‘Elijah was a man with a nature like ours’, James chapter 5 verse 17.

There is a tendency for us to read about some of the outstanding characters in the Bible and consider them to be exceptional men and women, who reached heights that were far higher than we can ever hope to reach. For example, the Old Testament prophet ELIJAH prayed to God that it would not rain on the earth, in order to teach king Ahab and Jezebel, his wife, the folly of disobeying God. Remarkably, it did not rain on the land for three and six months. After this, he prayed again and it rained!

We might be tempted to stand back and question how Elijah could possibly have achieved such an outcome. James, the earthly brother of Jesus, gives us the answer: ‘The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not . . .’, James chapter 5 verse 17. A man, who was in the right spiritual condition to approach God, prayed to Him, with deep conviction to do this thing, and He was pleased to answer! Elijah’s role was to be in the right spiritual condition and to pray; however, it was God who gave the answer. Elijah’s God is our God and He still answers the earnest prayers of His people today.

Do we really believe that Elijah’s experiences are open to us as well? One Christian writer has given us the answer: ‘Faith made him (Elijah) all that he became, and faith will do as much for us. If only we can exercise it as he did . . . there is nothing in this man’s life which may not have its counterpart in ours’ F. B. Meyer.