Reading your Bible for Today September 14

September 14: 1 Kings 18:41-46

KJV Key Verse: 1 Kings 18:43
43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

Devotion:
How often have you thought (or complained) “nobody listens to me”? I bet we can think of many times where others have said that, but we cannot remember too many times when we have complained! We do quickly forget the complaints we have, especially when we know the complaints don't really have a valid point!

Today's passage follows on immediately from Elijah's confrontation with 450 of Baal's prophets where God demonstrated just how He does listen when we are sincere. If you have the time, read the whole chapter, it's fun! Again, in this passage we see God answering prayers for Elijah because Elijah had the uttermost faith God would do exactly what He had said. But it was not a half-hearted “please let it rain” request, but Elijah went down on his knees and continued praying until God did something about it!

Too many times in our lives we ask for things without really meaning it – we even ask for things in tears and seemingly forget about it the next day! What would you be doing if you were on the receiving end of such requests... knowing that the person asking would completely forget about their request after 20 minutes!

God has given us His Word, the bible, so we can know what we should expect. He has given us promises and directions. He continues to keep all of those promises and continues to supply us with directions ... so long as we listen! God wants us to know that just like Elijah, we should have the uttermost faith He is keeping all of those promises and we should depend on that fact! Depending on those promises shows we have faith – what better way of demonstrating our trust in God! Depending on God is exactly what He wants us to do... Do you have the faith to show God you trust Him?

Points to Ponder:
Do you trust your friends to do things for you?

Do you trust God to do things for you?