James 5:17

The Example Of Elijah

James 5:17 "Elijah was. man with. nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months". "Elijah" -Elijah was. real historical person! The connection between this verse and the previous verse is an answer to. question any reader might have. "Well, how much can such. prayer accomplish? How much can it avail? Really--- what can such prayers really do?" God puts us on the spot. Here is God's challenge to the skeptical Christian or the Christian who says, "Well. know that praying will make me feel better….and that is about all. expect from my prayer life." "Prayer can build you up and give you. better perspective, but it really can't accomplish much more than that." "was. man with. nature like ours" -"of like feelings or affections" (Thayer p. 445). "Of similar feelings, circumstances, experiences with the same nature" (Arndt p. 566). Compare with Acts 14:15 "We are also men of the same nature as you". Note, Elijah wasn't. super-human or. god. "the Jews of the intertestamental period developed an exaggerated opinion of Elijah, making him. mysterious heavenly figure, as they did Enoch and Melchizedek. Peter had to correct Cornelius by telling him that he was also. man (Acts 10:26)" (Roberts p. 224). The same truth could be said about any other hero in the Old Testament. Abraham, Noah, Jeremiah, Isaiah……were also men just like ourselves. Hence, what they did, we can do, the level of faith they manifested, we can manifest. "he suffered under the same nature as ours. He was subject to the same limitations that we are. He was tempted just as we are tempted. He was liable to commit the same sins that we are…..God is in the business of answering prayers for folks just like us" (Draper p. 167). "These words were penned by James to allay any feeling that the remarkable exploits of this marvelous man of God set him apart from the rest of his fellows, and he could not be regarded as an example of an ordinary person" (Woods p. 308). And neither was Elijah. perfect man, he had his own short-comings, but God heard his prayer (Romans 11:2). "and he prayed earnestly" -"Lit., he prayed with prayer" (Vincent p. 764). "He really prayed. Praying earnestly means really praying, really talking to God, really committing ourselves to God, really communicating with God. Elijah meant business when he prayed " (Draper pp. 167-168).

Points To Note:

1. Therefore, such earnest prayer on our part is certainly not out of reach. For Elijah,. man just like us,. common, ordinary, run of the mill human being, prayed intensely to God and God answered his prayer. Elijah had all the same human limitations which we have and yet he manifested great trust and faith in God. So what is our excuse? Or, to put it more bluntly, what sin(s) are we presently unwilling to part with? What is keeping us from having the same faith? 2. Do we mean business when we pray or has prayer become nothing more than. mere formality? "that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months".

Points To Note:

1. Jesus mentions the same time period in Luke 4:25; 1 Kings 2:1 mentions the "third year" and the New Testament informs us concerning the total length of the drought. Elijah had told Ahab, "surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word" (1 Kings 2:1). 2.. good question arises whether this withholding of moisture was the result of. miraculous intervention by God or was accomplished through providential means. The very fact that there are wondrous events in the Bible which could have been accomplished when God set aside natural laws or could have been accomplished when God worked through natural laws (2 Kings 2:1), should remind us just how powerful God is even though nothing miraculous may have happened. At times Christians seem to think that since we don't live in the day and age of the miraculous that we have to settle for second best. As if the power of God is greatly limited when He works through natural means, natural laws and natural circumstances. 3. God can heal us, God can protect us, God can open up countless opportunities and God can grant huge requests without working. single miracle.