Saturday, October 17, 2015
Bible Lesson: Intercessory Prayer: “Elijah Prays For The Widow's Son, To Be Restored To Life.
Bible Lesson: Intercessory Prayer:
“Elijah Prays For The Widow's Son, To Be Restored To Life.
Bible Text:
I Kings 17:8-24 NLT
(The Widow at Zarephath.)
8 Then The Lord
said to Elijah,
9 “Go and
live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have
instructed a widow there to feed you.”
10 So he went
to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a
widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring
me a little water in a cup?”
11 As she was
going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
12 But she
said, “I swear by The Lord your God that I don’t have a single
piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left
in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was
just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son
and I will die.”
13 But Elijah
said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve
said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to
prepare a meal for yourself and your son.
14 For this is
what The Lord, The God Of Israel, says: There will always be flour
and olive oil left in your containers until the time when The Lord
sends rain and the crops grow again!”
15 So she did
as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat
for many days.
16 There was
always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as The
Lord had promised through Elijah.
17 Some time
later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and
finally he died.
18 Then she
said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you
come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
19 But Elijah
replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from
her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying,
and laid the body on his bed.
20 Then Elijah
cried out to The Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy
to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
21 And he
stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to The
Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to
him.”
22 The Lord
heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he
revived!
23 Then Elijah
brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother.
“Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
24 Then the
woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God,
and that T Lord truly speaks through you.”
Luke 4:23-26 NLT
23 Then He
said, “You will undoubtedly quote Me this proverb: ‘Physician,
heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like
those you did in Capernaum.’
24 But I tell
you The Truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
25 “Certainly
there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the
heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine
devastated the land.
26 Yet Elijah
was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a
widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
The widow of Zarephath, was a woman of faith, Elijah was The Lord's
faithful servant.
Never are we so close to defeat, as after a great victory, it was so
with Elijah ( I Kings 19), and now true of this widow. She and her
son had plenty after blessing the man of God, but now, what good was
food, if her son lay dead?
A widow needed her son to take care of her in her old age, for
certainly there would be no one else.
Our Lord, well understood this (Luke 7:11-17).
I Kings 17:18
NLT
Then she said
to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come
here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
The
Widow of Zarephath, had an intercessor, that was a man of God,
Elijah.
I Kings 17:19-21
NLT
19 But Elijah
replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from
her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying,
and laid the body on his bed.
20 Then
Elijah cried out to The Lord, “O Lord my
God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her
home to me, causing her son to die?”
21 And he
stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to The
Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return
to him.”
Some dear poor soul in the church, has said, “This must be the
first case ever of resuscitation.”
What was it James said....
James 1:5-8 KJV
5 If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let
not that man think that he shall receive any thing of The Lord.
8 A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Why did the young mans life return to him?
I Kings 17:22
NLT
The Lord
heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned,
and he revived!
The Lord heard Elijah's prayer and honored his faith, and brought the
young man back to life.
Matthew 17:20
KJV
And Jesus said
unto them...verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder
place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Romans 10:17 KJV
So then faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Answered prayer, this is why we as Christians, must hear The Word,
and read The Word, so that our faith will grow and be strong.
Do you intercede for anyone? Have your prayers made the difference in
any ones life?
Do you have a prayer list?
Our God, calls us to intercede for those we know! Has He heard your
prayers?
Our
God Hears And Answers Prayer:
Joshua 10:14 KJV
13 And the sun
stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of
Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not
to go down about a whole day.
14 And there
was no day like that before it or after it, that The Lord hearkened
unto the voice of a man: for The Lord fought for Israel.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
I Chronicles
16:11 KJV
Seek The Lord
and His strength, seek His face continually.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
Job 22:27 KJV
Thou shalt make
thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee..."
Psalm 6:9 KJV
The Lord hath
heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.
Psalm 55:17 KJV
Evening, and
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear
my voice.
Psalm 65:2 KJV
O thou that
hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Psalm 66:19 KJV
But verily God
hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 88:1,2 KJV
1 O lord God of
my Salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer
come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
Psalm 91:15 KJV
He shall call
upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will
deliver him, and honor him.
Psalm 99:6,8 KJV
6 "...they
called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
8 Thou
answeredst them, O Lord our God: thou wast a God that forgavest
them..."
Psalm 102:17 KJV
He will regard
the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
Psalm 122:6 KJV
Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Proverbs 15:8,29
KJV
8 The sacrifice
of the wicked is an abomination to The Lord: but the prayer of the
upright is His delight.
29 The Lord is
far from the wicked: but He heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Isaiah 38:5 KJV
“...I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears...”
Isaiah 56:7 KJV
"... for
Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 58:9 KJV
Then shalt thou
call, and The Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say,
Here I am...:"
Isaiah 65;24 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they
are yet speaking, I will hear.
Jeremiah 29:13
KJV
And ye shall
seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your
heart.
Jeremiah 33:3
KJV
Call unto Me,
and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which
thou knowest not.
Zechariah 13:9
KJV
And I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver
is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they
shall say, The Lord is my God.
Joel 2:32 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of The Lord shall
be delivered..."
Matthew 5:44 KJV
But I say unto
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;
Matthew 6:6 KJV
But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 7:7,8
KJV
7 Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you:
8 For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 18:19,20
KJV
19 Again I say
unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father
which is in heaven.
20 For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the
midst of them.
Matthew 21:22
KJV
And all things,
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 26:41
KJV
Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak.
Mark 11:24,25
KJV
24 Therefore I
say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye
stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your
Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Luke 11:9,10 KJV
9 And I say
unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every
one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luke 18:1,7,8
KJV
1 And He spake
a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and
not to faint;
7 "...don’t
you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry
out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?
8 I tell you,
He will grant justice to them quickly! But when The Son Of Man
returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”
Luke 21:36 KJV
Watch ye
therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before The Son
Of Man.
John 14:13,14
KJV
13 And
whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that The Father
may be glorified in The Son.
14 If ye shall
ask any thing in My name, I will do it.
John 15:7,16 KJV
7 If ye abide
in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.
16 Ye have not
chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of The Father in My name, He may give it you.
John 16:23,24
KJV
23 And in that
day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask
The Father in
My name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto
have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that
your joy may be full.
Romans 10:12
KJV
For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all
is rich unto all that call upon Him.
Ephesians 2:18
KJV
For through Him
we both have access by one Spirit unto The Father.
Ephesians 6:18
KJV
Praying always
with all prayer and supplication in The Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Philippians 4:6
NLT
Don’t worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you
need, and thank Him for all He has done.
Colossians 4:2
NLT
Devote
yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
I Thessalonians
5:17 KJV
Pray without
ceasing.
I Timothy 2:8
KJV
I will
therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without
wrath and doubting.
Hebrews 4:16 KJV
Let us
therefore come boldly unto The Throne Of Grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 10:19
KJV
Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by The Blood
Of Jesus,
James 1:6 KJV
But let him ask
in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to
God, and he will draw nigh to you
James
5:13-16 KJV
13 Is any among
you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick
among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of The Lord:
15 And the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and The Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
I Peter 4:7 KJV
But the end of
all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
I John 3:22 KJV
And whatsoever
we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight.
I John 5:14,15
KJV
14 And this is
the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing
according to His will, He heareth us:
15 And if we
know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of Him.
Revelation 8:3-5 NLT (Prayers heard and kept)
3 Then another
angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a
great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of
God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.
4 The smoke of
the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended
up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.
5 Then the
angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar..."