1 Kings 17:20

20 Then he prayed, "O God, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?"

1 Kings 17:20 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 17:20

And he cried unto the Lord
Or prayed unto him, as the Targum, with great vehemence and importunity:

and said, O Lord, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow,
with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
he pleads his interest in the Lord, and makes use of it as an argument with him to hear his prayer; he observes the character and condition of the woman, a widow, such as the Lord has a compassionate regard for; and he urges the kindness of her to him, with whom he had sojourned so long; and seems to represent the case as an additional evil or affliction to him, as well as to the widow.

1 Kings 17:20 In-Context

18 The woman said to Elijah, "Why did you ever show up here in the first place - a holy man barging in, exposing my sins, and killing my son?"

19 Elijah said, "Hand me your son."

20 Then he prayed, "O God, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?"

21 Three times he stretched himself out full-length on the boy, praying with all his might, "God, my God, put breath back into this boy's body!"

22 God listened to Elijah's prayer and put breath back into his body - he was alive!