TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! The Renewal “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. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” James 5:17-18 Wisdom comes from making the right application of Biblical truth, and having the humility to learn the right lesson after making the wrong decision. The fool keeps hearing the truth and learning the wrong lesson. It is in the nature of man to be both wise and foolish. Fools rush through life politely ignoring God. They are seldom right, but they are never in doubt. Don’t confuse them with the facts or the truth. Their minds are already made up. When I asked Jesus into my heart, my brains didn’t fall out, nor did I take on the mantle of infallibility. Making mistakes is what I do best. Wisdom is making the best out of a wrong decision, by learning the right lesson from it. When I pray for wisdom, God answers my prayer. When I go it alone, I am in the company of a fool. Elijah was my brother from another mother. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” On any given day, Elijah could pray like a wise man, or stray from God, and play the fool. When he focused his eyes on and aligned his will with the will of God, he was a force of nature, and a fearless man of God. When Elijah focused on the threats of his enemies, his faith in God would evaporate under the heat of the fear of man or woman. The roller coaster ride of emotion is one of the things we share with the nature of Elijah. At the pinnacle of answered prayer, Elijah was vulnerable to attack. Gaining a great victory did not make him immune from sliding down the mountain into the valley of despair. It set him up for it. Be warned. It can happen to you. “Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life…” I Kings 19:1-3 One of the positive expressions of the nature of Elijah was his capacity to be persistent in prayer. It didn’t matter if he was praying for the judgment of drought, or the sweet relief of rain. He returned and renewed his call to God as the one source for both. Learn this lesson. Elijah got over himself, and his fear, by getting with God, repeatedly. “Then he prayed again…” denotes a renewal or repetition of the action. The action is prayer. Effective prayer is believing prayer. “Prayed” reveals how Elijah pointed his faith to the right person. Only God can deliver the answer to believing prayer. “Again” suggests the repetition or the renewal of the action until there is an answer from God, and no one else. Note to Self: The point is this. If Elijah can do this, you can do this. Place your faith in God. Put your prayers before Him. Trust Him for the answer. REPEAT. Wear the hatred of your enemies as a badge of honor, not a sign of failure. When God answers your prayers, they will not be happy about it. Remember. They can’t kill a dead man. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, or prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick Dr. Gary and Dana L. Miller garydonmiller Twitter@garydonmiller gmillerlight@gmail For more information about TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! call 817-975-5054.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 10:38:26 +0000