or if he ask a fish will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask?" And they come and they say, Dad, I need a fish. And that father, out of love, is gonna say, all right, here's a fish. They ask for bread. He's going to say, all right, here's bread. And the point is that when we go to God, we ask God, God, this is what I need. We ask specifically and God answers accordingly. Again, for prophetic faith, we need some believers that'll look at the needs in our church and the things that are happening in our church and the things that we need in our families and the things that we need individually. And we'll go to God and say, God, specifically, this is what I'm asking about. And so God help us have prophetic faith. Faith that unashamedly and perceptively and specifically believes God. But then faith that confidently believes God. Confidently believes God. It says in verse 41, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. It's interesting, it's not just a, you know, I hear the sound of a gentle mist. He says, I hear the sound of a deluge. I hear the sound of God answering exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think. Psalm 81, verse 10 says, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. God had brought them out incredibly with mighty miracles, great wealth, and mighty hand, destroying the armies of Egypt. And that God looks at them and says, say ah. Say ah. Open thy mouth wide, not a little bit, don't just kind of crack your mouth open, but open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. I desire to give you satisfaction. I desire to give you blessing. Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. I'm a fisherman and grew up rod and reel fishing in the United States. That was part of my upbringing. My brother and I would get on our bikes, we homeschooled for some years in high school, we'd jump on our bikes at lunch break, and we'd ride down just less than a mile from my house, there was a lake that was there that had two spillways, the big dam and the little dam, that would go out into the St. Croix River, a huge river that makes the Mississippi as big as the Mississippi is, it feeds the Mississippi. And we get down there, and below the small dam, we'd stand on the dam, and I've thought about this recently, You know would I allow my kids to do what I did growing up? We'd stand there the water be rushing past and we would be fishing right off of that and we catch some bass down there and Below this the Lake Malibu at the small dam we'd catch mostly smallmouth bass not because of the small dam but smallmouth bass Above it we would catch largemouth bass And you might be wondering, what's the difference? Well, I mean, there's a little difference in color. The smallmouth bass is kind of brownish, and a largemouth bass is kind of greenish, and the largemouth will actually get bigger in size than a smallmouth bass. But generally speaking, one of the defining factors, you'll not be surprised, is the size of their mouth. The smallmouth bass has a smaller mouth. The largemouth bass, some of them, I caught one recently, it could almost put my fist down into its mouth. I wanted to ask you this morning, Are you a small-mouthed Christian? Or are you a big-mouthed Christian? Not what comes out to others, but what comes out to God? Are you somebody that just kind of cracks your mouth open a little bit? You have faith to ask God for little things? Or are you somebody that, by God's grace, say, you know what, I can ask God to do some great things. Jeremiah 33.3 says, call unto me, and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. We've been claiming this as a church, we've been looking for the land, looking for the property that God has for us. Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. And a lot of us, we can read that scripture and then we say something like this, but I don't know if God can meet my emotional needs. I don't know if God can meet the spiritual needs of my life. I don't know if God can meet my financial needs. I don't know if God can meet my relational needs. my medical needs. There's a whole list of things that we could put there, but God has said, the bank of heaven's open, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. And as I think about that verse, what does it mean to say, open thy mouth wide? And I will fill it. I think the way we open our mouth wide is the way we pray. I think it's our prayer life that testifies to the fact of, do I have my mouth open wide or is my mouth closed? Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. Faith that confidently believes God. Say, you know what I hear, pastor? I hear the sound of abundance of rain. Get prophetic faith. Faith that unashamedly, perceptively, specifically, and confidently believes God. And then fifth, have faith that diligently believes God, have faith that diligently believes God. James 5.16 says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. You know, Elijah didn't stand there and say to Ahab, you know, I believe God is going to do something great, and then he just stands there. You know what I'm saying? God's going to do something great. I hear the sound of abundance of rain, and then he just anchors his feet and just kind of looks around. There's an activity that takes place because there is a convincement in his heart that God is going to work. And he didn't ask and say, you know, why isn't God working? He got on his knees and said, God, it's time to work. And so faith that diligently believes God is a faith that goes to the place of prayer. It says in verse 42, so Ahab went up to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. You know, wasn't Elijah hungry? Wasn't he thirsty? I mean, he just had this duel on the top of the mountain. The prophets of Baal have been slain. He's gotta be weary. He's gotta be tired. Ahab goes up to eat and drink. Elijah could have gone up to eat and drink, but instead he goes to the place of prayer. And he begins to wait upon God in the place of prayer. You know, place of prayer is important. Jesus taught about it in Matthew 6, verse 6. In the Sermon on the Mount, he said, but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, that secret place. "'When thou shalt thy door, pray to thy Father, "'which seeth in secret, and thy Father, "'which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.'" It doesn't have to be a closet, but it does need to be a place where we could get alone, aside from distraction, a place that is, and it doesn't have to be the same place, but a place that we can get to and say, God, I'm here because I'm seeking you. A place of prayer. Jesus sought these places out. Matthew 14, verse 23, said, "'When he had sent the multitude away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. Jesus was gonna get to that place of prayer, diligently seek God. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus went to the place of prayer. Matthew 26, verse 38. Then saith he unto them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, that's to the secret place. And he fell on his face, and he prayed, saying, oh my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. You know, I think I can honestly say you don't really have a prayer life if you don't have a place or places that are places that you go to pray. Somewhere where you've got to get alone and you've got to seek the face of God. You know, when I went to Bible college, I got there and I had two to three roommates all the years through Bible college. So it wasn't a great place to pray there in the dorm room. But I remember going down to the practice shacks, that was the place where They had pianos down in these rooms. They were soundproof rooms. I'd get in there, and I'd pray there, or I'd pray in a prayer room that they had at Bob Jones, or I'd pray on the athletic fields, or I prayed in the stairwell. That was interesting because, and it was the furthest stairwell in our dorm, so it wasn't used that often, but if I heard the door open, I'd just silent pray. until they got past and they started praying out loud again and seeking the face of God. But the thing is, we've got to, in our lives, I challenge my kids to this. I've talked to my kids about this, even as they grow up, as they get older, it is a great thing to say, you know what? I'm just going to set, I'm just going to seek out a place and I'm going to seek the face of God. I'm going to get alone with God and I'm going to pray. Get in a place of prayer and then get into a position of prayer. It says in verse 42, and he cast himself down upon the earth and he put his face between his knees. He's a great man of God, and as he gets to that place, in humility, he gets on his face, puts his head down between his knees, bowed before God, seeking the face of God. Remember the position of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, again, Matthew 26, verse 38. My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. He went a little further, the Bible says, and he fell on his face, and he prayed. You know, I don't think today that we have to always kneel when we pray, but I'd say there ought to be times if we're diligently seeing the face of God, that we've got to get on our knees and say, I'm just going to get on my face before God, because we have got to see God answer our prayers. Surely it's right at times to kneel in prayer. Remember that movie Sheffy that we've watched as a church, the camp meeting preacher that had such an impact as a circuit riding preacher there in the United States. But his aunt, you remember, gave him that sheepskin rug. And he was known for taking that sheepskin rug all through his years. Take that out, put that on the ground somewhere, and then get on that prayer rug and just seek the face of God in prayer. You know, Muslims bow, Catholics kneel, and we who know the Lord ought to get on our face and say, you know what, I'm just here, I'm just, unashamedly, I'm just going to get on my knees because I've got to seek the face of God. Now, I wonder today, as we think about this, does our place or our position show that we're diligently seeking God? If somebody has prophetic faith, if somebody is diligently seeing God, does our place or our position show that we are seeking God diligently? And so prophetic faith, unashamedly, perceptively, specifically, confidently, and diligently believes God. but then faith that patiently believes God. I mentioned fishing and I enjoy fishing and it's a bit different coming to Scotland. One of the culture shocks for me was going from this to this, all right? Fly fishing versus spin cast fishing. We got into it a little bit and we enjoy it now, but we enjoyed last year going back to the States and taking the boys and just teaching them how to bass fish and how to use a lure. and a plastic worm and how to use that to entice a fish. Well, Mac was only six last year. And so Mac obviously can't do that kind of fishing, but Mac can do bait fishing. So it's got the bobber and the worms, you know, and that. And what was neat about teaching Mac to fish is that Mac is patient. And so a lot of kids will be like, okay, I didn't get a bite and so here, you know, go do something else. He was really patient about it. And that's important, why? Because you're not going to fish or be a fisherman if you're somebody that is impatient. You know, the thing is today, you're not going to go very far in your prayer life if you're not somebody that has learned patience. If you're not somebody that can continue to say, you know what, God hasn't answered yet, God hasn't answered yet, but I believe God's gonna answer, so I'm just gonna stay there in that position and place of prayer. And so faith that patiently believes God is watching, a faith that watches for the answer, verse 43. He said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and he said, there is nothing. Elijah's praying, he's praying for rain. So what's he say? He says to his servant, go look and see, right? Because I believe God's going to answer. So he goes up there and he comes back and he goes, there's nothing. Elijah had prayed and had seen God answer prayer at times immediately. And prayer can be like that. Somebody today in their heart can understand they're a sinner on their way to hell, but that Jesus Christ died for them and rose from the dead. And today, right now, if they cry in their heart to God and say, God, would you forgive me of my sin and save me, they could get saved right now. Somebody in their heart right now might look at their life and say, there's sin in my life. I need the mercy of God. I need the blood of Christ right now. They go to God and say, God, would you cleanse me right now? God would cleanse them right now. Some prayers like that, isn't it? But there's other prayer that might be next week. There's other prayer that might be next month. There's other prayer that might be next year. There are many things that are gonna be things that we're gonna have to be watching and looking to see that, watching for that answer that's going to come. The Bible says Colossians 4.2, continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving. If there's patience in our hearts, we're just saying, I'm just praying about it. I'm just going to keep looking because I believe God has heard. I believe the answer is coming, but then waiting as well for the answer. Again, it says in verse 43, he said to his servant, go up again, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, there is nothing. And he said, go again, seven times. Elijah didn't accept that it's not coming. He believed it would come, and so he says to his servant, the number of perfection, go up seven times, just keep going up, keep going up, keep going up, keep going up, because I'm going to wait on God until God answers, until God sends the rain. You know, our family, I've mentioned, one of our favorite walks is the Grey Mare's Tale down in the borders, the fifth largest waterfall in the United Kingdom. And you walk up a very steep path, looking down at that waterfall, but you get up above the waterfall and the burn continues, and you're following that along, and what there is, there's a hanging lake, a lock that sits up there, Locke's Skein. And it's the highest hill in the borders is up above that. It's a beautiful area. But as you're walking that path above the waterfall in between that and Loxkeen, it's very much the same. Heather covered, curvy, gorgeous, but you keep coming around the corner thinking you're gonna be at Loxkeen and you're not. And you come around the corner and you're not. And I just wonder how many people got within a stone's throw of Loxkeen And maybe because of a complaining child or something else, he just thought, well, I'll just go back. But they were literally almost there if they just would have continued on. Again, as we think about this idea of waiting and watching and patience, I wonder how many it is, the believers, they've been praying about it, asking God to do it, earnest to see God do it. I mean, they get so close and God is going to answer. They don't realize that it's just over the hill. but rather than continue on in faith and say, I know it's coming, I know it's coming, they turn back in unbelief and they faint. Galatians 6, 9 says, let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. If we continue to say, I believe God, God's got it, God's gonna answer, God's gonna do it, I'm just gonna continue in faith to wait upon God, I'm gonna continue to ask very specifically and wait for the specific answer that I know my God can give. And so get prophetic faith, faith that patiently believes God, unashamedly, perceptively, specifically, confidently, diligently. And then lastly, Have faith that expectantly believes God. Have faith that expectantly believes God. It says in verse 44, it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea like a man's hand. And Elijah said, go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. Isn't that a great response from the man of God? He hears his servant say there's a cloud out there, And he responds in faith and says, go tell him, because he was expectant that that was God's answer. Barnes notes, says about that little cloud, he says, the sailors know full well that such a cloud on the far horizon is often the forerunner of a violent storm. Elijah wasn't a sailor, but Elijah was a man of faith and Elijah was praying for rain and Elijah said the same thing I believe that is a herald of the great thing that God's going to do Again back to the book about the revival on Lewis Having just arrived at the village of Barbus there on Lewis. It says this I That night he preached from Matthew 25 on the wise virgins. Challenging the Christians to their responsibility towards those who were asleep in sin. Dust rose from the pulpit cushion as he warmed up to his subject. Apparently he was a fiery preacher and would make that known in the way he touched the pulpit. All right, there's fire here, mused an elder, who felt so convicted that instead of going home, he walked across the moor to kneel by a peat bank and pray that God would meet with him afresh. Okay, so this man looks at, there's an expectancy in his heart, great things aren't happening yet, but there is an expectation that's there. A solemn hush came over the church the following night when Duncan turned this time to the foolish virgins. The service closed in a tense silence and the building emptied. As he came down from the pulpit, a young deacon raised his hand and moving it in a circle over his head, whispered, Mr. Campbell, God's hovering over. He is going to break through. I can hear already the rumbling of heaven's chariot wheels. And again, I mean, it's that expectancy. And I mean, these are glorious days of what God was going to do. And there was just a sense that, hey, God is here. God's going to work. Just then the door opened and a leader beckoned. Come and see what's happening. The entire congregation was lingering outside, reluctant to disperse. Others had joined them drawn from their homes by an irresistible power that they had not experienced before. There were looks of deep distress on many faces. Suddenly a cry pierced the silence. A young man had remained in the church, burdened to the point of agony for his fellow man, was pouring out his desire and prayer. The congregation swept back into the church. The awful presence of God brought a wave of conviction of sin that caused even mature Christians to feel their sinfulness, bringing groans of distress and prayers of repentance from the unconverted. Revival came, all right, and the rest of the story is what God did on the Isle of Lewis, but there were people that perceived it, and they expected it. They knew it was coming. And that's the thing about Elijah. Elijah didn't pray thinking God's not going to send rain. He prayed knowing that God would send rain. If we have prophetic faith this morning, we look at it and say, not just God can, but I believe God will and God is going to send it. As we look at this verse at the end here, it says in verse 45, And it came to pass in the meanwhile that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins. He ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel." There's that victory lap that he takes. He had prayed for rain as a prophet. He had prayed for rain as a man. and God answered. I wonder today, we could look at Elijah and say, you know, pastor, I can't pray like that. But I would argue from the book of James, yes you can. And I would tell you this, the greatest need that our church has is men and women of prayer. The greatest, God give us that before anything else. That's what we need. We need people that can get ahold of God. The verse that has been in my mind lately with regard to the property, and God gave it to me the day that we put in our offer on the bank. And I thought, why did God... Give me this verse, but here's the verse. The fact is this, the greatest battle is taking place, not in the physical realm, but in the spiritual realm. And to do battle in the spiritual realm, we gotta have men and women of faith that'll get on their knees, seek the face of God and say, I believe God. We gotta start praying. I mean, we can look at it on a physical level. We see the illness, we see the whatever is creeping into our lives and sin or things like that. We see on a very physical plane, but the battle's behind the scenes. And so what we need by God's grace is people like Elijah to say, you know what? I just believe God and I am gonna go to God because the fact is we need, there's two things that we need. Both are seeing the life of Elijah. We need the judgment of God upon the wicked and to bring us to the point of repentance, to the place where we can pray in faith and say, God, we are in a place that is right with you. God, send the rain. God, send the rain. We need it. Scotland needs rain. Free Baptist Church needs rain. Individually, we need rain. Our families need rain. And so God, help us to have men and women of prophetic faith that are praying unashamedly, perceptively, specifically, confidently, diligently, patiently, expectantly, because God is gonna send rain. God, help us to do it, let's pray. Father, may the Spirit of God touch our hearts today. Father, I pray we need to touch the throne of heaven. And Father, there's a lot of other things that maybe we could look at today. But I pray, Lord God, give us men and women of faith, Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, but he prayed that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't rain for three years, and then it rained, because that was the truth of the word of God, and he claimed it. Father, surely there's a lot of truth that we can claim for our day. When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, their tongue failed for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry land. Father, we need water from heaven. God, we need revival. I pray, Father, that your spirit would stir us up to take hold of God. Lord, God, give us an urgency. God, give us these truths that we looked at in life as a man of faith. Father, bless your word to our hearts. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Amen, let's stand, we'll sing.