PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES - THE BOOK OF JAMES, #13

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 ("But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name). However, the Lord sees the bigger picture - the end from the beginning. He is Sovereign and will do what He will do. He will answer according to His plans and purposes. Also, He answers to no one else, so if He withholds the rain, or sends it over to the Philippines, He can do that, as well!

Our part is to stay faithful and persevere and persist in prayer - whether is for rain in a drought or for the end of a three day snow fall. HOW we pray is the key. He is merciful, kind and long suffering. Therefore we pray for grace through extreme weather conditions and His Kind Countenance will always shine through. We pray for His protection, provision and guidance and then let Heaven have its way. This is all we are required and expected to do. 

There are some very strange natural phenomena around lately: out of season extreme storms, earthquakes, tidal waves and more. These are troubling times, but you know what, God is still in control. Let not your heart be troubled, even in these trying times. Pray it all up to Heaven because the God Who loved the world so much He sent Jesus to pay for our sins, still cares for His elect. The great hymn writer and troubled soul William Cowper put it best after he was saved and redeemed from darkness by the Lord in his hymn "God Moves in A Mysterious Way":

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust Him for His grace;

Behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face"...(William Cowper, 1774)

(Image Credit Here)

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TODAY - DAY 5 of 5 DAYS OF PRAYER

FIVE DAYS OF PRAYER (SUNDAY MAY 3- THURSDAY MAY 7, 2015)

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;

He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. (Psalm 33:8-12)

Oh Most Heavenly, Kind, Gracious and ever-loving Father, we have lost our fear of You, no longer stand in awe of You and disrespect You at every turn. In fact, Great God of Heaven, we are more in awe of ourselves and who we think we are, how good and powerful we are when we are nothing but dust dressed in filthy rags, on our way to perdition as a people, who have completely lost our minds and our ways.

Father, our Families have failed You. We have become just like the world inside as well as outside. We have allowed garbage into our homes via the television sets instead of turning it off. We get caught up in the latest crazes and waste money on them. We have let family hour go where we cease to communicate with our children about what is going on in our schools and their lives. We no longer train up a child in the way he or she should go, so they will not depart from it. We don't do those things because we are lax in our personal prayer and devotional lives to You, Almighty God. We now longer make the Bible the cornerstone on which we build the foundation of our homes, still we call ourselves Christians and drive up to Starbucks on the way to church so we can put on a nice show on Sunday mornings. There is no shame anymore as the inside of some of these youth groups are no different than what goes on inside a secular malt shop or drive-in movie. Lord have mercy on our families! Christ and His Righteousness no longer seems to be the Master of our Homes. We repent of that and it stops today. We return to our first love and the original mission of the family, which is to be united in Christ and Godly, missional and focused on You, in Jesus' Strong Name, amen.

Sovereign God, King of the Universe, why do these nations rage and the corrupt evil people of this world imagine a vain thing. Like Lucifer in Isaiah 14, they have assumed unto themselves at the United Nations, in presidential palaces and houses of power, in media halls and colleges, the vain deception that it is NOT YOU Who are in control but man. This is the same deception which led to the evil one's fall with one third of the angels that You are not sovereign over anything at all, in fact they shove the lie of evolution and climate change into the minds of children, turning them from you, hour after hour, day after day until our young people can find no purpose in their lives and seek it in the man-made systems and pleasures which leadeth to destruction. We know You said it would be better if a millstone were put around the necks of those miscreants and they be cast to the bottom of the sea for misleading Your little ones, but they have no respect for You as they blaspheme Your Name and in fact, worship other pagan non-existent gods, protect those idols and then persecute and kill Your saints in the Middle East and everywhere else. They brainwash even small children now, with sensual matters of the flesh which Thou hast ordained for married adults. Lord, have mercy on our children and the generations to come, if You tarry.

Lord, this nation was built on religious freedom by authentic women and men of God who risked their lives in their former homes, to sail the deep blue and create the greatest country which ever was. America was synonymous with Christianity for a century, and was blessed with untold riches in resources, people and ingenuity. But now, we have lost our way, as our religious leaders are hiding in their posh caves, behind their BMW's and $65 million dollar aircraft and ministries, pretending to speak for You, while the nation is heading straight into hell. Father, oh Most Powerful and Great God, we repent and submit to the Judgment of drought, famine and disease which are coming our way, and is already here in California and elsewhere, and seek to return to You. On behalf of the remnant of our fellow believers, we ask forgiveness for turning away from You and following after this seedy culture when Christ is all we need, and all sufficient for us. Even if they say we cannot say His Name in public, He lives in our hearts and the hearts of all who are saved by Him, so let us live in such a manner than they will know we are Christians by our love, in Jesus' Name, amen.

Lord Your bride the church has failed You. We let others do what you called us to do, and they made slaves to men for their meager bread and row paneled houses instead of making servants for the King. We have developed programs to feed our egos and grow men's kingdoms instead of telling of the Kingdom of God. We have preached fell good messages so people giving money won't go to the other "tickle-your-ears" church with the fancy coffee and pastry down the street and then put it on TV for other people to be misled. We have ceased making disciples and holding prayer services to instead have fancy conferences and seminars to tell ourselves how smart we are. We have ceased from proclaiming the urgency and evil of the times and instead are telling people, who sit in comfortable pew chairs, that Jesus is coming any minute, so we can just keep sitting there. There is no love for the lost, no passion or hunger to help the hurting and the hopeless and most times not even a prayer for the persecuted. Lord, we are completely ashamed and embarassed to even look to Heaven  and cry out to you, because we are part of churches who do all of the above and more. We repent, right now, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, for all our short-comings. May this insane and purposeful failure to obey You, cease this day and may we according to Your Will, Word and Statutes, now and always remain, abide and walk with You, surrendering our lives to You, in the Name of the Messiah, Jesus the King, amen.