Powerful Prayer of a Simple Man
James 5:17, 18
17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
NIV
Elijah was an ordinary man but why was his prayer powerful?
What common characters do we share with Elijah?
Can our prayers be powerful too?
Or do we need to be a prophet for our prayers to be answered?
These are some of the common questions that come to our mind – this sermon will explore the nature of Elijah and the nature of his prayer.
Introduction:
One of the preliminary points that we need to understand is that a number of times we don’t know the power of our prayer. A story is told about a small village in Scotland which was known for its moral life since that little village never had a bar. It so happened that a business man studied the area and decided to run a bar and the turn out of people was great and the village started loosing its charm. The local church decided on a prayer rally and began praying for the bar to be closed and one fine day the bar burnt to ashes because of some mishandling of the fire equipments. The bar owner knew that the church prayed and that’s why an untoward incident took place so he lodged a complaint to the police and sued the church. The case came for hearing and the pastor was called to share his views and the pastor denied that they prayed. The judge listened to it and made a comment he said, “The bar owner believes in prayer whereas the pastor and his congregation did not.”
This is exactly what happens to some of our prayers we deny the power that our prayers can bring.
This puts us into the idea with Elijah we do share the common traits that Elijah had.
Elijah was like us…
1. Self-made: 2 Kings 1:8
They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." NIV
He was a self-made man with his own special appearance unlike the others I am sure almost all of us to some extent are certainly self-made we don’t try to look the way the others look or even think the way the others think either. This is because God wanted us to be unique. And therefore we are. Elijah was like us…
2. Self-hate: 1 Kings 19:3,4
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. NIV
The next aspect that we share with the prophet is self-hate. Like Elijah we also most of the time say we have had enough and we are not worth living and should die. A man who challenged the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah and won over them is at a point where he does not want to live any longer. The reason is he was no better than his ancestors so it is true with us also, we compare ourselves with others and we say we are no better than them and therefore it is quite ok to die. Elijah was like us…
3. Self-glorification: 1 Kings 19:10
He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." NIV
Self-glory is the next aspect we share with Elijah, when there were many others true prophets the Lord had preserved for Him; Elijah makes an exclusive claim that he was the one and only one who was zealous for the Lord. I am sure we too make such claims and are proud about it. Elijah was like us…
If Elijah was like us…in all these aspects what made his prayer very special let’s look at the application of the scriptures.
1 Kings 18:41-46
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain."
42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43 "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
"There is nothing there," he said.
Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea."
So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, ’Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’"
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
46 The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. NIV
Elijah’s prayer was powerful because…
I. Unceasing Prayer about the Uncertain: (1 Kings 18:41)
Elijah told king Ahab to eat and drink since it would begin to rain. What ever Elijah told him, the king followed it but Elijah did not relax after what he said but he climbed on the top of mount Carmel and began to pray not just a simple prayer but a tough prayer since the bible tells us his position of his prayer was very strange. He was praying for something uncertain but his prayer was unceasing till he could find the result. Such was Elijah’s prayer but the problem with us is that we give up soon the reason is simple we live in a fast paced society where everything is instant like instant coffee, noodles, instant shakes etc. This phenomenon does not work with God; he expects us to remain patient and persistent about something that we are praying for. Elijah’s prayer had power since he was not willing to give up.
II. Undistinguished Sign for an Unbelievable Miracle: (1 Kings 18:44)
Elijah after praying asks his servant to go and see if there was any cloud he sends him seven times. But before getting any further we should put ourselves in the shoes of the servant – on top of the mount for someone to see if there is a cloud which way should we see, since from the top it is possible to see all directions. The servant implicitly obeyed since he knew his master was serious about what he said and therefore he did not want to know the direction, this would mean that the servant would have possibly seen all the directions and the seventh time comes back with a report of a small cloud to the size of a man’s hand. Elijah had such faith that the size of the cloud never mattered to him, he knew that a small was cloud was enough for the three and half year dried land to receive blessing. We in our common sense never look for the uncommon we always look for some big acceptable conventional sign for miracles. But Elijah differed and that’s why his prayer was powerful.
III. Unbelievable Power for an Untiring Man: (1 Kings 18:46)
Elijah was know for his extraordinary power that was manifested in his life. The power of God came upon this man and he ran ahead of Ahab who was riding in his chariot. I call this man an untiring man since he prayed after challenging the king and then he never wanted a lift from the king but decided to run ahead of him. If he had decided the King would have taken him in style but as a man of God he relied on the power of God and not on human endeavor. This applies to our lives as well if we continue to remain in the Lord he will make us untiring. This is why the prayer of Elijah was powerful.
Conclusion:
Having understood the impact of Elijah’s prayer who shared the similar traits like us I am sure we also can be motivated to pray like him. That is why the bible tells that Elijah was a man like us but when he prayed…great things happened.
You and I are like Elijah but when we pray what will happen…?
I challenge you to pray more earnestly like Elijah did and see what the Lord does in your lives also.
May God bless you. Amen.
