Most Christians carry a wrong idea that the saints of the Bible were extraordinary people. This is a very wrong thought. The saints may have been outstanding in their achievements for God.
But in their nature, they were quite ordinary people like you and me. It might seem hard to believe.
But that it is exactly why the Bible paints the character of all these saints in all its truth: Without finishing touches to hide the flaws and shortcomings, so that we can see that they were people like us. Yet we fail to see that.
In Focus
Look at Elijah. He was an ordinary man with faith in an extraordinary God. James, in describing this man, starts of by saying that “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” As to prove that he tells about Elijah.
He tells us that he was a man just like us. He was bold one moment doing exploits for God. The next moment we find him running away in fear and ending up in discouragement.Yet when it came to praying he achieved some great things.
His prayer shut up the heavens and it did not rain for three and a half years. After that period he prayed for rain and it rained and the earth produced its crops.
Signature
The most important lesson for us to learn from this signature is that we too can become mighty men or women for God. It is not necessary to be somebody extraordinary to achieve this. You can be the most ordinary person.
Yet you can do great things for God when your ordinary nature is united with the extraordinary power of God in prayer. Let this signature on the life of Elijah encourage you to pray earnestly . Let no thoughts of who you are trouble you because he was a man just like us. But continue to pray earnestly. That was the secret of the man who was just like us!
Signature found at: James 5:16b, 17,18 NIV