“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 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 earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”
(James 5:16-18, NASB)
Recently I noticed what set Elijah apart was “and he prayed”. This simple act of prayer is what gave him the distinction noted by those around him.
Elijah prayed for the son of a widow to be brought back to life, and he lived (1 Kings 17:19-23).
Elijah prayed for rain and a heavy shower came (1 Kings 18:41-46).
Elijah prayed for fire from heaven in a showdown with the idols and it fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and licked up the water which had drenched the altar (1 Kings 18:38).
“Prayer with Elijah was force, supernatural power, miraculous in its working … He did not argue about prayer. He prayed. Praying solves problems of prayer.”
(from The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick, page 56)
Elijah had passion about his prayer, believing God would hear him and respond to him. He did not waver nor doubt.
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.“
(Jeremiah 29:13, NASB)
“God loves a man aflame. The lukewarm He cannot abide. He never keeps hot hearts waiting.”
(from The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick, page 57)
Elijah knew prayer brings life, rain, and fire. He longed for the people to know and experience this as well.
We can often make prayer complicated, looking for a formula, or a correct method to prayer. But it is simply coming before our Father and making our hearts known to Him.
We cannot always explain it. Sometimes God responds “yes”, sometimes “no”, and other times “not yet”. But He will always welcome us to come and make our requests and desires to Him.
May we say as the psalmist:
(Psalm 116:1-2, NASB)
May we pray as confidently, believing –
Prayer changes things,
it can change everything and anything.
We make prayer too complicated--as you said, it's simply making our hearts know to our Father, who longs for us to come to Him.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I am finding this more true every day. Some days I just sit quietly with my eyes closed, say nothing at all, and I know the Lord has heard my heart.
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