James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
If there was a portion of scripture, that I believe best summarizes the life of Elijah, it would be the one above.
When I read this chapter in the Book of James, at first glance the above scripture seems out of place. It seems as if James took a detour from what he was writing about, just to give an account of this man's life. However, when you consider the style of his writing, you will understand better what he was trying to say.
For instance in verse 10, when he spoke about suffering and how the believers should handle hardships, he gives them Job as an example. God's dealings in the life of Job was meant to be an example to all mankind in times of suffering. It was meant to teach us, that after all is said and done, the tender mercies of God will always endure.
Having understood, that each example given was meant to buttress the message that was being passed across, ELIJAH here then comes as an example of a righteous man who prayed to great effect. He did not just pray but he had ''much'' results from praying. So the example James offers us of a man who had results in prayer was the example of Elijah. Lets examine 4 things he said about him.
1. HE WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN
The first thing that we can get from earlier scripture, is the reason why Elijah's prayer was so effective. James was talking, first of all, about how effective the prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man can be. We know that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This position has been afforded us by grace, but in our daily lives, we must live it out! Righteousness is in how you treat others. You can not lay claim on the position that grace brought you into as a license to be careless in your dealings with men. So the first way to have prayers that release tremendous power is to check your life.
2. HE WAS NOT SUPERHUMAN
When you consider the above, we may be tempted to think that Elijah was superhuman but James was quick to dispel that notion. He tells us first that he was a man and had the same kinds of passions that we have. I would like to state here that you have passions or desires stirred up, is not enough an excuse to sin. The ability to keep our passions under check is important if we are to have an effective prayer life.
3. HE WAS PERSISTENT IN PRAYER
James records that Elijah prayed and then he prayed again. In this age of positive confession, the place of praying once and again is often overlooked. In fact, in one of the instances where we see Elijah praying in the Old testament, he stayed at it for sometime, sending his servant 7 times to check for the sign he expected his prayer to create. These days we give up too soon in the place of prayer.
4. HE PRAYED EARNESTLY
Elijah wasn't the kind of person who prayed and had his mind on the clock or while he chewed gum absentmindedly. His who attention was in his prayer. Pray for him was not a mindless exercise. He did not pray and hope that one of his prayers would hit the mark.
James then concludes with results he had. His prayers received the answers he prayed for! Too many pray and give up when no answer comes but not Elijah. We explain away the lack of answers and excuse the lack of effectiveness of our prayers but not Elijah.
Do you have a consistent prayer life?
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