Turn with me in your Bibles to James chapter 5.

I came across the works of a Puritan Preacher named John Bunyan. One of his most famous works was a book called Pilgrim’s Progress. What impressed me most about Bunyan is that, when God called him to preach, he was warned not to preach because his preaching was not authorized by the state. Wikipedia notes:

“Bunyan was arrested under the Conventicle Act of 1593, which made it an offense to attend a religious gathering other than at the parish church with more than five people outside their family. The offense was punishable by 3 months imprisonment followed by banishment or execution if the person then failed to promise not to re-offend.”

Imprisoned for 3 months, Bunyan refused to stop preaching the Gospel, and eventually ended up imprisoned for 12 years. Though his imprisonment caused a great hardship to his family, Bunyan continued to share the Gospel, and wrote 60 titles until his death 31 August 1688 at the age of 59. Bunyan said of prayer:

“Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to the Word of God, for the good of the Church, with submission in faith to the will of God.”

If the Church will stand as America goes through the shaking of satanic darkness, then God’s people must be a praying people. Solomon once noted “there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The darkness that grips America today is the same darkness that gripped England during John Bunyan’s day, the same darkness that gripped Israel during Elijah’s time. The forces that are pushing so called sexual freedom and gender fluidity are the same dark forces that have always been, from the time that Adam listened to a serpent and unto today. When John Bunyan was afflicted, he immersed himself in God’s Word and prayer.

James 5:13-18 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias {Elijah} was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Word Study James encourages us to “effectual fervent prayer”. The words “effectual fervent” is the Greek verb ἐνεργέω energéō, {pronounced en-erg-eh’-o}, a word that means just like it sounds. Doesn’t this sound like energetic? That’s what it means. “Energetic, active, not complacent, to be mighty in, to work hard at”. For prayer to be effective, you need to lose yourself in it. Prayer must be a daily, moment by moment, focus on the God Who loves you. The word translated “prayer” is the Greek δέησις déēsis, {pronounced deh’-ay-sis}, which means a “seeking type of prayer. Before the Holy Spirit came to the early Church, that small congregation of 120 were in an upper room:

Acts 1:14 … with one accord in PRAYER {déēsis} and supplication …

Prayer is to be energetic. Prayer is to seek God. What does the Scripture say? We read:

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please {God}: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Prayer that is infrequent, half hearted, or double minded will not be blessed of God. The Bible says:

James 1:5-7 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

The energetic prayer pursues God, seeking His blessing, and will not cease until an answer is found. God will not bless the half hearted prayer!

Effective prayer is energetic, seeking God. But further, the prayer God answers must come from a righteous person.

James 5:16 … The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

When Jesus healed the man born blind, the Pharisees claimed that our Lord was a sinner. The healed man told them:

John 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

This is a clear principle in the Scripture. Listen:

Proverbs 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

The only prayer that God will hear of the son of Adam is the prayer seeking salvation. Sin corrupts our ability to communicate with God. The Psalmist said “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth” (Psalm 34:15-16). Sin must be confessed to God. God has promised “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Only the prayers of the RIGHTEOUS, that is, those in a right standing with God, shall be heard. This is “the prayer of faith”. The Scripture says:

James 5:15-16 … the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.

An Example Of A Righteous, Praying Man Is Elijah

James 5:17-18 Elias {Elijah} was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Though James was not acquainted with John Bunyan, he knew of Elijah. Every Jew knew about Elijah. During the Passover meals the Orthodox Jew would pour a cup and set a place for Elijah at the table. Elijah was a powerful Prophet. Why? Elijah was a praying Prophet.

Word Study The King James says “Elias {Elijah} was a man”. The more modern versions replace the word “Elias” with “Elijah”, and that is perfectly appropriate. The King James translator did not translate, but rather transliterated the Greek word for Elijah (which is Ἡλίας Hēlías, {pronounced hay-lee’-as}). Hēlías is the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew nameאֵלִיָּה ʼÊlîyâh, {pronounced ay-lee-yaw’}, or the English Elijah. Elijah’s name means “My God is Yahweh”.

Elijah was no superman. The Bible says that Elijah was “subject to like passions as we are”. This is the Greek ὁμοιοπαθής homoiopathḗs, {pronounced hom-oy-op-ath-ace’}, which means “to suffer like others, to have like feelings and affections as others have”. Elijah was not a special person, like the Nazarite Samson, whose power was in his hair; or like the Nazarite John the Baptist, filled with the Spirit from birth.

Elijah was just like us.

Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Kings 17

1 Kings 17:1 Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead

Elijah was not famous. He was not born in a mansion. He was an unknown country boy!

Elijah was from Tishbe, a place that no one really knows where it is today. It would be like Sawdust or Glendale, Tennessee, or Climax, Georgia. Elijah was just one of the inhabitants of Gilead – a plain man. But Elijah was a believer in God. He lived his life trusting in God’s provision.

Background: Elijah lived in the time when Israel was divided by civil war. King Solomon’s son Rehoboam raised taxes on the ten northern tribes of Israel, and these tribes broke away from Judah, setting up their own king and their own religion. Jeroboam was the first king of these ten tribes. To keep the people of the ten tribes from going to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam set up two golden calves and a priesthood to serve them. By the time Elijah began to prophesy, Ahab was the seventh king to rule Northern Israel.

1 Kings 16:30-33 Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. 32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

It was during this terrible time when Israel was divided, and the nation was far from God, that the Lord called Elijah. Beloved, America is in a similar state today.
Oh, how we need prayer warriors!

1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

Notice Elijah’s statement. “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand”. He didn’t say, “I came FROM God”, now did he say “I was talking to God YESTERDAY”. Elijah said “I am standing before God right now”. Beloved, if you are standing BEFORE God right now, then GOD IS BEHIND YOU AS YOU SPEAK. Elijah stood BEFORE God. He represented God. He didn’t even say “I’m standing BEFORE you, Ahab”. Ahab was inconsequential. Ahab was a nobody, a nothing. God was everything!

James 5:17 Elias {Elijah} … prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

Word Study“{Elijah} prayed earnestly”. These are two Greek words, προσεύχομαι προσευχή proseuchomai proseuchē, which literally means “He offered prayers with prayer”.

Elijah prayed as John Bunyan said, “Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God”. Elijah’s prayer was not a selfish prayer, but a prayer that God be glorified and man be afflicted. This is Elijah’s recorded prayer:

As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word

Elijah represented God, and prayed in accordance with God’s will. Elijah put his entire trust in God his Savior. If Elijah’s prayer was to be answered as he prayed it, then not only would King Ahab and Northern Israel experience a terrible drought, but Elijah himself would suffer along with the people. Elijah did not pray that God stop all rain and dew everywhere but where he was. His prayer glorified God, and showed his trust in the Lord.

When you do God’s business, God takes care of you!

1 Kings 17:2-4 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

Word Study Elijah did as God told him. He went to the brook Cherith. Cherith is an interesting word, because in the Hebrew it means “cutting, piercing, or slaying”. That is certainly a scary name for a place of rest. And yet, Elijah did as God directed. Prayer is not one sided, but COMMUNICATION with God our Savior.

1 Kings 17:5-7 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

Elijah had a perfect place to hide from Ahab. Who would expect him to go to such a terrible named place? As it got dryer in Northern Israel, the brook Cherith dried up. And yet, God looks after His children.

1 Kings 17:8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

To Pray is not just to talk with God,
but to LISTEN to God.

Beloved, “the word of the Lord came unto Elijah” because he was seeking God’s direction through prayer. God said in His Word:

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.

How does one “diligently seek” God? This is done by prayer. Prayer is communication with the Lord Who loves us, and has given Himself for us. We seek God by being available to Him, by heeding His Word. Elijah lived his life available to the Lord. He was receptive to the Word of God. He loved God above all else, and God loved him. As the Brook Slaying dried up, God told Elijah “Go to the widow of Zarephath … I have commanded her to sustain you”. Elijah does as God says. He came to Zarephath and, seeing the widow gathering sticks for a fire, asked her to do two things:

1 Kings 17:10-11 Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 … Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

God told Elijah that this widow was supposed to “sustain” him. He took God at His Word. He asked her for water, then food. The widow tells Elijah:

1 Kings 17:12 As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

But Elijah was not deterred. He told the widow:

1 Kings 17:13-14 Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

The widow went on to do as Elijah said, giving water and bread to him as God so commanded. The Bible tells us:

1 Kings 17:16 … the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

The story doesn’t stop here. Elijah’s prayer stopped the rain and dew for 3 years and 6 months. Elijah’s prayer led him to Cherith and the ravens, and then to the widow of Zarephath. But God will test both Elijah and the widow of Zarephath.

Prayer warriors do not WORRY, but
WORK AT PRAYER when afflicted.

1 Kings 17:17-19 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

Why did God allow this sickness to come into Elijah and the widow’s life? To test and strengthen Elijah’s faith. It won’t be long before Elijah will stand on Mount Carmel, facing a multitude of false prophets in the name of God. Faith must be exercised, and trials come our way to exercise and grow our faith. God is able to defeat anything – even death. The Bible says:

Psalm 68:20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.

Elijah had been staying in an upper loft at the widow’s house. Note that Elijah did not take the boy to his own room, but to Elijah’s room. God had been faithfully looking after Elijah throughout this drought. Elijah put the dead child in Elijah’s place of rest – then Elijah himself rested in prayer.

1 Kings 17:20-21 {Elijah} cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou ALSO brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

Elijah’s prayer is simple, and in two parts. He first asks God a question. “O Lord my God, hast thou ALSO brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son”. Note the use of the word “ALSO”. What Elijah is asking is, “Lord, you have brought a bad drought on Israel – did you ALSO bring death to this child?” Elijah is seeking clarification. If it is the will of God that the child be dead, Elijah was not going to pray outside of the will of God. Elijah is not accusing God, but seeking clarification. “Lord, is it your will that this child remain dead?” Receiving an answer from God, Elijah

1 Kings 17:21 … stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.

Elijah laid hands on the child “three times”, and prayed simply “O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again”. In the Bible only nine named individuals are ever raised back to life after death¹. This is the very first time anyone was ever raised from the dead, so there was no precedent for this. Elijah just trusted God. We “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Elijah’s prayer was very simple. When we pray, we do not need to make long, rambling prayers. We are to pray simply, sincerely, and within the will of God to glorify God.

1 Kings 17:22-23 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

Before rain would come on the earth, God would use Elijah to destroy the 400 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, demonstrating once more the wondrous power of God. Once the false prophets were destroyed the Bible says:

1 Kings 18:41-45 Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

Though Elijah’s prayer is not recorded, we know that he prayed because of what James tells us:

James 5:18 And {Elijah} prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

It is God Who brings the rain, and God Who blesses us with fruit. God used a man named Elijah to get it done. The Lord blesses us by allowing us, through prayer, to do great things for Him on this earth. God expects us to pray. Let us follow Elijah’s pattern, and diligently seek God in prayer. And dear one, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please seek Him in prayer today. Those who are in Him will survive the coming days. May God touch your hearts with His Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen.

______________ Footnotes ________________

1 Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-22). Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman from the dead (2 Kings 4:32-35). A man was raised from the dead when his body touched Elisha’s bones (2 Kings 13:20, 21). Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain from the dead (Luke 7:11-15), the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Luke 8:41, 42, 49-55), and Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). Jesus Himself rose from the grave (Matthew 28:5-8; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:5, 6). Peter raised Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:36-41). Paul raised Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:9, 10).