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I am curious why James selects Elijah’s prayers starting and ending a drought in Israel as an example of how powerfully a righteous man’s prayer can give healing (James 5:17-18). How does this support the author's point?
If James were just talking about healing, wouldn't it be more appropriate to use Elijah’s prayer to resurrect the widow’s son from 1Ki 17:21-22? Or is James suggesting that the elders pray that the person become sick and then after confession pray for healing?
James 5:17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
James here is emphasizing the repeatability of the power of prayer. This is not a one-time lucky thing. Elijah prays that rain stops and it stops and he prays that it starts and it starts. He could turn it on and off according to the word of God. That's the power of prayer and power of God using an ordinary human being. In fact, just writing this answer increases my faith in prayer. It works on me. James' purpose of writing these two verses produces its intended effect on me.
Using the story of Elijah praying for rain to stop and then to rain again is probably more effective because it was in these situations that Elijah declared "I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets." (1 Kings 18:22)
In other stories, one could argue that the faith or righteousness of the person being healed or other people in the situation could have an impact on the result. But with land and rain, it is a collective issue. In Leviticus 18:25,28; 20:22 it tells the Israelites that if they defile the land like the nations before them, the land will 'vomit them out'. Drought is a very common reason for people who rely on agriculture to be unable to live in the land.
James, using the Elijah story, is stating that one righteous man, even in the face of an unrighteous nation, can bring change and healing. Just as Elijah's prayer for rain brought healing to a land that was parched with drought, our prayer, even if we are the only one left, can bring healing.
Excellent question. I'm trying to imagine Elijah going around saying, "This drought we're having - I prayed for that!" I really don't think the drought was Elijah's bright idea, but that he was seeking what God wanted to do and prayed into that.
In his prayer on Mt Carmel at the end of the drought, his prayer in 1 Kings 18:36 begins:
LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
"All these things" suggests that the drought's beginning and end, the 'fire-from-heaven' competition, the slaughtering of the prophets of Baal - all these were the Lord's plan to turn his people back to him, and Elijah was just doing his part as God's servant.
Coming back to James, I think he's saying that rather than just praying for what suits ourselves, first ask God what he wants in the situation.
Changing the weather - the natural course of nature - seems on its face something absolutely impossible. Yet the fact that in God's inspired word it is related that a faithful prophet prayed for a change in even long term weather and it occurred gives hope for those who fully trust in God's ability to accomplish what is prayed for that in prayer they can accomplish things just as great.
1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence which we have in him: that whatsoever we shall ask according to his will, he will hear us.
For:
James 5:16 ...the peristent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Ok, so I haven't forgotten this question. It's been in the back of my head for the past 3 years. I think I'm starting to get a clue of the answer. There certainly is a lot going on in this passage that I don't understand, but I think that the reason James chooses this prayer of Elijah is that he wants us to know he's talking about more than physical healing.
Physical healing is a wonderful gift, but it is not an end in itself. Note that the story of Elijah raising the widow's son ends with her confession that she believes in the messenger (1Ki 16:24). Note that earlier in v18, she is aware of her sins. However, in the end, she does not speak about repenting from those sins (neither does she refuse to repent -- she is just silent on that issue). It seems that, in this story, the bodily healing of the widow's son is to confirm that God's word is indeed in the mouth of his prophet -- nothing more and nothing less.
Contrast that with the 1Ki 18:37, "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back." Sure enough, once the fire fell, "[all the people] fell on their faces and said 'The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.'" And so we see spiritual healing for the nation of Israel in accordance with God's promise to Solomon in 2Ch 7:13-14.
Of course, we have to test this reading with the word for "healing" in verse 16. Here we have a problem: 19 of the 26 times this Greek word is used are in the synoptic Gospels, and always here it is clearly in the context of physical healing. The word is also used in Acts 9:34 and Acts 28:8. I think a "spiritual healing" argument might be applied in the context of Acts 10:38, Acts 28:27, and Hebrews 12:13, but I think that the context still supports interpreting "healing" in its physical sense (possibly as a contextual metaphor, but still maintaining that the word is to be understood first as being physical). The final use of this word is 1Pe 2:24, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." Here, at last, we see another instance where God is speaking primarily of something other than physical healing. In the context of this epistle, Peter speaks of healing from sin. But the apostle is also quoting Isa 53:4, where the healing is from the punishment (griefs, sorrows, piercing, crushing, chastisement) and malady (transgressions, iniquities) of sin that Christ bore. So, I believe that while this word for "healing" is most commonly used in the New Testament in a physical sense, there is sufficient evidence that it can be used with a broader intended meaning.
Finally, my response here accords well with the comment of @Nigel-J. I had responded to his comment with a number of questions, which I believe I should address here:
Ok, so that's a long answer, but it's taken a few years to put it together. I welcome any and all comments, questions, criticisms. Please hold me accountable, and let me know if I'm missing something here.
After reading all the responses can someone please tell me where exactly did Elijah prayed for drought? There is no mention of him praying for drought or for rain. Long before he is on mount caramel, God already declared the end of drought.
I do not believe drought or rain had anything to with Elijah's prayer. God had determined both. Elijah was merely declaring it.
Ajay
