JUST LIKE US

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.