The passage to which James refers (1 Kings 17-18) occurred during the reign of Israel’s godless king Ahab when, from a national perspective, the worship of Jehovah had been effectively replaced with idolatry. Moses had faithfully warned Israel of the consequences of not obeying the commandments of Jehovah and turning to other gods (Deut. 28:1414And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:14)). But Israel had done just that, and for many years. Now Elijah, acting in his role as a prophet and according to the scripture, “The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust” (Deut. 28:2424The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. (Deuteronomy 28:24)), declares that there would be no rain for three and a half years, but by his word. Scripture does not say whether Elijah prayed earnestly before or after he made his bold pronouncement to Ahab (Prov. 28:11The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1)). He probably prayed both before and after, but the point I want to emphasize from this portion, as it relates to the present global distress, is the relevance of the actions of a solitary man.
God’s Long-Suffering
It is comforting to recognize the value the Lord places on His children and the lengths to which He will go to reach them. The Lord caused a worldwide famine in order to force Joseph’s brethren to go down to Egypt, which ultimately led to their repentance and restoration. He sent a tremendous storm affecting an entire ship, in order to recover one man, His servant Jonah, who had fled from His presence. It is not beyond the ways of our God to wreak havoc on the world’s economies if that is the means of reaching and restoring one of His own.
One Man’s Intercession
But in our passage, it was the action of faith of just one man that turned the fortunes of all Israel for evil, and then for good. Scripture frequently points to the humanity of God’s servants. They were not super-human. Elijah was a man “subject to like passions as we.” That is, he experienced the same feelings that we experience. He knew fear, isolation, frustration, indignation and more. Scripture is plain that Elijah did not always act correctly, and neither do we, yet he was a man who changed the course of history by individual prayer.
It has often been pointed out that for rain to be withheld, Elijah prayed earnestly, or “prayed with prayer” (JND trans.). This was no casual mentioning of the low state of Israel or a complaint of corruption in high places, but a sustained and specific supplication for God to withhold His blessing in order to bring the people to repentance, the key to ultimate blessing. The Lord Jesus reminded His disciples that their Father sent rain “on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:4545That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45)). It is not His desire to withhold His mercies, even towards the wicked. Yet God listened to the voice of one man who was grieved at the dishonor to Jehovah and who prayed earnestly.
He Prayed Again
But after Elijah’s showdown with Baal’s prophets at Mount Carmel, when the people eventually acknowledged that indeed Jehovah was God, or “their” God (effectively the meaning of Elijah’s name), he prayed “again.” However, Scripture does not record that he prayed “earnestly.” Such is the heart of God — ever ready to bless, just as soon as His end has been reached. Elijah, in the tenor of God’s thoughts, saw a “little cloud ... like a man’s hand” and told Ahab to get moving lest the downpour of rain should stop him. Faith sees what might be considered irrelevant in man’s sight; further, faith recognizes that when God begins a work, however imperceptible, it will result in great blessing.
So it is in our day. Unbelief will either drive us to fatalism and despair, or cause us to double-down in frenetic efforts to stem the tide. In contrast, faith turns to God in earnest, specific and sustained prayer. We are nothing, and this is just the place God wants us to come to, that “all men may know His work” (Job 37:77He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. (Job 37:7)).
W. J. Brockmeier