In I Kings 18:41-46 we see how the prophet Elijah models for us a balanced attitude regarding God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility:

— On the one hand, Elijah KNEW that it was going to rain. He told Ahab in :41 “there is the sound of a heavy shower.” God had already told Elijah in 18:1 that He was going to send rain on the land again. From the heavenly perspective, it was a “done deal.”

— but on the other hand, :42 says that after he told Ahab that it was going to rain, Elijah went up on the mountain and “put his face between his knees” in prayer. :43 says he sent his servant back 7 times to see if the cloud was coming from the sea yet. Elijah prayed fervently (+x James 5:17-18) as if it all depended upon his prayers.

Many times we fail by acting in an unbalanced fashion: either we sit and do nothing, thinking that if God wants to do it, He will — or we work feverishly, not in faith, but from an ungodly anxiety that it all depends upon US. Neither of these is a biblically balanced perspective. We would do well to imitate the attitudes and actions of Elijah here: trust what God said He would do — and out of that trust, pray and work with all your heart to bring it to pass with the strength He gives.