“For it is time to seek the Lord till He comes and rains righteousness on you…” (Hosea 10:12).
Once you clearly know that you are pursuing the vision of the Lord, you can seek the Lord with great confidence to bring to pass His plans and promises for your life.
Elijah possessed the promise of God. He knew it was the Lord’s will to send rain. “And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 18:1), Moreover, he even heard it by faith: “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain” (v41).
Yet he still had to birth it into being by his prayers! “So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 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. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare they chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel” (v 42-45).
The great prophet could have popped open his umbrella and confessed rain until he was blue in the face; yet, nothing would have happened. He knew that he must pray God’s promises to pass. He interceded seven times. Seven is the number of completion. It speaks of the consummation of God’s works.
By the word of the Lord, Naaman had to make seven plunges into the river Jordan to be healed (2 Kings 5:14). Seven was the number of times the children of Israel were instructed by God to march around the walls of Jericho to see them collapse without human effort (Joshua 6:15, 16). Also, the purification of the altar by the Levitical priests necessitated sprinkling it seven times (Leviticus 4:6).
By faith, you and I must seek the Lord until we too have obtained the consummation of His will for our lives. The Bible says of the saints of old, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises…” (Hebrews 11:33).
Prayer must be persistent; we are to pray “till He comes and rain righteousness.” P.U.S.H. = Pray until something happens!
Love it.