42-44. Important Lessons From Elijah—Important lessons are presented to us in the experience of Elijah. When upon Mt. Carmel he offered the prayer for rain, his faith was tested, but he persevered in making known his request unto God. Six times he prayed earnestly, and yet there was no sign that his petition was granted, but with a strong faith he urged his plea to the throne of grace. Had he given up in discouragement at the sixth time, his prayer would not have been answered, but he persevered till the answer came. We have a God whose ear is not closed to our petitions; and if we prove His word, He will honor our faith. He wants us to have all our interests interwoven with His interests, and then He can safely bless us; for we shall not then take glory to self when the blessing is ours, but shall render all the praise to God. God does not always answer our prayers the first time we call upon Him; for should He do this, we might take it for granted that we had a right to all the blessings and favors He bestowed upon us. Instead of searching our hearts to see if any evil was entertained by us, any sin indulged, we should become careless, and fail to realize our dependence upon Him, and our need of His help. {2BC 1034.7}

42-44. Vigtige lektier fra Elias.--Der er mange vigtige ting for os at lære gennem de erfaringer, Elias gjorde. Da han på Karmels bjerg opsendte sin bøn om regn, blev hans tro prøvet, men han blev ved med at gentage sin bøn til Gud. Seks gange bad han indtrængende, og dog var der intet, der tydede på, at hans bøn var blevet hørt, men med stærk tro frembragte han sin bøn for nådens trone. Hvis han havde tabt modet og opgivet det efter den sjette gang, ville hans bøn ikke være blevet besvaret, men han holdt ud indtil svaret kom. Vi har en Gud, hvis øre ikke er tillukket for vore bønner, og hvis vi holder os til hans ord, vil han belønne vor tro. Han vil, at alle vore interesser skal være et led i hans interesser, (1035) og så kan han trygt velsigne os, for så tager vi ikke selv æren, når vi får velsignelsen, men priser kun Gud for den. Gud besvarer ikke altid vore bønner første gang, vi kalder på ham; for hvis bøn gjorde det, ville vi måske tage det som en selvfølge, at vi havde ret til alle de velsignelser og goder, som han skænker os. I stedet for at ransage vore hjerter og se nogen af de onder vi gemmer på, om nogen synd føjes, skulle vi blive ryggesløse, og ikke indse vor afhængighed af Ham, og vor behov for Hans hjælp.