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"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours..."

AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE

To James, Elijah was an outstanding example of a righteous man of prayer. He was astute to select him as an example. Prayer is not to be taken for granted.

“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 5:17-18

1. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”

a) The life and ministry of Elijah are recorded in 1 Kings 17 to 2 Kings 2.

b) “With a nature like ours”

i) Elijah was a prophet of God.

ii) But he was as human as we are.

iii) There was a time when he was hit with a bout of depressive feelings.

iv) There was a time when he thought death was better than life (1 Kings 19).

2. Elijah’s important ministry in the reign of wicked King Ahab

a) Elijah was a strong prophet whom God raised up to challenge the wicked king Ahab.

b) Ahab and his wife Jezebel ruled Israel with great injustice.

i) Under them idolatry proliferated.

ii) Jezebel’s influence on Ahab was obvious and deadly.

iii) An innocent man called Naboth was killed so that Ahab could possess his vineyard (1 Kings 21).

3. Elijah as a man of prayer

a) Elijah began his ministry with a dramatic word to King Ahab.

“As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand,
there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
1 Kings 17:1

b) The famine hit Israel very hard (1 Kings 18:1-2).

c) Elijah then went on to challenge and to defeat 450 false prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah who were supported by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (1 Kings 18:19).

4. “He prayed earnestly that it would not rain… and he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain”

a) Elijah did not have the power to withhold rain.

b) The power lies with God; but the prayer of a righteous man could tap on that power!