…Like Elijah…???

S:

James 5:16-20

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17  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 earth for three years and six months. 18  Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

(NASB)

O:

We take our passage for today from what is considered by many to be one of the most practical books in the Bible. This particular passage comes from a string of verses which are encouraging believers in various different types of Christian behaviour, all of which will exemplify the Christian life. The verses we have highlighted in particular talk about prayer and the power of prayer. The verses that caught my attention were vs 16 & 17, and in particular the phrase “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”. Now granted, maybe Elijah had a special anointing that we don’t have as modern day individuals, however, if he was particularly special, I don’t think the Bible would have tried to make the case for us that he was just like us, and then what is focused on is the prayer he prayed.

A:

When we bring this under the microscope of marriage, what do we find? We all have married relatives, friends and acquaintances who have talked to varying degrees about the difficulties they are having in their marriages…and we all pray for and over them, hoping to see changes that will result in better compatibility and contentedness. The question is, “Do we really believe our prayers?” I mean “…really…”, no “REALLY”…do we really, really believe what we are asking God for is going to happen? Now we have to understand, if we are asking for our spouse to be changed from one character into another, there are several levels of wrong with that request, not the least of which is the fact that that was how God created your spouse, and He is not likely going to be able to get behind your request for a redesign of your spouses basic character. However, if you are asking for a change in your spouse from one of anger when they are questioned or confronted, to one of reasonableness and thinking, then that is something that God is probably going to be able to support, regardless of how difficult you might think this transition is going to be.

This can be a difficult thing for many spouses to separate, the separation of character from actions. Many of us will try to convert actions (or lack thereof) into a character flaw that needs to be changed. What we are trying to say here is that too often we are trying to pray for things that God can not support, and this does not touch the fact that more often than not, it is us who needs to change our expectations, and that no amount of praying is going to change the character of our spouse, who was originally designed by God.

P:

Lord, help us to understand what we can pray for and then to believe it. Amen.