“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.”

James now illustrates the power of prayer from an incident in Elijah’s life (5:17-18).

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours,

God answered the prayer of a man just like us.  We do not need to be special spiritual people for God to answer prayer.  Elijah had all the frailties we do. 

PRINCIPLE: 

God hears and answers our prayers despite our human frailty. 

APPLICATION:

God hears and answers our prayers despite our human frailty.  Many of us think that we cannot be great prayer warriors like some about whom we hear, but this passage says that answered prayer is the privilege of every Christian. 

Abraham, Moses, Daniel, and Mary were people just like us.  We will have our moments, but so did Elijah and any other person who engages in the great task of prayer.

Ac 10:26, “But Peter lifted him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I myself am also a man.’”

Ac 14:15, “…and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them…’”