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We welcome Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings. He is bringing us a five-part series on praying for others.

Prayer is the way that we connect with God and keep in contact with him. It is the most important relationship in our lives. We can experience intimacy with God, confess our sins to restore the relationship, express joy through praise, and partner with Jesus by interceding for others. Great example of how to pray for others is found in John 17, where Jesus shows us what an intercessory partnership looks like, starting with prayer for Himself, then intercession prayer for those close to him, the disciples, and then others.

Let\u2019s begin by looking at the importance of faith when we pray. Today\u2019s Scripture is: \u201cElijah was a man like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years. Again, he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops\u201d (James 5:17-18).

In 1 Kings 18:43\u201344, Elijah and his servant are having a conversation. \u201cGo and look toward the sea,\u201d he told his servant. And he went up and looked. \u201cThere is nothing there,\u201d he said. Seven times Elijah said, \u201cGo back.\u201d The seventh time the servant reported, \u201cA cloud as small as a man\u2019s hand is rising from the sea.\u201d

Whenever I have read this conversation, I am initially in awe. One man earnestly makes numerous prayer requests and they are granted. First, he prays for no rain. Then he prayed and it rained. Not a hundred men praying, not five men praying, one man praying! But there was an indispensable condition to the prayer requests being granted. It was Elijah\u2019s faith. Prayers without faith are incomplete. Faith is the second requirement of prayer after confession and it comes with an amazing promise in Mark 11:22-24 if you have faith. Elijah had faith. Simple prayers of faith, all answered. But what if Elijah had quit after, say, three attempts or six? He didn\u2019t. Rather, he prayed \u2018earnestly\u2019. Earnest prayer gained the results.

James points out in the text that \u201cElijah was a man just like us\u201d \u2013 meaning he was an ordinary guy, not someone extraordinary. The importance of this: the power of God is released through prayer by people, ordinary people like us. It was God who held back the rain, caused it to rain again, not Elijah. The message for us? Simply, an ordinary person who has faith, who prays earnestly and persistently, will release tremendous power \u2013 God\u2019s power. God is seeking people of faith to intercede on behalf of others. When you think about Elijah and what he prayed for, do you think \u201cI could never pray like that.\u201d Are you in awe of him? Then remember what happened when one ordinary person prayed earnestly and start praying earnestly.