Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed…..and the
heavens gave rain. – James 5:17-18
Elijah made kings tremble, ate food
delivered by birds, raised the dead, called fire from heaven, directed weather
patterns, and outran a king’s chariot.
And yet he was also “a man just like us.” Isn’t that description a bit hard to swallow?
Elijah sounds like a superhero – one of a kind, totally unlike any of us. But Elijah had the same human nature we have,
and prayed to the same God we can pray to.
God answered Elijah’s prayers, and God will answer our prayers.
“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective. Elijah was a man just like
us. He prayed earnestly that it would
not rain, and it did not rain…..Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain.”
(James 5:16-18).
Elijah did not pray for his own wish
list. He prayed for what God
promised. That’s why his prayers were so
effective. God had told Elijah, “I
will send rain on the land” (1 Kings 18:1). So, on a clear day with no thunder, Elijah
told Ahab, “There is the sound of a heavy rain.” Then Elijah prayed and kept on praying until
a tiny cloud appeared. His faith saw not
the smallness of the cloud but the certainty of God’s promise, and he knew the
downpour was near.
If, like Elijah, we are right with
God, and if we base our prayers on God’s promises and watch in faith for God’s
answers, our prayers will be powerful and effective.
Today, my prayer is that God will
give us ears to hear His Word and faith to trust His promises. May He teach us to pray as ordinary people,
expecting great things from our extraordinary GOD.
