Daily Verse: James 5:17-18

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. 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.
 

I will admit, there are times when I get so wrapped up in this world and the tangible things that I can and cannot do that I spend less time in prayer and actually start to question whether or not prayer can really make a difference in my life. It’s easy to get this way…especially when we are taxed and worn out, the struggle has been long, and we STILL don’t have an answer. I believe the devil relishes these moments in our lives and sees the fields as fertile for the planting of his nonsense. The devil starts planting ideas like “prayer doesn’t work”, “God’s to busy and is not listening”, “God simply doesn’t care”, or “My problem is too big for God”. But we see examples like the one above…from the prayer of an ordinary man named Elijah…who through faithful prayer was able to actually have God turn the rain off and on. That seems laughably impossible, yet it happened…and it happened because Elijah prayed faithfully to God and believed that God would provide. What’s equally inspiring is when we broach the subject with the people in our lives today. There are stories of how bodies were healed, jobs were restored, houses were built, stomachs were filled…all through the hand of God…all facilitated through prayer…all in the lives of people who dropped to their knees and made their appeal to the Lord. And he answered…he provided, he fortified, he sustained, he renewed. May we pray with the same discipline, faithfulness, and belief as Elijah did and know that God is going to respond with exactly what we truly need. To God be the glory!