Daily Thought - July 21, 2013 / Gândul zilei - 21 iulie 2013 St. Elijah Was a Man of Prayer and Fasting There are two kinds of fasting that Prophet Elijah kept. First, he fasted because of persecution. Running away from the revenge of King Ahab, he escaped to the wilderness where he was miraculously fed by ravens (1Kings 17:2-7). Again by Divine direction, he went to Zarephath, where he was sustained in the household of a widow, whose meager amount of meal and oil were miraculously increased (1Kings 17:8-16). The main element of this kind of fasting was Elijah’s complete trust in God to provide sufficient food for his survival and well-being. The prophet’s other kind of fasting was for spiritual reasons. He fasted for forty days for Divine guidance and help. This very strict fasting reminds us of the forty days of fasting kept by our Lord in the wilderness (19: 8). It also reminds us of the forty-day Lenten periods before Holy Pascha and Christmas. As a man who fasted many times in his life, St. Elijah is an example to us. Fasting is not a man-made rule, but is sanctioned by God. Fasting together with prayer can help us in this life, as it helps us to draw closer to God. Every miraculous act performed by St. Elijah was preceded by earnest prayer. The miraculous resurrection of the widow’s son from death was accomplished with his intense prayer. St. Elijah said to the widower, who came to him carrying her dead son in her arms: “‘Give me your son’. So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and said: ‘O Lord my God, you also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son.’ And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said: ‘O Lord my God, I pray, let the child’s soul came back to him.’ The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul came back to him, and he revived.” (1 Kings 17: 20-21) St. Elijah also prayed before he fired up his sacrifice on Mount Carmel: “Hear me O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” St. Elijah is also an example of prayer to us. We think we are too busy to pray. Our prayer does not need to be long. The Lord’s Prayer, which was given to us by our Lord, takes only a few seconds to say. We can say it in the morning before we leave for work, we can say in our cars or in the train as we commute. We can say it before we go to bed. We can say this prayer in times of trouble, asking for God’s help. It will help us. I believe the main reason we do not pray is our lack of faith. We have stopped believing in God’s help and in His willingness to create miracles in our lives. Another reason is our lack of concentration. We cannot control our minds as they wander everywhere. Our minds are constantly bombarded with useless information from the media and from our non-stop activities. Let’s stop for a few minutes every day and pray privately. Do not miss the Divine Liturgy on Sunday and pray with the community of saints within the Church. ~Fr. Cornel Todeasa
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:10:27 +0000
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