“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain.”
The Prayer
This passage closes the loop back to where this book began, James 5:16, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, followed immediately by this concrete example: Elijah, an ordinary man, subject to like passions as we are, whose fervent prayer produced an actual, sustained drought, and then, later, actual rain.
Notice the phrase subject to like passions as we are. James does not present Elijah as spiritually exceptional in some way ordinary believers cannot access. He deliberately levels the comparison, an ordinary, flawed man, prone to the same weaknesses and struggles you carry, whose fervent prayer genuinely availed much, exactly as the opening verse claimed it would.
Notice also he prayed again, a second prayer, distinct from the first, requesting the opposite outcome once the drought had accomplished its purpose. This is not a single, isolated act of fervent prayer treated as a one-time spiritual peak. It is a pattern, repeated, fervent prayer offered for different needs across an extended season.
This closes the case James opened at the very start of this book. If Elijah, an ordinary man like you, could pray this fervently and see this much genuine result, the claim that opened this whole devotional was never theoretical. Pray, today, with the same fervency, trusting the same pattern that held true for him.
Watch and Pray
- Remember Elijah was ordinary, subject to like passions, not spiritually exceptional.
- Pray fervently today for something specific, trusting the same pattern James describes.
- If a prayer has already been answered once, consider praying again for what comes next.
Pray This
Lord, Elijah was ordinary, like me, and his fervent prayer availed much. Let me pray with that same fervency today, trusting the same pattern still holds for ordinary people. Amen.
Carry this today
Elijah was ordinary. His fervent prayer still availed much.