METHODOLOGY CONCERNING: PRAYING FOR RAIN

 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. (James 5:17)
Just two years ago, the state of California was in a long term drought with water levels dropping everywhere.  Lakes were drying up and water use was restricted and worse. What some religious leaders decided to do was join with some of unbiblical faith systems  and religions, in order to do rain dances, incantations and other such tomfoolery in order to force the rain to come out of the heavens! This act and series of similar actions elsewhere, shows complete Biblical ignorance on the part of anyone who thinks “prayers”, rain dances and incantations can cause God to send the rain!

Anyway, here is the account where Elijah prayed, both for and against rain, from 1 Kings Chapter 18: 41-45a “And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”

It was God who sent the rain because an authentic man of God prayed. But look at the verse from James 5 (above). Elijah prayed for NO RAIN – and it did not rain for 42 months (half of the upcoming Tribulation). He prayed with extra passion according to the original language, as almost bring judgment upon the land – which happened. Then at the end of the 42 months, he prayed again and it poured. So can a Christian today do the same? We could. God has given us kingdom authority in John 1:12….READ MORE HERE

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METHODOLOGY CONCERNING: EFFECTIVE PRAYER

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16a).
When a righteous man (a saved person- male or female) prays, God hears and remembers. Even if the answer is to be sent from Heaven 20 years later, God has it. Conversely, scripture tells us that God will not listen to the prayer of an unrighteous man – unless that person is crying out to Him for forgiveness of sin, the first step to salvation. From the Word of God:
– But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2)
– Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him (John 9:31). 

As just an example, these two verses above prove that there is no doubt God will never listen to the “prayers” of the unsaved. However, God will not pay attention to a Christian who is out of fellowship either. That is, one who is currently going through a season of rebellion and is not praying or reading the Bible….or even attending church, on purpose. The Apostle Paul said “should I keep sinning that grace may abound? May it never be!” Think if the fuel injector in your car. If it is clogged by the impurities (sin) of the gasoline going in through it from the pump (the human), there is no way the internal combustion engine can function as was meant by the automaker.

Therefore, we must be free AND forgiven from current sin. We should never be like the person whom James talks about here in James 1:6-7 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord”. 

So what about about the “effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man“?…..READ MORE HERE: