As Ahab went to eat and drink, Elijah went to the top of Carmel, cast himself on the ground, and put his face between his knees. Elijah had proclaimed in the previous verse that there was a sound of abundance of rain, but he didn’t just go to sit back and watch it happen; he went to the secret place of prayer to bring to birth what he already heard in the realm of the spirit. Elijah’s public proclamation was backed by private consecration.
Friend, every public declaration requires a private consecration. Your declarations will be empty and without results if you do not back them up with prayers in the secret place. Your voice would yield empty, meaningless sounds in the realm of the Spirit if you do not back it up with prayers, dedication to God, consecration, etc. Whatever you decree will not work just because you said it; it will work because you have been speaking to God.
Prayer is the engine room that will make you a serial recipient of the manifest power and presence of God; prayer is the major precursor of miracles that sound like lies; a voice that has been heard in the heavens will easily command the respect of heaven’s occupant and gain more results than originally bargained; the more you speak to God, the more you enter into the elite group of men whose voices command God’s power.
If you have been making public declarations and they are not happening, run a quick check on your prayer life. How often does heaven hear from you? How much time do you spend as you interface with God? Is your voice that of a stranger that is heard once in a while? Or is it a strong voice that resonates whenever you begin your prayers? Does your commitment in the secret place match with your audacious declarations in the open?
It may be convenient to make public declarations, but do well to back it up with a private consecration and prayer life. Let not men and situations hear your voice when heaven hasn’t heard from you.
