Word@Work James51 - James 5:17-18
Published: Thu, 04/23/09
Word@Work from BeaconLight
PRAYING IN FAITH IN GOD'S WORD
James 5:17-18 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (NIV)
In the preceding verse, James 5:16, James wrote: "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Now he explains how righteous Elijah prayed, as an example and encouragement to us. The story starts in 1 Kings 17:1 where Elijah confronts King Ahab (who has forsaken God) and tells him that God would stop the rain for three years. How did Elijah know? He would have known the Jewish law well, and God had said that if His people turned away from Him, He would stop the rain, the ground would become hard and the crops would not grow (cf Leviticus 26:18-20). So Elijah (a man of the Spirit and of prayer) would have prayed that God should keep His promise.
After three and a half years, God's Spirit spoke to Elijah, telling him to announce that God was going to start the rain again (cf 1 Kings 18:1). And after a confrontation with the pagan prophets on Mount Carmel (cf 1 Kings 18:16-46), the rain started to fall. James says that Elijah was an ordinary man, but one who was right with God. The prophet knew what displeased God, and the penalty for such disobedience. So, in faith and supported by the Holy Spirit, he prayed that God would keep His promise.
Elijah's story of earnest, persistent and effective prayer, at the end of the Letter of James, is in sharp contrast to the half-hearted, double-minded prayer at the beginning (cf James 1:6-8). The unstable man of chapter 1, does not receive anything from the Lord: the righteous man of chapter 5, sees the answer to his prayer. What makes the difference? Elijah was trusting that God's Word was true and reliable, and that it was right to persist in asking God to fulfil His promises. Elijah's secret was simple: first He read God's Word, then he was grieved by godlessness, then he remembered God's Word, then he prayed in accordance with God's Word and believed that God would keep His promises. God's answer was straightforward: "Yes!" Do you pray like that? Is that how you pray for Your work colleagues, family and church? If not, get back into the Bible, and start trusting that God means what He says: then keep praying until God answers!
Prayer: Almighty God. Thank You that I do not have to imagine what pleases You, because You tell me in the Bible. Help me to search the Scriptures so that I may pray effectively in line with your Word. May my passion to learn from Your Word each day grow so that I will become a stable and righteous Christian - able to pray effectively for my work colleagues, family, and church. For Jesus' Christ's sake. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
In the preceding verse, James 5:16, James wrote: "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Now he explains how righteous Elijah prayed, as an example and encouragement to us. The story starts in 1 Kings 17:1 where Elijah confronts King Ahab (who has forsaken God) and tells him that God would stop the rain for three years. How did Elijah know? He would have known the Jewish law well, and God had said that if His people turned away from Him, He would stop the rain, the ground would become hard and the crops would not grow (cf Leviticus 26:18-20). So Elijah (a man of the Spirit and of prayer) would have prayed that God should keep His promise.
After three and a half years, God's Spirit spoke to Elijah, telling him to announce that God was going to start the rain again (cf 1 Kings 18:1). And after a confrontation with the pagan prophets on Mount Carmel (cf 1 Kings 18:16-46), the rain started to fall. James says that Elijah was an ordinary man, but one who was right with God. The prophet knew what displeased God, and the penalty for such disobedience. So, in faith and supported by the Holy Spirit, he prayed that God would keep His promise.
Elijah's story of earnest, persistent and effective prayer, at the end of the Letter of James, is in sharp contrast to the half-hearted, double-minded prayer at the beginning (cf James 1:6-8). The unstable man of chapter 1, does not receive anything from the Lord: the righteous man of chapter 5, sees the answer to his prayer. What makes the difference? Elijah was trusting that God's Word was true and reliable, and that it was right to persist in asking God to fulfil His promises. Elijah's secret was simple: first He read God's Word, then he was grieved by godlessness, then he remembered God's Word, then he prayed in accordance with God's Word and believed that God would keep His promises. God's answer was straightforward: "Yes!" Do you pray like that? Is that how you pray for Your work colleagues, family and church? If not, get back into the Bible, and start trusting that God means what He says: then keep praying until God answers!
Prayer: Almighty God. Thank You that I do not have to imagine what pleases You, because You tell me in the Bible. Help me to search the Scriptures so that I may pray effectively in line with your Word. May my passion to learn from Your Word each day grow so that I will become a stable and righteous Christian - able to pray effectively for my work colleagues, family, and church. For Jesus' Christ's sake. Amen.
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