James: Tired, Tested, Torn and Full of FaithSample

When You Have a Need

“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 NKJV

When we approach God in faith, He answers. This is one of those truths we know we should believe, but often we either treat God like an emergency phone number or a genie in a bottle. We run to Him in moments of distress; we pray three times hoping for results, and when no answer comes, we stop praying thinking God must not hear or desire to answer. But in our key verse today, we find a man praying with great faith.

The thing I find interesting is not that Elijah prayed or even what he prayed about, but the outcome. God answered. He not only answered; He answered both times in the way Elijah asked. If we were to look into the original Greek words of the text, we would find that the words “prayed earnestly” means he prayed with prayer. It seems kind of redundant to say he prayed and to imply he prayed with prayer, but I think this is the key for us when learning to pray in faith. Praying is sometimes a posture of the heart that surrenders to God alone, but other times it is a more active approach to God with very specific requests like Elijah’s. I think this is why the text says, “he prayed earnestly.” It was more than a fleeting few words of saying, “I trust you, God.” It was an intentional bowing of the heart to the only source that Elijah knew could answer his request.

And even more important we know Elijah was a lot like us. The Bible says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” This means he knew what it was like to hurt, to need, to want, to cry. Sometimes we take Bible characters and place them into a child’s story book or into a narrative that is fictional or almost make believe. But Elijah was a real man--one who struggled with depression and hardships just like us.

He prayed with prayer to God believing God would and could and should answer. And God did. This gives us great hope and a good example to follow in moments of need. Don’t just pray. Pray with prayer. Slow down. Stop what you are doing. Bend a knee or two and pray with prayer.

I love how the Bible says, in James 5:18, “And he prayed again.” Elijah didn’t offer up his emergency prayer one time in hopes God would come through maybe this time. God had proved His faithfulness, and Elijah trusted God for the answer; therefore, he prayed again.

I don’t know what it is that you have asked God for that He has not answered yet, but I want to encourage you to ask Him again. This is faith in action. This is the kind of faith Elijah practiced. And this is why we find this Old Testament prophet mentioned in this New Testament book of James. He was a faithful man of prayer who prayed with prayer and prayed again.

Whatever you are facing today, let me encourage you to pray with prayer and pray again. And again. And if you are enjoyed this 3-day devotional and want to learn more, check out my Bible study, James: Tired, Tested, Torn, and Full of Faith wherever books are sold.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, I bring my need to you. I believe you can and will answer me in your perfect time and way. I trust you, and I need you. I am asking you in prayer to hear my need and meet me here right in the midst of it. And I commit to pray again and again and again. In Jesus’ name, amen.