Strength For The Weary Prophet by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Context: After the Fire Falls

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah called for a contest on Mount Carmel. Four hundred prophets of Baal against one man. They cried loud, cut themselves, did everything they knew to invoke their god — Baal did not show up. Then Elijah repaired the altar, poured water over it, and called on Jehovah. Fire came down. The entire nation witnessed it. He was filled with confidence that this would change everything.

But in chapter 19 he realized something: spiritual power is sometimes not as important as political power. His expectation was that if everyone saw God was all-powerful, they would turn to him. Instead, they followed their king. The people left the prophet for Ahab and Jezebel. His disappointment came from unmet expectations — this was the best I could do, and it was not enough.

Pay attention to Bible tenses. The devil did not come to tempt Jesus when he was fasting. It was after the forty days. Persecution arises for the word's sake — not during the spiritual engagement, but after it. You can leave a powerful season of prayer or spiritual activity feeling very excited, and a week later be doubting whether God exists. This is not new — it is the pattern. You have to understand what you are up against.

Elijah — the man who was laughing at the prophets of Baal in chapter 18 — closed down his ministry in chapter 19, dismissed his servant, walked into the wilderness, and asked God to let him die.

How God Responds to a Weary Prophet

God's response to Elijah addresses three components:

1. His Bodily Needs

   From verse 5 to 7, the first thing God did was meet a physical need — touch, then food, then sleep. God did not even bother to stress him to cook. He said: arise and eat. He was so low that God provided already-prepared food and told him to go back to sleep.

   Sometimes when we feel spiritually exhausted, the answer is not to pray more. If you are spiritually drained, you do not feel like doing anything spiritual — and adding pressure to that state only deepens the exhaustion. What this man needed was a restaurant with good food and a bed. That was the first thing God gave him.

   You are a human being. You have bodily needs. Retreat can be rest and sleep. One of the major things that has killed the move of God — apart from immorality and pride — is exhaustion.

   Pay attention to your bodily needs. If you are doing spiritual work with intensity, it will stress you. You have to take time to relax. That is not backsliding. That is just being tired. Rest.

2. His Emotional Needs

   In verse 9, God asks Elijah: what are you doing here? God was not surprised. He was giving Elijah an opportunity to talk through his emotions. God was giving him listening ears.

   He asked him twice. When Elijah answered the first time, God asked again. He was not asking because he needed information. He was helping Elijah become aware of what was actually in his heart. He was meeting his emotional need to be heard.

   Sometimes you do not even need someone to solve your problem. You just need to say it out. When you engage in spiritual activities, one of the lies the devil sells is making you forget that you are a human being. You have bodily needs, emotional needs, and spiritual needs.

3. His Spiritual Needs

   The still small voice gave him direction — go, return on your way. And what was the direction? Three people: Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. God did not say: I am giving you more power. He said: go and anoint three people. Change this from superstar ministry to team ministry.

   Elijah was weary because he was a solo ranger. The three people God directed him to represent three different dimensions — political power, military power, spiritual power. If you are missing any one of the three, you will lose in life.

   Is God all-sufficient? Yes. Then why does he have angels? If God can have angels, do not try to do something alone. The Almighty came down from heaven and picked twelve disciples. He was better with twelve imperfect people than with nobody. And if you are worried about them hurting you — in perfection, there was Lucifer. Jesus chose Judas deliberately. Without Judas, there was no cross. Perfect people do not come to destroy you. They help God set a table before you in the presence of your enemies.

   Your Christian walk cannot be done alone. Jesus did not meet one person on the road to Emmaus — because one person is not a witness. Mary said she saw the Lord — they did not believe her. When a group came together, he said now you are talking. One person can be doubted; a community is a witness.

   The reason many believers do not take promised land is that nobody wants to be a foot soldier. Everybody wants to be at the top. But an army of individuals, each trying to be Moses, cannot take territory together.