"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you
may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah
was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did
not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the
heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." - James 5:16-18
In his book Miracles in Black, Dr. John C. Wengatz tells of an African convert
who was left at a new mission station to carry on the Lord's work with a
cannibal tribe. It was the dry season when Joao Mbaxi took over, but soon the
tropical rains would be coming. Month after month went by, however, without a
cloud appearing in the sky. Then came the time for the normal dry period. By now
everyone was suffering, and many were on the brink of starvation.
In all the years they had worshiped their ancient gods, the rains had never
failed them, and so Joao was told that he must leave the country and take "the
white man's God" with him. The courageous Christian refused to go. Then, flushed
with anger, the chief sullenly warned, "If your God is as good as you say and so
powerful that He rules the sky, why doesn't He send us the needed showers? If it
doesn't rain by sunrise tomorrow, we will drink your blood and eat your flesh!"
Recalling the Biblical account of Elijah, Joao went to his hut and prayed for
divine help with the same urgency as that of the ancient prophet. Meanwhile the
members of the tribe waited for the dawn when the Christian leader would become
the victim of their horrible feast. Just before daylight, thunder was heard in
the distance, lightning flashed across the sky, and abundant rain refreshed the
entire region! As a result, Joao was able to continue his work for Christ.
The prayer of someone who is totally dependent on the Lord is powerful! Today in
prayer, confess any sin in your life and pray for something that is completely
out of your hands for Christ's glory.
"It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are: nor the rhetoric of
our prayers, how eloquent they are; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long
they be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the logic
of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our prayers,
how orderly they may be -- which God cares for. Fervency of spirit is that which
availeth much." - William Lee
God's Word: "Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As
the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor
rain in the next few years except at my word."" - 1 Kings 17:1
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2004, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN JAMES
pkennedy@devotional.com
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