Seeds for 08/23/2024 - Pause & Reflect - 1 Kings 19:11-13
In this series on prayer and scripture, we have been following the acronym P.R.A.Y. as a guide for prayer. The P and R often stand for “Praise” and “Repent” but an alternate could be “Pause” and Reflect.” Sometimes, this is exactly what we need to do. This week we are looking at passages that speak to this important dynamic in prayer.
Scripture:
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Observation:
This marvelous passage is where we find God showing up as the “still, small voice,” or as in the NIV text above, “a gentle whisper,” rather than the powerful wind, earthquake, or fire. This episode represents a significant need for, and experience of, a pause for Elijah before the Lord in prayer. Elijah had won a tremendous battle with God’s help, but was on the run after having his life threatened by the evil king and queen. He was super stressed when we meet him here. This is only a portion of the passage, but captures some important dynamics on pausing before God.
First, the way to access the presence of God was by engaging in the pause. God tells Elijah that he must go out and stand on the mountain in His presence because He is about to pass by. Elijah had to pause on purpose in order to meet with God.
Second, Elijah was at the end of his rope. His stress level put him in flight mode in a huge way. His problems were taking up all the space in his mind. But by the time he got to this mountain, he was ready to give up and let the Lord give him the assurance, challenge, and direction he needed. In other words, Elijah demonstrates a readiness to pause and listen.
Third, this passage, among others in the Bible, reminds us that ultimately prayer is a conversation with God, not a one-way monologue. God gives instructions and Elijah follows. God asks Elijah what he’s doing there and Elijah responds. When we pause—or receive the pause God offers, we finally make headway in life and in our relationship with Him.
Fourth, looking at the question God asks, sometimes we don’t really know “what we are doing here.” Pausing gives us the uncomfortable yet valuable opportunity to reflect on that. Perhaps we gain clarity. At the very least, we have brought that part of ourselves that is afraid to stop moving to a stand still. From there we may reflect on what we are doing here in this pause before God.
Application:
How hard is it for you to pause when you are stressed out?
If God got you to pause and asked, “what are you doing here?” how might you respond?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for inviting me into a pause, that I might get more connected to you and even to myself. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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