Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 18:43

"And he 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 (ASV)

Go again seven times. —From this delay of the answer to prayer, Elijah’s example became proverbial for intensity and perseverance in supplication (James 5:17). The contrast is remarkable between the immediate answer to his earlier prayer (see 1 Kings 18:36–37) and the long delay here. The one was for the sake of the people; the other for some lesson—perhaps of humility and patience—to Elijah himself. When the answer does come, it quickly fulfills itself. The little cloud becomes almost immediately (for 'in the meantime' should be so rendered) a storm blackening the whole heavens, borne by a hurricane from the west.