Scriptural Prayers - Elijah’s Triumphant Prayers
David W Palmer
(James 5:17–18 NLT) Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! {18} Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
Before we investigate the prayers of Elijah so we can learn from them and emulate their success, let’s look at the point that James was illustrating with this story:
(James 5:16 NLT) … pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
The Holy Spirit was talking about the amazing outcomes from the “earnest prayer of a righteous person.” He said this when telling believers to pray for each other’s healing. Then he illustrated the power this has with the story of how God answered Elijah’s prayer for drought and rain. If the prayers of the un-born-again Old Testament believer can open the way for God to do such powerful miracles, then the prayers of someone who is born again and the righteousness of God can achieve miracles today.
The other condition that the Holy Spirit mentions is that our prayers would need to be “earnest.” This means to put forth power, be passionate, effective, and putting in some work. So, this is not a flippant or passing prayer; this is deep, wholehearted prayer of earnest desire. When this is prayed from a born again person who lives by faith, holiness, worship, and who walks in the spirit, it has “great power and produces wonderful results.” James’s immediate context is in praying for each other’s healing; and we certainly should do this. But his illustration is Elijah’s prayers—in particular, those to do with drought and rain. Let’s investigate:
(1 Kings 17:1 NLT) Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
This is where Elijah is introduced in Scripture. We know he had prayed about this season of drought, because the Holy Spirit reveals that to us in James. But, here we see the outcome of his effective prayer, not the prayer itself; he declares boldly that it will not rain until he says it will. When he said that openly to the king, he was speaking by the gift of faith that had already been imparted to him by God—no doubt, in the place of prayer.
So, as James says, Elijah prayed that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t rain for 3½ years. Then, after the conditions God laid out had been met—specifically repentance and return to faith in God—Elijah prayed that the rain would recommence. This time, we have detail of his earnest, effectual prayer:
(1 Kings 18:41–42 NLT) Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” So Ahab went to eat and drink. …
More than three years earlier, Elijah had told King Ahab that it wouldn’t rain again until he said so. Here, we see him telling the king that it was about to rain: “I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” He was right, but he still had to pray this through. Next, we read the narrative of Elijah praying the prayer that James calls effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man—a man of faith in right standing with God. Now, we can discover exactly what James means by fervent prayer:
(1 Kings 18:42 NLT)
