Bible League: Living His Word Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!— James 5:17 NLT Elijah's prayers were powerful and effective. He prayed that it would not rain in the Northern Kingdom of Israel as punishment for the sins of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. He told Ahab, "As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives –the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!" (1 Kings 17:1). After three and one-half years of famine, Elijah prayed again, this time for rain. He told Ahab, "Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!" (1 Kings 18:41). Things happened, it is clear, when Elijah prayed. No doubt, you may be thinking to yourself, Elijah's prayers were powerful and effective because he was a prophet of God. Given his stature, you may be thinking, it only makes sense that his prayers would be heard on high. The rest of us, on the other hand, do not have that special advantage. The rest of us are mere farmers, teachers, mothers, children, businesspeople, and so on. We can't expect our prayers to have the same efficacy as Elijah's prayers. We can't draw any conclusions about our prayers from the example of a powerful man of God like Elijah, can we? In our verse for today, James begs to differ with our way of thinking. Elijah, he tells us, was as human as we are. That is, he was not some sort of demi-god with a special access to God that the rest of us do not have. He was a mere man subject to the same kind of weaknesses and failures that every human being is subject to. Indeed, the Bible tells us that he fled from his prophetic call when Jezebel threatened his life. He even longed to die at that time (1 Kings 19:1-4). Despite these weaknesses and failures, Elijah's prayers were powerful and effective. The lesson, then, is that we should pray. The lesson is that we should pray boldly and not give up. Our prayers can have the same kind of power as Elijah's prayers. Our prayers in Jesus' name can be powerful and effective in God's hands (James 5:16). Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Kings 8, 9 1 Kings 8 -- Ark Brought to the Temple; Solomon's Prayer of Dedication NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Kings 9 -- God's covenant with Solomon; Solomon's works NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 23:39-56 Luke 23 -- Jesus before Pilate and Herod; Jesus' Crucifixion and Burial NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion He will break down every high towerand every fortified wall. He will destroy all the great trading ships and every magnificent vessel. Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the LORD will be exalted on that day of judgment. Insight Lofty towers were part of a city or nation's defenses. This phrase refers to security based on military fortresses. “Great trading ships” pictures economic prosperity; and “every magnificent vessel” reveals pleasure and enjoyment. Challenge Nothing can compare with or rival the place God must have in our hearts and minds. To place our hope elsewhere is nothing but false pride. Place your confidence in God alone. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Jeremiah 16:20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods.One great besetting sin of ancient Israel was idolatry, and the spiritual Israel are vexed with a tendency to the same folly. Remphan's star shines no longer, and the women weep no more for Tammuz, but Mammon still intrudes his golden calf, and the shrines of pride are not forsaken. Self in various forms struggles to subdue the chosen ones under its dominion, and the flesh sets up its altars wherever it can find space for them. Favourite children are often the cause of much sin in believers; the Lord is grieved when he sees us doting upon them above measure; they will live to be as great a curse to us as Absalom was to David, or they will be taken from us to leave our homes desolate. If Christians desire to grow thorns to stuff their sleepless pillows, let them dote on their dear ones. It is truly said that "they are no gods," for the objects of our foolish love are very doubtful blessings, the solace which they yield us now is dangerous, and the help which they can give us in the hour of trouble is little indeed. Why, then, are we so bewitched with vanities? We pity the poor heathen who adore a god of stone, and yet worship a god of gold. Where is the vast superiority between a god of flesh and one of wood? The principle, the sin, the folly is the same in either case, only that in ours the crime is more aggravated because we have more light, and sin in the face of it. The heathen bows to a false deity, but the true God he has never known; we commit two evils, inasmuch as we forsake the living God and turn unto idols. May the Lord purge us all from this grievous iniquity! "The dearest idol I have known, Whate'er that idol be; Help me to tear it from thy throne, And worship only thee." Daily Light on the Daily Path Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.Psalm 138:3 On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. Daniel 9:21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. Psalm 27:9 Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! Psalm 22:19 But You, O LORD, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance. Jeremiah 32:17 'Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, 2 Corinthians 1:10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, Luke 18:7,8 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? • "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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