Elijah’s Prayers
We have collected some of the best Elijah’s prayers to use in requests to God. May these prayers for safety bring you comfort and peace of mind. May these prayers for strength encourage your spirit and strengthen your faith.
Elijah (אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning “My God is Yahweh /YHWH”) or Greek form Elias was, according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BCE). In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship of the Hebrew God over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection, bringing fire down from the sky, and entering heaven alive “by fire”. He is also portrayed as leading a school of prophets known as “the sons of the prophets”. Following his ascension, Elisha, his disciple and most devoted assistant, took over his role as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah’s return “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD“, making him a harbinger of the Messiah and of the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in Ecclesiasticus, the New Testament, the Mishnah and Talmud, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and Baháʼí writings.
Elijah’s Intervention for the People
There had been a severe drought in the land during the reign of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel and, through Elijah’s prayer on Mount Carmel; God sent them much-needed rain.
Elijah gave us the example that we should be persistent. He sent his servant seven times to check the clouds before the rains came. The servant noted that the cloud looked like a mans hand.
“And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 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 thy 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.” (I Kings 18:41-45)
Elijah’s Intervention for the Widow Woman
An interesting and unusual prayer is described in the scriptures concerning Elijah the prophet. When the son of a widow woman whom Elijah had befriended died, Elijah took the boy from her and carried him up to his bed. He then did a curious thing. He stretched himself over the child three different times and prayed. The bible states that God heard Elijah’s prayers and the dead child was brought back to life.
Elijah again teaches us to be persistent. He prayed three times before the child came back to life.
“And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.” (I Kings 17:21-24)