13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 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. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. –James 5:13-18
Could you imagine walking outside in the middle of a thunder storm and praying for it to stop? Elijah’s prayers changed the weather! Was he a superhero? Not according to James. According to James, Elijah was an ordinary person, just like the rest of us. The difference, I believe, is that he “prayed fervently.” Literally, “praying he prayed.” He meant it! He prayed with passion. He prayed with confidence in the greatness of God.
“But we need to pray according to God’s will.” I know. But do you notice that we always start from a place of doubt. We would never call it doubt, but the bottom line is we “spiritualize” our doubt. We decide for God what His will is and is not. The end result is that we pray for a place of doubt, assuming God will not answer our prayers.
Let’s get back to praying big prayers to a big God for His glory and let Him decide, for Himself, what His will is for each situation.
CHRIST ALLIANCE CHURCH 