Tag Archives: Elijah prayed

Divine Purpose with Elijah

God has a purpose, a divine purpose resting behind every event in life. Many times we do not realize it till we look back and see God’s hand working, protecting and guiding us. Why did we meet this person, why did we end up at this church, at this fellowship, at this function in the body of Christ.

So now look at a few events in the Bible about Elijah.

Sea of Galilee, Israel

Sea of Galilee, Israel

It was not what Elijah did,  but who he was that is most significant. People love the story of the burnt sacrifice and how God proved that Jehovah is God. But the real significance of Elijah’s life and ministry is that he is a man who was available for whatever the Lord wanted to do. He followed The Lord, or to use a hard term for many “He Obeyed The Lord“. Elijah was a person what followed the Lord. Again not what he did, but that what he did was what the Lord was doing.

Even thought Elijah’s Prayer was wonderful, yet he is a person the Lord could use in any situation. Elijah prayed and the rain stopped, Elijah prayed and the rain came. The Lord could use him in any direction. Elijah could be used by God even when the direction or plans seem to change.

He did not stick to a program, but was available in many situations. I am not saying we should not have programs, but what if the Lord adjusts it or suspends it for a time, or sometimes terminates it?

Elijah is mentioned a few times in the New Testament, but not even mentioned in the great chapter on faith in Hebrews 11.

One day Jesus took a few disciples (Peter, James and John) to a high mountain, perhaps  it was mount Hermon in northern Israel.

Mount Bachelor, Oregon

Mount Bachelor, Oregon

And there appeared with Jesus two people from the Old Testament:  Moses and Elijah. These two represented the Law and the prophets. But why not Samuel, I always personally thought Samuel should be the top represented prophet, but God choose Moses and Elijah to appear with Jesus.

The two were talkng to Jesus, Luke says they were talking about Jesus’ death.

Then Peter had a “great idea”, no it was a “bad idea”. Peter wanted to build a great monument to all three people: Jesus, Moses ands Elijah.  So the Father started to speak from heaven saying “This is my son,  Hear Him“.  We should never get distracted from Jesus.

All these events and activities have a divine purpose. These all show we need to follow Jesus and not be distracted by other things. We need to follow Him.

God Loves to Hear Prayer

God loves to hear prayer. He is a God who listens. Look at these verses on prayer in the Bible, God listens to every prayer.  Have this confidence that in every pray, whether it be small or large, whether it be well phrased, or just a bunch of broken words, God listens.  Sometimes what we think are the worst prayers, God just loves, since we are expressing our real feelings.

Psalms 66:19 But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Psalms 66:20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

Reflection during Idaho Sunset

Reflection during Idaho Sunset


James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly…

This  last verse in James eventually refers to Elijah who in a very unique situation needed a prayer to bring God in to vindicate Himself.   Elijah did pray and God did come in.

So never feel that God does not hear, He does hear and answer.   p.s.  answers do not always come how and when we expect them.

Prayer that Works – Elijah Prayed

In the Bible, James talks about Elijah, who had learned how to pray “prayer that works“. God answered his prayers. But Elijah had to learn to pray. See the blog on prayer that works.

So never give up on prayer. God answers prayer. Sometimes we give up because we do not see any results, so we quit. God answers prayer in His time and in His way. Consider Abraham who waited 20 years for an answer to the prayer for a son.

God Needs Man to Pray

When God created the earth and heaven, He did not need any help. But when God created man, He intended man to be a prayer partner. In a sense, God waits for man to pray before He acts.  In creation God acted alone, in the Bible age, God works with man. So in the example prayer of Elijah, God waited for Elijah to pray.  Elijah prayed what God wanted to pray, then prayed to God and God answered from heaven with rain. Without the prayer of Eljah, no rain was coming.

So in every situation God is waiting for us to pray before He acts. The phrase below “prayed with prayer” indicates that Elijah prayed the prayer that God gave him to pray. What a cooperation between God and man to fulfill His purpose on the earth..

James 5:17-18 Elijah was a man of like passions to us, and he prayed with prayer that it should not rain; and it did not rain upon the earth three years and six months; 18 and again he prayed, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to spring forth.

Then in the Lord’s prayer, Jesus also teaches us to pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. So God wants us to pray for His will to happen on the earth. His will does not happen automatically, it needs prayer to bring it to earth

Praying With God

We are praying and asking the prayer of God. If you are one with the Lord, you are obeying the Lord, you are abiding in the Lord, and His Word is dwelling in you, then you are one with the Lord, and what the Lord wants to pray, you want to pray, what the Lord wants to ask the Father through your prayer, you want to ask the Father.  So who is really praying here?  Is it us praying or is it God praying?  It is kind of hard to understand.

The Example of Elijah in James

In fact, James 5 talks about a similar principle. The last part of verse 16 says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Then James goes on to talk about Elijah.  Verse 17, “Elijah was a man subject to like passions…” He was a man, just like we are. He had feelings just like you and I have. Then it says, “And he prayed earnestly” or the literal Greek is, “He prayed in prayer” or, “He prayed in his prayer”.  It is kind of a strange construction in the English. “He was a man of like passions as we are, and he prayed in prayer that it might not rain”. In other words, Elijah had an experience, here, of not praying his own prayer, but praying the prayer of God. You could say he prayed the prayer that God put on his heart, or prayed the prayer that God burdened him with.  Here Elijah was praying the prayer of God.

The Example of Young Samuel

We have another example of Samuel in the Old Testament.  This is the story of Samuel as a young boy.  He was learning how to serve God and how to do the things of God. He was just beginning, or barely beginning to hear the voice of God.  At one point, he thought Eli, the priest, was calling him, but he eventually learned that it was the Lord who was speaking to him. The phrase that Samuel repeated back to the Lord at this point was, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.” In other words, Samuel had the attitude that whatever God would speak, he would hear, and whatever God asked him to do, he would do.

This blog was taken from a video on Drew’s YouTube channel.

Accomplish Much through Prayer

James 5:16  …The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

This passage is taken from a section in James about the example of Elijah in the Old Testament, and the passage takes us right into the New Testament.

Consider a person with a right standing before God because of faith in Christ. This person experiences daily cleansing of his sins through confession. This person because of their standing with God accomplishes much through their prayer. Notice that the verse does not indicate there will always be an answer, but in the believer much is accomplished towards conforming this person to the image of Christ.

Consider Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

These verse are just after the verses in prayer 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to God.