Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
James 5:17-18 (ESV)
James closes his letter with some instructions about prayer. And included in that, he uses Elijah as an example. Elijah was a man, just like we are. He was a prophet, called by God, and who performed mighty signs, but was still just a man.
The story that James is alluding to here is found in 1 Kings 17-18. Elijah confronted the evil king Ahab and told him there would be no rain until Elijah called for it. In the third year of the drought, God told Elijah that He would send rain. Elijah confronted Ahab, called down fire from heaven, prayed, and the rain came.
On the surface, this passage from James would seem to be at odds with the story in 1 Kings. 1 Kings 17:1 says nothing about Elijah praying for the rain to end. And 1 Kings 18:1 says that it was God who initiated the return of the rain. It appears that in 1 Kings, Elijah, rather than initiating the end and return of rain, was responding in obedience to God’s command.
Sovereignty and Prayer
However, 1 Kings 18:41-45 provides a clue to the relationship between God’s command and Elijah’s prayer. God had said He would send rain. And after Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal, he told Ahab that a heavy rain was coming. But then he went off and prayed. And he prayed until he saw the rain approaching.
Why did Elijah pray? Was he afraid God would not follow through? Or that He needed some encouragement? Or is Elijah’s prayer somehow a participation in what God was doing?
I believe the latter is true. Throughout this episode, Elijah was participating in what God was doing. That included confronting Ahab, setting up the confrontation with the prophets of Baal, and calling down fire from heaven. And, of course, in prayer.
God has given us an awesome privilege in prayer. He allows us to come alongside Him in His redemptive work in the world. Like a parent would encourage their young child to ‘help’ them, so they can learn how to perform a task. So God encourages us to ‘help’ Him, helping us to mature in our faith. And preparing us for what is to come.
