“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.” (James 5:17, ESV)

Do you struggle with prayer? Do you read the Bible and wish that you could pray with the power, faith, and confidence of someone like Daniel or Paul? Do you feel that perhaps God listens to these great men’s prayers, but finds your prayers of less importance? 

If you answer yes to any of the above questions, then I hope you will see how encouraging James 5:17 is. James has much to say about our speech in his little book. He writes much about the misuse of our tongues. Whether wrongly saying that God has caused me to sin or using my mouth to show favoritism to the wealthy at the expense of the rich, cursing and slandering those made in the image of God, fighting among believers, or speaking of my plans with no mention of God who controls my future, James is quick to show us the destructive side of our speech.

However, when we come to chapter 5, we find that James turns his attention to prayer, our speaking to God. He gives us instruction to pray for the sick, the suffering, and those struggling under the burdens of sin. At this point we may feel reluctant to even open our mouths, and yet now we are instructed to pray. To encourage us to pray, James points us to Elijah. This is the Old Testament prophet that stood up to Ahab and prayed that it would cease to rain because the people were looking to Baal to water their crops. For three and a half years there was no rain until Elijah prayed again.  James wants us to know that Elijah was a man no different than you or me. Elijah was just like us. He was a man of faith and at times doubts. He had mountaintop victories, as well as valley experiences. He had days of victory and days of depression. He was just like us.

So, when James wants us to pray, he points us to Elijah and tells us that we can be people of powerful prayer just like him. What we need to understand about prayer is that it is not the power of the person praying, but it is the God to whom we pray. I believe that the greatest tool we have for our churches and the advancement of the kingdom is also the most neglected tool; and that is prayer. 

Let us not be hindered in our prayers because we think that we cannot pray like those Old Testament prophets. On that, James would disagree.