“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”
Of course God is not a malevolent force, except from the perspective of the king of Israel.
Also, when it says "earth" I'm pretty sure this referred just to the land of Israel, not the entire planet.