The Sound of Abundance of Rain

THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE OF RAIN

Study Text: 1 Kings 18: 41 - 46

Introduction:

-       There had been no rain since the day Elijah declared it, and the whole land suffered from famine. There was no food for man and beast because the crops had failed for three years in a row.

-       Rain was one of the most significant symbol of God’s favour to His people. Its absence meant God’s wrath was upon them.

-       The sound of “Abundance of rain” meant the curse is over, blessing is pouring in again. It is an indication of supernatural restoration.

-       An end coming to sufferings, pains, scarcity and hardship, and a new season of joy, comfort and abundance about to open for the people of God.

-       It does not matter the suffering and difficulties encountered in this outgoing year 2020, the new year 2021 shall be a year of supernatural restoration by the mercy and power of the name of Jesus.

-       We shall discuss the topic under three subheadings:

1.       The Pronouncement of the Abundance of Rain

2.       The Prayer for the Abundance of Rain

3.       The Performance of the Abundance of Rain

1.       The Pronouncement of the Abundance of Rain

-       When Elijah told Ahab that there was a sound of abundance of rain, there had as yet been no sound audible to the human ear. 

-       Nothing around could suggest that a great change and transformation is about to take place, but the word of the Lord had gone forth.

-       Elijah had only heard this sound by the hearing of faith.  Galatians 3:2,  Psalm 25:14.

-       You may be in the middle of the drought, you may not see any evidence of rain in the sky: But Elijah didn't say he saw, he said he heard. 

-        There is no situation you are passing through that God has not spoken about. What has God said concerning your case? Can you hear the sound of abundance of rain.

-         It is time for your supernatural restoration and recovery of all that the enemy has stolen and destroyed in your life and family in Jesus name.

 

-       When 120 men and women had gathered in the upper room waiting for the promised power, the bible says: Suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

-      There was a sound: The sound was an indication that something is coming. Suddenly cloven tongues as fire appeared on each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

-       I hear the sound of an abundance of rain: Elijah spoke those words in a place and a time where there had not been one drop of water from the sky or  on the ground, in over three years.

-        This is an indication of supernatural recovery and restoration. The rivers will run again, fish will be caught again, the crops will grow again, there will be joy where there has been sorrow, there will be laughter where there has been weeping.

 -       Your Divine Help is on the way, the answer to your prayers of many years  is on the way, the breakthrough you long awaited for is on the way.

-      There is just something powerful about knowing that it's on the way: It gives you the strength to hold on.

-        There is a  change  in the atmosphere, the rain is coming, restoration is coming, healing is coming, peace is coming, joy is coming, miracle is coming. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

-       The Lord is about to take away all forms of barrenness in your life and make you fruitful. The Lord is about to release your partner for marriage unto you. The Lord is about to make a way for your job, and other miracles you are believing Him for. There is a sound of abundance of rain.

 

-       The rain was on the way but there was work to be done: Ahab went to play, eat and drink, but Elijah went to pray alone with God.

2.       The Prayer for the Abundance of Rain

-         Elijah got himself in the birth position, head between his knees, and began to labour in prayer for what he heard in the Spirit.

-        Elijah was on the mountain top, alone with God and praying for the showers to be poured out upon the land, after pronouncing the abundance of rain. 

-       You will need to return the word of God back to Him in prayers. If He said it, then He can perform it. Lay hold on the word of God concerning your case and take it to God in prayers.

-       The Bible makes reference to the prayer of Elijah, challenging us that he is a man of like passion like us.

-       We need to learn from the prayer of Elijah, and believe God for outstanding success in our prayer life as he did. The good news is that we are under a better covenant with God than Elijah.

-       What kind of prayer was this prayer? What are the things that characterized the prayer of Elijah that we can learn from?

1.       A Prayer of Faith

-       Whenever we pray,  we need to make sure that our petition is founded upon the promise of God, so that we are praying in accordance with His will.

-        Without such a promise we may well demand things contrary to His will, which will therefore be presumptuous and not the prayer of faith at all.

 -       For over three years there had been no rain; now Elijah goes before the Lord and asks Him to send the rain, upon the ground of God’s own sure promise 1 Kings 18:1. 

-        Answers to prayer are conditional upon our praying in accordance with God’s will. We can know His will and be sure of it, for He reveals it by His Word and by the Holy Spirit. 1 John 5:14-15.  

2.       A prayer in a private place

-       What a relief for Elijah to get alone in the presence of God after all the noise and excitement he had experienced.  James 5:16-18.

-         Please note that the emphasis is not on the mountain where he prayed, but on the time spent alone with God in prayer.

-         You don't have to be looking for a particular mountain to meet with God, as some people believed, your mountain top is any private place of your choice where you can fellowship with God in prayers without distractions.

3.       A prayer with reverence and humility

-       Elijah bowed before God, down upon the earth with his face between his knees. We need to be filled with a new realisation of the majesty and holiness of God and of our own littleness and sinfulness. Genesis 18:27; Isaiah 6:1-5. 

-       Any sincere posture is acceptable for prayers before God, but pride and arrogance must be put away completely from our hearts and our lives. 2 Chronicles 7:14.

-      We may come before the Lord with holy boldness as encouraged in  Hebrews 4:16, but we must always come reverently and in deep humility.

4.       A prayer with specific request

 -       Elijah only had one petition as he came before the Lord – “Lord, send the rain. A specific request, will attract a specific and definite response from God.

-        The Bible is full of several specific request that received specific answers from God.

-        Hannah made a specific request of a boy child from God, and God answered her specifically, and he called the boy Samuel, meaning, I asked of him from the Lord.

-        In the Upper Room they prayed for only one thing - the coming of the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:13-14). 

-       When Peter was in prison the church prayed for only one thing - his deliverance (Acts 12:5).  Definite, specific prayers bring definite, specific answers.

5.      A fervent and effective prayer

-       In James 5:16-18,  Elijah's prayer was described as effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man.

-       A fervent prayer is the one from a righteous life, pure heart and clean hands, a prayer said with faith. Hebrews 11: 6.

-       It was also accompanied by fasting. Elijah specifically told Ahab to go and eat and drink, but he decided to stay away from food for a while- 1 Kings 18:41-42. 

-       He could quite legitimately have joined Ahab in taking food and drink, but he did not do so.  Matthew 17:19-21. 

-       Do we know anything about fasting? Do we know what it is to sacrifice time, pleasures and legitimate things in order to pray through and secure God’s blessing?

-       We pray because we have an objective that can only be reached and can only be won and conquered through fervent and effective prayer.

6.       A prayer with expectations and watchfulness

-        When we really pray in faith we should already be looking for the answer, we should go on praying and watching until the answer comes. 

-         Always pray with expectations. Praying times are not wasted times, they are paying and profiting times. As you pray, look out for answers to your prayer and glorify God for His wonderful works.

7.       A prayer with patience and perseverance

-        Elijah's prayer was not answered immediately, but he waited patiently and with perseverance until the answer came.

-        Can you imagine what could have happened if Elijah had given up at the fifth times? Jesus Himself encouraged us that we should continue steadfastly in prayers without getting discouraged. Luke 18: 1.

 

3.       The Performance of the Abundance of Rain

-       That dry season is not going to last forever. Why? The word of the Lord had gone forth, the rain is coming. 

-       Struggle and lack is not your destiny. It is temporary.  Your situation is not defined by what you see or feel, it is determined by what God says: There is a sound of abundance of rain. 

 -      Don't get discouraged. God has something better for you. It's not going to be a drizzle, not a sprinkle, but a downpour; an abundance of rain.

-      There are dry seasons where we feel empty but that is not the end of your story. Rain is coming, there shall be showers of blessings by the mercy and power of the name of Jesus.

-       The scripture says, "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning". God is set to close the season of lack and scarcity and open a season of abundance for you.

-        God is about to rain down his favour in abundance. He is going to turn your mourning into dancing, your sorrow into joy, your loneliness into love and your scarcity into abundance.

-       He is going to give you beauty for those ashes. The drought is coming to an end. There is a sound of abundance of rain, and you shall experience a season of refreshing in Jesus name.

-       This is what faith is all about. You have to believe what you hear in your heart even when what you see is just the opposite. 

-       You hear abundance but you may see lack. You hear health but you may see sickness. You hear rain but you may look around and see drought. Let every man be liars and let God only be true.

-       God is saying, "There's about to be an abundance of favour in your life. The drought is coming to an end. You are going to see healing, deliverance, breakthrough, restoration, new opportunities, and enlargement.

-       If you are going to see abundance you can't let people talk you out of what God put in your heart. Don't let words of doubt and discouragement take root. 

-       What you hear in your spirit is more powerful than any negative words that have been spoken over you. Who is he that saith a thing and cometh to pass when God hath not spoken.

 -       If you will listen carefully you will hear the sound of abundance, the sound of increase, the sound of new levels. 

-        God does not want you to stay where you are. He wants to take you to new levels. But you have to get into agreement with him, by believing and declaring what He spoke to your spirit.

-      On the seventh time, the servant of Elijah came back and said, "Elijah, this time I saw a small cloud in the sky.  God doesn't need the whole sky to be filled with clouds. He can take a tiny little cloud.

-        Elijah was excited at the news of the seventh time. You might have remained in the same position for seven years, in the new year, your story will change for better. God will give you a new song and a great testimony in Jesus name.

-       Most people would dismiss it. "It's nothing. It's insignificant". Yet God can bring a downpour out of it. God can take something small and turn it into something great.

-       Don't despise the day of small beginnings. God has ways to make it rain in your life that you have never dreamed of. You don't have to figure everything out. All you need to do is believe. 

-           God will greatly enlarged your small beginning. Your little business shall be increased. Every good thing that is little in your life shall experience increase and enlargement by the mercy and power of the name of Jesus.

-      You may be in a drought today. You don't see any cloud in the sky. But remember, God doesn't need a cloud. Now keep praying. Keep believing. Keep expecting. 

Conclusion:

-       Don't be moved by what you see or feel, let the word of God move you. If God said it, He will perform it.

-        Stand on the word of God and His promises for your life, take them back to God in prayers, and there shall be a performance of His words.

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