Devotional
Raising the Dead
“O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.” 1 Kings 17:21
Elijah was used literally to raise a dead lad to life. The miracle is serious history. But it is history with a powerful spiritual message for God’s people concerning their service in the gospel.
All around us souls are dead in sins (Eph. 2:1), and we are to be the Lord’s instruments in raising them to life in Christ. Elijah did not give life to the corpse he laid on his bed; the Lord did. But Elijah laboured long and hard to see the Lord impart life to the dead lad. We cannot save souls; only the Lord can do that. But we can and should bear the awful responsibility of labouring before God to see men saved. In that great labour we can learn from Elijah.
He carried the burden of the dead lad to the Lord (v. 19). He personally assumed the responsibility, not leaving it to another. This must be our first step if we are ever to be used of God in winning souls. What about the dead souls with whom you will come in contact today? Will you bear them as a burden before the Lord in the secret place?
Such praying is not easy. Elijah had a period of lonely wrestling with God (v. 20). Paul spoke of the same kind of heart-yearning in prayer as he laboured to see his Jewish brethren saved (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1). We all need this total commitment to praying men through to life in Christ. As Elijah stretched himself three times on the lad (v. 21), we must apply all our energies with perseverance, crying to God, and pouring out our very souls as we make contact with the lost. Crying to God and personal contact with the lost. Here are the two essentials in raising dead souls to life in Christ.
Quote: “I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ.” – David Brainerd
Devotional taken from “Footprints of Faith.” Copyright Let the Bible Speak 1989.
