“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. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5:17-18, NIV).
James, in his epistle, wrote these words to underscore his previous point that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah the prophet was a righteous man, but he was not perfect. Remember the time Jezebel sent him a message and threatened to kill him? What did the great prophet do? He told God he’d had enough, and he just wanted to die (see 1 Kings 19:4). I believe many of us can relate to Elijah. Though we tend to feel strong and mighty in God, at times we can experience a sense of defeat.
This Elijah is the same man who prayed for it not to rain, and it did not rain for 3-1/2 years. Then he prayed again, and the rain resumed. Based on the duration of the drought, we know this was not a coincidence. It was the direct result of a man who prayed and who was righteous but not perfect. Similarly, those of us in Christ are righteous but not perfect—not literally perfect, that is. But the Bible says our prayers are powerful and effective.
Our Righteousness Through Christ
If you are a Christian, you are the one I am speaking to in this blog post. In the eyes of God, you are a righteous man or woman–in spite of your personal shortcomings.
If we do our best to obtain righteousness through our deeds, we will fail miserably. “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20, KJV). On the other hand, when we place our faith in Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, God declares us perfectly righteous. That’s how He sees us when we pray.
Since the Bible declares that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective, our righteousness through Christ makes our prayers powerful and effective.
The words “powerful and effective” in the verse quoted above are the rendering of the word ɛνεργεω (pronounced en-er-GE-oh). This word means “to be operative” or “to work.” That’s it! Prayer works. When we pray to God in faith, we are not simply going through the motions. But we are accomplishing something that’s powerful and effective.
OK, that’s what the Word of God says. But the question is, do we really believe that? I’m sure that if you ask most Christians that question, their answer would be yes. But our true conviction about prayer is not reflected in our words but our actions. If we truly believe that prayer works in a way that’s powerful and effective, we will be passionate about prayer.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.