God Listens
James 5:17-18 (NIV)
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. 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.
One of the greatest challenges of our faith in our current culture is living with our eyes and minds fixed on Jesus. By that I mean, living with the compass of our lives set firmly on God and the truth he speaks: our worldview, our framework the God-story by which we understand and process everything,
As in so much of the biblical narrative, you and I are living in a time of exile. We're foreigners in a land and context where the story of God is being lost amongst a host of ‘new ways of living’, ways that dethrone God from the centre position of our world.
In Romans 12:2, Paul instructs us 'Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.'
This week's devotionals will follow Elijah, a man whose name means ‘Yahweh is my God’. The Scriptures describe his life as guided and powered by God, challenging the prevailing culture around him, as he lives, partnered with the Spirit, to call the Israelite people back to their God.
Today - the reminder is the truth that our prayers are powerful. As Christians, it can be natural for our prayers to centre around our needs and problems, focussing on the small and the practical. (And that's OK much of the time.) But Elijah here prays with God-vision. His prayer is not just an expression of his desires but a prophetic cry, calling the people of God into a greater devotion and the promises of God into reality.
I would love to set us the challenge of stepping into greater spiritual authority in our prayer and worship lives.
Reflect — How can your prayer and worship better declare and petition for God’s promises to be made real in our world? Pray a 'big' prayer today. You can't pray too big for God!