Assemble! Intercessionary Avengers,
We started our final descent by equipping you with the priority of prayer, the mother of all life hacks. Then yesterday, we assembled the people into prayer squads. Before training you to be productive in this spiritual warfare, let’s review the basics:
a prayer offered in faith… The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:15-16 (NLT)
James tells us that prayers in faith will be effective. But what does it mean to pray in faith? It’s not about having enough faith to move mountains or to command God to do our bidding. No, praying in faith is about sincerely trusting God even when we don’t see the answers yet, not being “double-minded” like what we learned from James 1:6-8.
Then we also need to be righteous. Now, don’t get your holy socks in a twist. This doesn’t mean we need to be perfect. It just means we need to be in the right relationship with God through Jesus. It means we’re striving to live in obedience to God, not relying on our own righteousness, but on the righteousness of Christ.
Finally, we need earnest prayer. And to help you with that, we’re going to train with the Nick Fury of prayer:
17Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
James 5:17–18 (NLT)
Elijah, a man just like us, is our prayer trainer. He’s the one who’s going to show us how to be productive in prayer. And he’s got five key strategies for us: pray biblically, specifically, humbly, persistently, and expectantly.
First up, praying biblically. Elijah knew his scripture. He knew that Deuteronomy 11:16-17 warned of droughts when the nation strayed from God. So, he prayed in line with God’s word, asking for a drought to bring the nation back to God. It’s like he had the Bible in one hand and a heavenly hotline in the other!
Next, we have praying specifically. Elijah didn’t just pray for a drought; he prayed for a drought that would last three and a half years. He knew exactly what he was asking for, and he wasn’t afraid to ask for it. It’s like ordering a pizza and specifying “extra cheese, hold the anchovies, and deliver it in 42 months.”
Then, we have praying humbly. Elijah wasn’t standing on a mountaintop, shouting at the heavens. He was on his knees, face between his legs (1 Kings 18:42-45), in a posture of humility and submission. He knew that the power of prayer didn’t come from him, but from God. It’s like trying to lift a heavy weight and realizing you need a spotter. In this case, the spotter is the Almighty!
Fourth, we have praying persistently. Elijah didn’t just pray once and then give up. He prayed seven times, persisting until he saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea. It’s like playing a tough level on a video game and refusing to quit until you beat it.
Finally, we have praying expectantly. Elijah didn’t just pray and hope for the best. He prayed, and then he acted. He told people to scram for the rain when he saw that small cloud. It’s like baking a cake and then constantly peeking into the oven, checking for its rise to pulling it out.
So, fellow Intercessionary Avengers, let’s take these lessons from Elijah, our Nick Fury of prayer, and apply them to our own prayer lives. Let’s pray biblically, specifically, humbly, persistently, and expectantly. Let’s be productive in prayer, not just saying words, but truly communicating with God and expecting Him to answer.
How can you apply Elijah’s prayer strategies to your own prayer life? How can you pray more biblically, specifically, humbly, persistently, and expectantly?
I believe we can apply all of Elijah’s strategies for prayer to our lives. For me specifically, one strategy that I need to focus on would be persistence. I know that I need to be more persistent in my prayer life. In addition, I would also like to be more specific in my prayers as well.
As I was thinking about today’s question throughout the day, and how to pray with more of all 5 of the qualities mentioned- I kept coming back to one primary answer: by being in the Word! Certainly, there are other means of developing these characteristics in our prayer lives, at least in a more general sense, but specifically and absolutely each and every one of them requires me to spend more time in His Word. If I want to pray biblically, I need to know what the Bible says. If I want to pray specifically, I need to know the Lord’s will. If I want to pray humbly, I need a better understanding of the sovereignty of God. If I want to pray persistently, I need to realize that He hears me. And if I want to pray expectantly, I need to have an understanding of God’s unfailing faithfulness to fulfill His promises. All of these are only ultimately revealed to me through His Word. Of course, God displays His character to us in other ways as well, but there is really no other way to know God well enough to deepen my prayer life🙂
I love the examples of how we can pray like Elijah in today’s devotion. Most of the time, I feel like I’m very specific and persistent about what I want from God, but fail to make sure I’m praying biblically, specifically, humbly, and expectantly. By having a set outline or routine, I can do all these things and more. Making sure I have a checklist of how I can pray will help me align my heart with what God desires.
Elijah’s prayer strategies reminds me that my prayers does not have to contain any fancy words – it can be simple and authentic and that his strategies brings me closer to God. I find praying specifically hard sometimes because it’s a little frightening sometimes – it makes me feel vulnerable or discouraged. However, that’s something I’m still working on.
I can apply all of Elijah’s prayer strategies in my prayer life. Biblically, I could be more aware of scripture and God’s promises, applying them in prayer. Specifically, instead of saying vague statements, I should take it further and pinpoint exactly what I should be praying for. I also always need to remember to humbly come before the Lord and declare my dependence on Him. In terms of persistence, I could look to pray more in the day as well as being consistent with them. Finally, I should also be proactive instead of waiting on my hands for something to happen.