Elijah was a man just like us

The Apostle James is reputed to have prayed so frequently that he earned the nickname 'camel knees'. It is this same apostle who writes in the Book of James that if anyone is in trouble he should pray, that if anyone is sick, a prayer of faith can make him well again, and that if anyone has sinned he can receive forgiveness through the prayers of others.

The fruit of so many hours spent on his knees was the gem of wisdom gifted to him by God, through the Holy Spirit: whether we are caught in trouble, sickness or sin - in other words, any manner of difficulty - prayer is the channel through which to receive the Lord's solution. Two millennia later, God's gift to us is this same wisdom through the apostle's letter. What a comfort to those praying for their towns, cities and nations in the face of some extremely deep-rooted social challenges.

Admittedly, not many of us can confess to having prayed so unceasingly that our knees have also become hardened like those of camels. Doubt and lack of perseverance tend to keep the knees of some of us a little too soft! Indeed, we are imperfect in prayer, and the weightier the issues, the more pressing the challenges, the more we can feel tempted to believe that our prayers are ineffective, or become disheartened when we have not received an immediate answer.

As human beings we come in all different shapes and sizes, and so do our talents and abilities, a diversity of creation which the Global Day of Prayer beautifully reflects. Thankfully for us, God's using of our prayers is not conditional on our ability to pray amazing prayers. The apostle reminds us that Elijah was a man just like us. What made his prayers so great were his qualities of faith: humility, earnestness, perseverance, a pleading heart.

What an opportunity the Global Day of Prayer is, to be used by the Lord as He listens to and moves through our prayers - the prayers of the inadequate ones - to change and heal His land. He knows the spiritual drought has been severe for many years but He has a plan in hand to rain down living water on the thirsty souls, and He looks forward to answering our prayers towards that purpose.

After Elijah offered his seventh prayer, God sent the rains. Not a downpour all at once, but first a cloud that appeared in the distance, little bigger than the size of a man's hand. The first sign of an answer from the Lord has the appearance of a small cloud but it becomes the rains that bring life back to the whole land.

What a great encouragement to keep praying in faith this Pentecost, with our spiritual eyes and ears open to see all that the Lord is doing to revive and heal this land. For we are blessed with the assurance that, long after we have prayed, God is ceaselessly at work to help our inadequate prayers and petitions bear the spiritual fruit of love that our land so thirsts for and that God so longs to impart.