LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Tuesday 8th July 2025
THE HEAVENS ARE OPENED
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 18:41-46
Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” Now the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:44-45
Elijah had the power of God with him. And that power manifested itself in a very profound way. By the power of the Lord, Elijah had stopped the rain from falling for three years and by the same power, he had prayed for the rain to fall.
Before praying for God to send the rain, Elijah had to deal with the source of the problem; the reason why he had stopped the rain in the first place – Israel’s idolatry. The nation had turned from worshipping God to the worship of Baal. Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a contest on Mount Carmel and, by the hand of God, utterly defeated them. When the people saw it, they repented, bowed down and proclaimed that “The Lord, He is God.”
From there, Elijah positioned himself on Mount Carmel and prayed for God to open the heavens over the land of Israel. His posture in prayer is very instructive:
Elijah went on top of the mountain – that connoted a position of spiritual authority. Elijah stood in the same place where God had answered him by fire – the same place where Baal had been defeated. When we pray, we stand in a place of spiritual authority in Christ Jesus.
He bowed down to the ground – that was a position of humility before God. Authority and humility must go together. Elijah submitted to the Lord and acknowledged Him as the source of his power. When we stand in the place of spiritual authority, we must not see it as our own power but the power of God at work. We must remain in a posture of humility and submission to the Lord.
He placed his face between his knees – this was a position of spiritual tenacity. Elijah was determined to stay before the Lord till he saw the answer to his prayer. The scripture records that he prayed seven times until the answer to his prayer finally manifested. We must also be persistent and tenacious in our prayer.
Elijah taught us to pray with authority, humility and tenacity. After Elijah’s prayer, the rain that had been withheld finally came down. Elijah demonstrated to us that God has more power than the so-called god of rain. We can also pray for an open heaven over our lives.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you are the God who answers by fire. Open the Heavens over my life and let your rain fall on me. In Jesus’ name, *Amen.*
