A MAN LIKE US

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5:17-18) At a time of great crisis in ancient Israel, God worked mightily through a man named Elijah. He became the dominant spiritual force in Israel during the dark days of King Ahab of Israel.
The name Elijah means, "Yahweh is my God." In the days when Ahab's government officially supported the worship of Baal and other Canaanite gods, even the name of this prophet told the truth. It was a crucial time in the history of Israel. It looked as if the worship of the true God might be completely eliminated in the northern kingdom. Yet God had a man, this one name Elijah. He was a great man of prayer, and one day he came to King Ahab and said, "There shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word" (1 Kings 17:1). This was a dramatic demonstration against the pagan god Baal, who was thought to be the sky god, the god of the weather. Elijah showed that through his prayers to the God of Israel, Yahweh was mightier than Baal. James tells us that Elijah was not merely the prophet of this drought; by his prayers, he was the cause of the drought. He prayed and it happened. As James writes, "he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months." When it says that Elijah "prayed earnestly," the literal ideas is that he "prayed with prayer." He just prayed real prayers; and to truly pray, by definition, is to pray earnestly. Yet James is also careful to tell us "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours." How then did he find such power in prayer? One hint is found back in 1 Kings 17:1, where we are told that when Elijah made this announcement to King Ahab, he first said this: "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand." This statement of Elijah shows the source of his strength. It is specifically said that "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours" (James 5:17). Yet he showed a strength greater than most of us in our life with God, and he had this strength for at least two reasons. First, he prayed with faith in the living God, saying in 1 Kings 17:1: "As the LORD God of Israel lives." Everyone else felt that the LORD was dead, but for Elijah the LORD lived. The living God was the supreme reality of Elijah's life. Second, he lived in the presence of God, saying also in 1 Kings 17:1: "before whom I stand." He stood in the presence of King Ahab, but he was conscious of the presence of someone greater than any earthly king. The Angel Gabriel himself could not choose a higher title (Luke 1:19). Elijah is a model of earnest prayer that was answered by God. His effectiveness in prayer extended even to the weather! His words before Ahab show that Elijah was effective in prayer because his heart was in tune with God's. He prayed for the rain to stop and start only because he sensed it was in the heart of God in His dealings with Israel. He knew that it was God's will to stop the rain and then to stop it because he knew God was alive, and Elijah lived in His presence. Elijah shared our weaknesses. God helping us, we can share his effectiveness in prayer. By David Guzik PRAISE GOD BLESSED BE THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD