This prayer exercise is based on Elijah’s encounter with God on Mount Horeb. Elijah the prophet has just confronted the false prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel. God appeared in power and burnt up Elijah’s sacrifice, confirming that he is the only true God. Following this, the Israelites kill the false prophets, and God sends rain on the land. But King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, threatens to kill Elijah, who flees to the desert and after a brief respite, travels forty days and forty nights until he reaches Mount Horeb.
Read 1 Kings 19: 9-13
There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’
He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’
The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?
(NIV)
Now imagine yourself in the place of Elijah.
Tired from a long journey, you have spent the night in a cave part way up a mountain. Imagine waking up and going outside. Try to picture a mountain scene. It may be cold, bleak, misty; you are all alone in the silence of the mountain wilderness.
Imagine a voice asking you, ‘what are you doing here?’
Think about why you are here. What are your hopes of this time with God? What are you carrying with you? Are there areas of your life where you are feeling tired? Despondent? Threatened? Disillusioned? Maybe you feel like Elijah, that you have been trying to serve God, but feel abandoned and alone, or unappreciated. Or maybe you are in a good place without those feelings, but wanting somehow to draw closer to God. Whatever your emotions, express them to God.
Once you have said all you want to say, try to imagine the scene changing, as a gentle breeze turns gradually into a fierce, stormy wind. Dark clouds gather and swirl around the mountain. Imagine the terrific noise, the bending trees, your difficulty in standing.
Then imagine that the wind slowly dies down. Just as things are seeming quiet, the ground beneath you starts to shake. You feel unstable. Around you, rocks and boulders are shifted and some tumble down the mountain.
The earthquake subsides and once again, all goes quiet. But then you hear a rumble and crackling, as a fire sweeps through the undergrowth on the mountain. You can hear and feel it getting closer, the sky around turns orange; you start to feel the intense heat of the fire. You retreat into the cave while the fire sweeps by outside.
Once it has passed, all goes quiet.
Sit there in the silence.
As you sit, imagine God speaking to you in a gentle whisper, calling your name, asking you, ‘My child, what are you doing here?’ You may want to respond to God, repeating what you had said before, or telling God about your feelings as you imagined the wind, the earthquake and the fire. Or you may find you have nothing more to say.
Once you are ready, just stay quietly, listening to God’s gentle whisper.
What does God say to you in the stillness?
Sit with that quietly for a time, then open your eyes, returning to your present surroundings.