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1 Kings 19 – Praying through the Bible #114 – A Prayer of the Depressed
Everyone wants to stand on top of the mountain of triumph. No one wants to slide down into the valley of depression. But with every mountain, there is a valley. One of God’s greatest prophets, a man equal in the Jewish mind to Moses, one who appears to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, is Elijah. Needless to say, the man whose name means “My God is Yahweh” is a blessed man. This blessed man gets depressed. Apparently he does not know he is too blessed to get depressed. He prays, “I have had enough! LORD, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4). He prays to die.
Elijah has normal reactions to being depressed: Runs Away From The Problem (v.3); Desires Death (v.4); Sleeps (vv.5, 6); Feels Alone (v.10); Has a False Sense Of Reality; Becomes Forgetful (vv.2,10); Feels Full Of Pity (v.10); and Obsesses (vv.10,14).
Depression, as a natural emotional low (i.e., not “clinical depression”), often comes after an emotional high. Learning to stay balanced during our good times is a key to handling the bad times. Knowing that bad situations do not always mean God’s displeasure is another key. Look at Elijah. Right after the high of Mount Carmel, comes the low of fleeing for his life (19:3). Depression, mixed with worry and fear are emotions that hit all of us – sometimes upside the head. Elijah fears Jezebel the Queen and worries for his safety and consequently becomes depressed. Feeding on his fear, Elijah runs away.
Prayer is such an important reaction to depression and part of the remedy. Notice all the remedies for depression in this narrative: Refresh Yourself (vv.5-8); Start Small And Take Time (v.7); Go to the Mountain of God (v.8); Observe Nature (vv.11-12); Prayer (v.14); The Word of God (vv.15-18); and Work for God (vv.15-16). All of these require us to fight depression, worry and fear. We have to be pro-active and not rely upon others to solve our problems for us. Even when relying upon God, He expects us to do something positive by providing the solutions but without working them for us.
Elijah has the honor of a conversation with God; basically prayer is talking to God. Prayer is profitable when depressed for several reasons:1) We tell our problems to One who can solve them; 2) We tell our problems to One who cares (1 Pet 5.7); 3) We tell our problems to One who understands (Heb 4.15-16). Personally I find praying extremely therapeutic. Because I know I cannot hide anything from God, I find myself even more honest with myself. Elijah was honest with God. He was tired of living. I’ve been there. Honesty is always a good place to begin with prayer, even when we don’t like what we are being honest about.
Prayer Challenge: When depressed do not ignore or blame God. Pray to stay connected and let God lift you up. Then get to work!
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