Insist. Persist in prayer. Some prayers are answered the moment we say amen. Others ask more of us: more time, more tenacity and more faith than we expected to give. This message is a call to that second kind of praying, the kind that stays on the mountain until something happens.
Elijah: A Man Just Like Us
When the Bible introduces us to Elijah, it does not describe a superhero. James tells us he was a man of like passions with us (James 5:17). Elijah had weaknesses, and there was even a day he ran away from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-4).
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
James 5:17 (KJV)
Yet one lesson stands out from the life of this man of prayer: he insisted and persisted in prayer. His weakness did not cancel his prayer life, and yours does not cancel yours.
Seven Times on the Mountain
The land had gone three and a half years without rain. When it was time to bring the rain down, Elijah climbed the mountain, put his head between his knees and prayed. He prayed seven times, insisting that rain must fall (1 Kings 18:41-45).
After the first time of prayer, he sent his servant to go and check. There was no rain. He came back and prayed a second time, and he kept going until the seventh. Then the servant returned with a report: he had seen a cloud, small like the hand of a man.
Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.
1 Kings 18:44 (KJV)
Time after time the report was the same: nothing. It would have been easy to stop. The cloud came on the seventh.
Prayer Is a Converter
Prayer is a powerful tool. It is the means by which we release the energies of the Holy Ghost into our lives, and the means by which we release divine intervention into our situations.
Elijah knew he could bring down rain. Before a drop had fallen, he told the king to prepare himself, for he heard the sound of abundance of rain (1 Kings 18:41). He was not talking about physical hearing. He had it in the spirit. So how did he convert what he had in the spirit into actual manifestation? Through prayer.
Prayer is a converter.
The Cost of Giving Up Too Soon
When we do not insist and persist in prayer, and we give up too soon, we limit the power of God in our lives.
There are so many things written about you in Scripture. There are things God has said to you in dreams and in visions, and things you have heard by the hearing of your ears from the Holy Ghost. If we do not insist and persist in prayer over these things, we might never see their realities. Much of what is written about you will not manifest unless you learn to pray, and not just to pray, but to insist and persist in prayer.
We see this in the life of Daniel. From the very first day he set his heart to seek the Lord, his words were heard (Daniel 10:12). But if Daniel had given up, he would not have seen the manifestation. We give up too soon.
Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard.
Daniel 10:12 (KJV)
The Tenacity of Faith
Many times it might be discouraging, but insist and persist in prayer. Many times you might feel overwhelmed, but insist and persist in prayer. This is called the tenacity of faith: a faith that believes in the power of God, and believes that what God said He will do, He will do.
The book of Hebrews, speaking about faith, tells of women who received their dead back to life (Hebrews 11:35). That is the power of insisting and persisting in prayer, the power of violent faith that stays in Scripture.
Women received their dead raised to life again.
Hebrews 11:35 (KJV)
When the Report Says Otherwise
No matter what has been said against you. No matter what reports you have received (and we thank God for doctors). No matter what is happening around you. Find out: is there a word from the Lord? What does Scripture say about this situation? If Scripture says otherwise, turn it into prayer and stay there. Stay there.
Here is the anchor for that kind of praying: God cannot deny what He has said. What He has told you in Scripture, He will not come back and say He never said. He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). Believe the truth of God’s word.
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Numbers 23:19 (KJV)
Key Takeaways
- Elijah was a man like us, with weaknesses, yet his prayer life was marked by insisting and persisting (James 5:17).
- Seven prayers, one small cloud: keep praying until the answer appears (1 Kings 18:41-45).
- Prayer converts what is in the spirit into visible manifestation.
- Giving up too soon limits the power of God in our lives.
- Faith is tenacious. It stays in Scripture, whatever the report says.
- God cannot deny what He has said (Numbers 23:19).
Pray This With Me
Father, thank You that You are not a man that You should lie, and that what You have spoken You will do. Teach me to insist and persist in prayer. When I feel discouraged or overwhelmed, hold me on the mountain. I will not give up too soon. I turn every word You have spoken over my life into prayer, and I will stay until I see the cloud. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who prayed in the Bible until something happened?
Elijah is the clearest example. On the mountain he prayed seven times, sending his servant to look each time, until a small cloud like a man’s hand appeared and the rain followed (1 Kings 18:41-45). Daniel is another: from the first day he set his heart to seek the Lord, his words were heard (Daniel 10:12).
What does it mean to insist and persist in prayer?
It means refusing to give up too soon. Instead of praying once and walking away, you keep praying over what God has said until you see it manifest. Giving up too soon limits the power of God in our lives.
What should I do when I feel discouraged or overwhelmed in prayer?
Insist and persist anyway. This is the tenacity of faith: believing that what God said He will do, He will do. Find out what Scripture says about your situation, turn it into prayer, and stay there.
Keep Going
This message is a call for prayer giants to arise. If it stirred you, share it with someone who is tempted to stop praying, and let us pray with you. New to prayer? Start with How to Pray Effectively: Biblical Keys to Answered Prayer, learn what it means to wait on the Lord, then join the waitlist for the 30-Day Soaring in Prayer Challenge.
God bless you.
Based on the video teaching “Prayer Until Something Happens” on the Eagles Ministry YouTube channel. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (public domain).