Why Did Elijah Still Have to Travail So Earnestly in Prayer When God Was Going to Send the Rain Anyway? If He Did Not Pray, Would God Have Refused to?
1) Direct Answer
Elijah travailed because God tied the promised rain to the prayer of faith and a restored covenant order. The promise set the end; prayer was the God-ordained means. If Elijah had refused to pray, the rain would not have come then. God would not break His own order—He would wait for intercession or raise another to ask.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- God promised rain: “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain” (1 Kings 18:1). Yet Elijah went up, bowed, and prayed repeatedly until the cloud appeared (1 Kings 18:42–45). James states the link plainly: “He prayed again, and the heaven gave rain” (James 5:17–18).
- The covenant required prayer when heaven was shut: “When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain… if they pray… then hear… and give rain” (1 Kings 8:35–36; see also 2 Chronicles 7:13–14). Elijah’s altar, the people’s turning, and his intercession fulfilled that order.
- God attaches promise to asking: “I will yet for this be enquired of… to do it for them” (Ezekiel 36:37). And, “You have not, because you ask not” (James 4:2).
- When there is no intercessor, judgment continues: “I sought for a man… to stand in the gap… but I found none. Therefore have I poured out my indignation” (Ezekiel 22:30–31).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- The decree set the destination (rain), but prayer was the switch that released it in time. Elijah’s travail did not change God’s will; it aligned earth with heaven.
- God doesn’t “refuse” His promise, but He refuses to bypass His Word. No prayer, no release at that moment. Delay is not denial; He honors the means He appointed.
- The sevenfold persistence shows that promises often require persevering faith against resistance until the sign appears.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice—don’t stop at the promise; pray it through. The cloud appears to the one who stays on his knees.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
What hearest thou, Elijah?
59-0609 §22
It never struck Elijah. Elijah was one of God's eagles. He was sitting back in the cave listening to all those things go by. And yet, God was doing it, but he wanted something better. Elijah was His eagle. I always like that song: They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as an eagle. And there's a certain verse in there that says something like this: Teach me, Lord, to wait when hearts are aflame, Let me humble my pride and call on Thy name; Teach me not to rely on wh...
Be certain of God
59-0412A §15
And all that the pastors have give in, so they let the ... they'd had a social gospel, no doubt. And so, but there was one who didn't give in. There was a little, old prophet in the land in that day. He didn't bow down to any of their idols, for he knowed that Jehovah was a Holy God, and He required holiness, and cleanliness, and decency. For he knowed that Jehovah could not change. And if... Jehovah, to bring the children out of Israel, had to cleanse them and sanctify them. And when they walked disorderly accordi...
He cares. Do you care?
63-0721 §86
Notice, He cared when He called Elijah, by his Word, off from amongst the denominations. Looked like he'd have to starve to death, 'cause there'd be no tithe and offerings coming to him. But He so cared for Elijah, He didn't let him starve during the time he was obeying the Word of God. He commanded the ravens to feed him. He cared for Elijah because Elijah cared for Him, and He is the Word.
What hearest thou, Elijah?
59-0609 §30
Like a messenger one time, run. He heard something; he took out running. But when he got there, he had nothing to say when he got there. I think that's a whole lot the matter today. We've heard a lot of going on, then we took out running. Now, we don't know what we're running about. Let's wait till we hear from God, till God speaks to the heart, and we got a message, something that that still small voice has changed every fiber of us. If the churches, and the laymen, and the ministers, and the priests tonight would...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 4:E-58
If you don't think this is true, just listen to this. All over the world in both Pentecostal and fundamental groups they are organizing the businessmen. They have invaded the pulpit without a call from God. They have styled themselves the fishers of men and the founders of a move of God, and they say the gifted ministry of Ephesians 4:10-13 that God gave the church has failed, so they are taking over. Here we are right in the midst of the fulfillment of prophecy, called the gainsayings of Korah, and they don't even...