Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. – (James 5:17 NKJV)
Have you ever made a mistake and God just came on the scene and helped you anyway? I know I have!
Was Elijah a perfect man? Did he make any mistakes? The Bible says he had a nature like ours and passions as we do, and when you read 1 Kings, you see he made some really stupid mistakes. But God doesn’t just answer the prayers of the seemingly perfect. He answers the prayers of the earnest.
When I would fight with my husband, Wally, I always tried to win. One time we had a big argument and it lasted for a long time…about 12 years! When I started in the ministry, with radio and then television, I didn’t take a salary. All the money that came in, we would put back out into the ministry. But Wally would say to me, “You know, you need to take a salary.” And I would say, “No, we have your salary! I don’t need to take a salary.” Then he would say, “Marilyn, a workman is worthy of his hire.” And I would say, “You’re being selfish. I just want to give it all away!”
One night after we’d been having this argument yet again, I turned it over to the Lord, convinced that He would back me up. I told God, “He’s wrong! I’m right.” But the Lord said to me, “You don’t have enough faith to have a salary and a ministry. That’s what really going on here.”
As hard as it was to admit that I was wrong, I learned a valuable lesson: God doesn’t take sides. What does He do? He takes over!
Lord, I declare that I am on Your side. I want You to come on the scene and take over!
