And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. (1 Kings 18:43)
The rain did not immediately fall. But Elijah’s faith did not waver. He continued to pray more earnestly than before. Again and again the servant was sent, and still the heavens were as brass, and the earth as powder and dust. Yet Elijah’s intercession did not cease. This earnest prayer of the prophet became proverbial for intensity and perseverance in supplication (James 5:18).