Brother Michael's Devotional

"And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,"
I Kings 18:1, 42b.

"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 earth brought forth her fruit." James 5:17-18

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Why do we pray? That is an honest question. The first response most would give is that prayer changes things. The popular view is held that if we do not pray for our loved ones they will be lost or that if we do not pray for peace or safety there will be lawlessness and anarchy. But is this true? When we pray are we attempting to get a reluctant God to do that which is good?

First of all God has an eternal purpose (Eph 3:11) and "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:" Eph 1:11a. Secondly, God does not change and vacillate such as man does, "For I am the LORD, I change not;" Malachi 3:6a. So if God has an eternal plan and purpose and he does not change what is the point of prayer?

Remember when God sent a drought to Samaria during the reign of King Ahab through His prophet Elijah. When God was ready to send rain again He sent his servant Elijah to tell King Ahab that it was about to rain. After Elijah told King Ahab God's message about impending rain do you know what Elijah did? He prayed for rain. Now you may say, wait a minute, Elijah already had God's Word that it was going to rain, didn't he trust God? Yes Elijah did, but Elijah also had a proper understanding of prayer. We do not pray to get a reluctant God to do that which is good, we pray so that we may be used of God to effect his eternal purpose in his kingdom. Friend, that is what it means to pray in the name of Christ. That is not some religious tag that we add on, it means that when we come to God the Father, we come through Christ asking His eternal will and purpose to be done.

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:" I John 5:14