Prayer

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. James 5:17-18

It’s good that James reminds us that Elijah was a man just like us, because it would be hard to believe otherwise. He called down fire from heaven on Mt. Carmel, he ran ahead of a chariot into the city of Jezreel in the power of the Lord. And his life ended by being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Did he even die?

Yet James says, “He was a man just like us.” Ok James, if you say so. Yes, as far as the authority to pray and to move the hand and heart of God, he was a man just like us. And dare we say, that maybe we have even greater authority because of who we are in Christ.

The greatest issue with prayer is that you have to do it to be effective. Thinking about prayer isn’t prayer. Intending to pray isn’t prayer, and certainly just studying and reading books about prayer isn’t prayer. To pray we have to exercise our wills and speak the words and intent of our hearts. Whether it is audible or inaudible isn’t the issue, it is simply that we do it!

There are many kinds of prayer, but the most effective are those that are prompted by our faith. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God, from gaining understanding of the will of God and then being moved by the Holy Spirit to agree with His will.

But faith can be exercised in many ways. Desperation and need that is expressed earnestly is also faith when it is accompanied with a confidence in God’s ability and faithfulness. Not all prayers of faith have great strength. Like the Centurion who petitioned Jesus to heal his daughter, sometimes the most powerful prayers are precipitated by our great need for God.

When we don’t know how to pray, Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. He searches our hearts and prays for us according to the will of God in each situation and circumstance. This in itself should convince us of the importance of prayer. If God Himself wants to insure that our prayers are effective by His own intercession, we should be greatly moved to regular seasons of prayer.

Saints of God, the church is filled with good intentions. Prayer is not an area we can afford to have only an intention of engaging in. Our part on earth is to co-operate and agree with this great redeeming King who has given Himself for us. And as in every area of our lives, there is grace to begin, grace to continue, and grace to complete what He has called us to. Pray, and then run like Elijah.

R. Martinez