Availing Prayer

AVAILING PRAYER

Elijah is one of the truly colorful characters of the Old Testament. He appears full-blown on the pages of Scripture in 1 Kings 17, where we find him confronting the king of Israel with a prophecy of God's judgment--there will be no rain in Israel for years; no, not until Elijay says the word! As soon as he makes this pronouncement, he hides himself from the king for over 3 years.

Elijah's anger, and God's wrath, were aroused by Ahab's worship of Baal, the Phoenician god of Ahab's wife, Jezebel. And yet it was to the Phoenician city of Zarephath that he ultimately fled for safety. (What better place for the enemy of Baal to hide than amid those who initiated Baal worship?) And there he found a Godly woman, and was used of God to provide an unending supply of oil and meal for her and her son throughout the time of famine resulting from his prophecy and prayer. Later, he even had occasion to raise this son from death--one of only two Old Testament prophets to be used in such a mighty way.

Elijah was quite a man. We know he was from the mountainous country of Gilead, on the east side of the Jordan River. His usual dress was a leather girdle and a leather cloak, that he sometimes rolled into something like a staff. We learn from Scripture that Elijay once ate a single meal of cakes and water, then undertook a long journey during which he did not eat again for 40 days. On another occasion, he ran in front of the chariot of King Ahab for 16 miles. Elijah was no physical weakling. During his life, he boldly addressed the sins of 3 kings, called down fire from Heaven on 3 occasions, single-handedly executed 450 prophets of Baal, and caused a river to stop so that he could walk across on dry ground. Elijah was no spiritual wimp. Elijah was fed by ravens at the command of God; and God once gave a special demonstration of His power in wind, earthquake, and fire to Elijah; but then revealed to Elijah that the still, small voice of God is more powerful than even such awesome forces. Elijah was no stranger to God. And Elijah was taken to Heaven in a chariot of fire--he never experienced natural death. His position with God is further demonstrated by the fact that Jesus Christ, on the Mount of Transfiguration just prior to His crucifixion, chose to speak with two of the Old Testament saints-Moses and Elijah. Elijah was a man of God.

But though Elijah was physically strong, spiritually dynamic, and rightly related to God, he was still a man. After demonstrating the power of God on Mount Carmel by calling down fire from Heaven on a water-soaked altar and wood, followed by the slaying of the 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah feared the woman Jezebel, and ran when she threatened. While hiding from her, he wadered about wishing he were dead. When God spoke to him, he complained of being the only true Believer left in all Israel--at once expressing both his dispair and an element of spiritual pride.

The Scripture gives us such candid insights into the human frailties of even its most noble figures so that we will not conclude that these men and women are intrinsically different than ourselves. We must never elevate mere men to positions of perfection--in doing so we excuse ourselves for failing to emulate them and they lose their value to us. On the other hand, we must never so focus on men's sins or failures so as to overlook their zeal and usefulness to God. God always uses sinful men--there are no other kind. Thomas Manton said, concerning Elijah and all the other Old Testament saints portrayed for our benefit:

Constancy and continuance in sin would deny them saints, and an uninterrupted continuance in holiness would deny them men.

(Thomas Manton, An Exposition Upon the Epistle of James, Volume IV of The Works of Thomas Manton, Maranatha Publications, Worthington, PA, page 467.)

This man, Elijah, is specifically held out as an example to Believers of all ages in the matter of prayer. In James 5, we read:

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain: and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:16b-18 (NKJV)

This passage of Scripture tells us succinctly that prayer greatly influences the events of our world. But this power requires the right kind of prayer, the right kind of people, and confidence of the outcome. And for an understanding of each of these elements of prayers, we are given the example of Elijah.

There is information given in this passage of Scripture that is not given us in the Old Testament account of Elijah. For example, we do not learn from the Old Testament that the dry period following Elijah's prophecy to King Ahab lasted 3 1/2 years. But Jesus also attested to the 3 1/2 years of draught in Luke 4:25. An even more interesting fact given us in James but not recorded in the account of 1 Kings is that Elijah "prayed earnestly that it would not rain: and it did not rain . . ."

In the account of Elijah's prophecy to Ahab, it appears that God spoke to Elijah, then Elijah spoke to Ahab, then it stopped raining in Israel. But in James' account, it appears that the order was that Elijah prayed that it would not rain, and then it stopped raining. By combining these accounts, we will have a much more accurate understanding of what actually took place. And by looking first at how the draught came to an end, we will see the validity of our conclusions and learn a great deal about how prayer works.

According to the history of 1 Kings, Elijah hid himself for over 3 years after his prediction that it would not rain until he gave the word. Obviously, as the famine increased due to lack of rain, King Ahab would put untold pressures on Elijah to make it rain again. So Elijah simply hid. But at the close of the 3 1/2 years, Elijah presented himself to King Ahab. The king had been frantically looking everywhere for Elijah, and had others out joining in the search. Elijah had certainly gotten Ahab's attention. When he showed himself to the king, he immediately asked for a contest between himself and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asterah; these last were the special prophets of Jezebel. Ahab, willing to do whatever it took to get Elijah to bring rain to Israel, agreed.

After the contest between the prophets--which was actually a contest between the god of Baal and the God of Elijah--and after Elijah had executed the 450 false prophets of Baal (evidently, Jezebel's special priests remained in the protection of her castle), Elijah told Ahab to feast, for rain was coming. But then Elijah did a strange thing. It is recorded:

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, 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. 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. 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. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:42-46

Here, we see the order of events as 1) Elijah showed himself to Ahab, 2) Elijah told Ahab that rain would come, 3) Elijah went to pray, 4) Elijah prayed earnestly until the rain clouds formed, and 5) Elijah sent word to Ahab that rain was coming immediately. With this information, and by comparing the accounts of the draught's beginning in 1 Kings and James, we can conclude that the events there were 1) God revealed to Elijah that He was to judge Israel by sending a draught 2) Elijah appeared before Ahab to issue God's decree of a coming draught, 3) Elijah immediately separated himself to pray for the rain to stop, and 4) the draught began.

Two important elements of prayer are displayed here for our instruction. First, we see that when God clearly reveals His divine purpose--even when a sure word of prophecy has been given-God uses the prayer of His people to accomplish His ends. Would it have ceased raining if Elijah had not prayed? We don't know. But we do know that even such an emminent prophet as Elijah, after receiving such confirmation of God's purpose that he placed his life at risk, prayed until God's stated purpose was accomplished. Secondly, we see that prayer--at least the effective prayer of Elijah--was much more than mumbling a few words about God's will being done. Elijah knew precisely what he was praying for, and then he travailed in prayer until it was done. When God decreed the end of the draught, we find Elijah getting alone to pray, he bowed and put his face on the ground between his knees (not a position calculated for his comfort), and prayed continuously until the clouds formed visibly in the sky. The Greek words used by James to describe this activity can be literally translated, "He prayed a prayer." That is, he did not simply say a prayer; he worked at a prayer. The words translated "effective, fervent" in the phrase "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man . . ." is only one Greek word, "energoumene." It is easy to see the relation of this word to our modern word "energy;" and as used in Scripture, the word is associated with the results of tremendous, directed energy. Look how this same word is used in some other passages of Scripture:

And there are diversities of activites, but it is the same God who works all in all.
1 Corinthians 12:6

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predistined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1:11

When James says that the "effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much," he is talking about prayer that is characterized by work, prayer that uses a lot of energy, prayer that is viewed as incomplete until the thing sought is accomplished. As shown by the example of Elijah, even if we have a promise of God that a certain event will occur, we have a responsbility to travail--to work hard and expend our best energies--in prayer until the thing is accomplished.

The simple prayers of a child are characterized by simple petitions. And God honors the prayers of those who, due to age or immaturity, know only this kind of prayer and pray with confidence and faith. But as we grow in our understanding of God, we learn that prayer must also include praise--thanking God for His benefits toward us. Then we should progress to worship-reveling in the person and character of God Himself. But for the mature Believer, there is this addtional depth of prayer--to travail in prayer until the thing sought or promised is an accomplished reality. Witness the prayer of Christ on the eve of His death--laboring in prayer until the moisture of His body was expended and He had only blood to sweat.

But James tells us that we must not only focus on our prayers; we must focus on our present relation to Christ. For it is only the travailing prayers of the righteous that effect great things. To think that we can sway the hand of God while we are aware of unconfessed sin in our lives or excused character flaws is only a vain attempt to merit God's grace by our actions. And God will not be impressed by our efforts to merit His grace. A righteous man, as the term is used by James, is one who is rightly related to God by the application of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and who often avails himself of the continuous cleansing available through Christ. We know from Scripture that we can never be perfect and sinless in this life; but we know from Scripture that we have a responsibility to live holy lives and hearts whose only desire is to be pleasing to God. Such people can come boldly before the throne of Grace, and by continual laboring there until their requests are granted and accomplished, avail much in prayer.

Finally, James tells us what the end of such prayer by such people will accomplish; it will avail much! How much? James leaves this open, I think, for 2 reasons. First, it is James goal to urge us to the power of prayer to answer the question for ourselves. How much can we accomplish? Let's pray and find out. Secondly, the answer to the question can only be determined by the duration and travail of our prayers. If we pray little and short, God answers little and shortly. But if we continue to pray with toil and sweat, refusing to leave Heaven's throne room until more is done on earth, God will move Heaven and Earth to accomplish our petitions. Again, witness Elijah's prayer. The heavens refused to send rain, and the earth responded with a refusal to bring forth crops. Elijah prayed again, and the heavens sent rain and the earth responded with abundant crops.

God does not tease us with idle words that are flights of fancy or promises without reality. God, here through James, tells us that "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." We can take that word as a statement of reality; as a principle of God's kingdom. The challenge is not to God--to somehow see if He will keep His word. The challenge is to us--to see if we will practice His word.

Will we leave here today, having confessed all known sin and determined to direct our hearts and minds toward God? Will we go home and take God at His word, to begin travailing in prayer for those things God lays on our heart--and never cease until they are accomplished?

The Scripture tells us that, for all his exploits, Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours. The surprise to us should not be that God so greatly used Elijah; the shock should be that God has so little used us. God is able and willing. Are we ready and determined?