Philoxenus of Mabbug : And so also Elijah, after his fast of forty days and forty nights, received the sight of God in Mount Horeb, and he was alone in the wilderness, and in addition to the protracted fast he bore also the labour of the journey of the way; and besides these he was shut off from the children of men, and lived in silent contemplation, and he was in pure prayer, and after these things he heard the voice of God speaking with him. — 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence