“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5:16b-18)

Dear Friends and Members of IBC, On Sunday, we spoke briefly about the power of prayer. In this week’s Word for the Week, we will dive a little deeper into this, exploring a few key verses on this subject. James 5:16 states that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”. And Elijah is a wonderful example of such a righteous person. But just in case we start thinking, “Well, he is one of those Bible heroes, what chance do I have”, James immediately pops that balloon by continuing, “he was a human being, even as we are.” Elijah had the same nature, same brokenness, same temptations, as us. To further illustrate this, let’s remind ourselves what actually happens after God answers Elijah’s earnest, powerful prayer, after he witnesses God miraculously bringing fire and rain down from heaven. Elijah finds out that Jezebel wants to kill him, and runs away frightened, discouraged, wailing at how God should have pity on him, how it would be better for him to die. He does what happens to many people after great success or blessing: he falls into depression, focussing on the negative. He takes his eyes off God, and does another thing us humans often do, he starts comparing himself to others. “The Israelites have turned from you, God, they have killed all the prophets, I am the only one left.” “No, Elijah,” says God. “I reserve 7,000 faithful souls.” The reason Elijah’ prayers were so powerful, the reason he was a righteous person, filled with strength, is because, for most of the time, he was continuously keeping his focus straight on God. His earnest prayer in 1 Kings 18:36-37, shows us this: “the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” God had already told Elijah that He would send the rain. Elijah simply rested in God’s promise. The power of Elijah’s prayer never came from him being a powerful, perfect person. Elijah was never the power source. The power came from him simply, wholeheartedly, trusting in how perfect and all-powerful God is. Believing in His infinite resources. And then acting accordingly. Elijah desired for God to get the glory; he lived to please God. It’s a bit like someone working in an electricity power station, responsible for powering a whole city. He sits in front of a fuse box; he just needs to press the ‘on’ switch. He isn’t the power source, but he needs to trust in the power of the station and act accordingly. Friends, let’s not look to please people or at what they have. Let’s not look at ourselves and what little we have. Let’s look straight at God and trust in the infinite resources and power He has. God bless you James