Amen, and amen. Well, this evening we're turning to 1st Kings 18. I'm sure you thought James chapter five, but we're going to turn to James five, but 1st Kings chapter 18, and as you turn there, we welcome you. Thank you for joining with us. We're glad of your support this evening. So 1st Kings chapter 18, we'll read from verse 41, and then we'll go to James chapter five. 1st James chapter 18, and the verse 41. You'll know the events of the chapter. This is the occasion when Elijah brought and gathered the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel, and the fire of God has fallen, and Elijah has taken the prophets of Baal, and he has slain them at the brook Kishon. It says in verse 41, and Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. And he set himself down upon the earth, sorry, he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, and 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. It came to pass at the seventh time that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jethreen, and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, He girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. And then over to James chapter 5, just a number of verses there. James 5 verses 16 through to 18. James 5, 16 through to 18. Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Sorry, we'll continue. Brethren, if any do err from the truth and one convert them, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. We'll end our reading at the end of the chapter number five. Exodus 32, verses 11 through to 14. Isaiah 38, verses one through to five and Acts 15. or 12 verses five through to 10. I wonder, can you guess what each of those three passages of scripture have in common with each another? The answer is that all three accounts, two in the Old Testament, one in the New Testament, bring our attention to the power that there is in God. prayer. Exodus 32 speaks of the time when Moses intercedes on behalf of the children of Israel. God had threatened to wipe them from off the face of the earth, but Moses intercedes on behalf of a nation and God spares a nation because of one man's prayer. Isn't that an amazing thought? To think that it only takes one man to pray and God can spare a nation. Such is the power of prayer. In Isaiah chapter 38 we read of Hezekiah's sickness. He was sick on to death. He had been taken to a sick bed. And here we have God's servant Hezekiah turning himself towards the wall, crying to God. And God heard his prayer and healed him and added to his years, 15 extra years onto the life of Hezekiah. And then in Acts chapter 12, we have that great event whenever the church got together, united in prayer and prayed for Peter, who was imprisoned under the orders of King Herod. And that prayer meeting would see to the release of Peter from prison, even though their prayers were mixed with much unbelief. Remember whenever Peter eventually got to the house and Rhoda opened the door and or questioned who was there and she didn't even think or even believe that it was Peter. They couldn't believe it was Peter, though their prayers were full of unbelief. Yet God still heard and God still answered their prayers. And all of these and these three historical events speak to us about the power of prayer. I read this concerning prayer. What lost souls prayers have saved, leading them as by an invisible hand to the cross? What wanderers prayer has reclaimed, turning them from paths of sin and shame into ways of holiness? What fainting ones prayer has cheered and abhorred, in hours of weakness and danger as in quiet closets? Voices of love have pleaded, what tempted ones, prayer has delivered from the hands of the destroyer, a maid strong for victory and noble service. Only heaven's great final revealing can make known all the wonders wrought in this world by prayer. It is this truth, the power of prayer, that James draws our attention to in James 5 in the verses 16 through to 18. In these verses, James cites an Old Testament Bible character in which the power of prayer was so evidently manifested. The case example is that of Elijah, the prophet of fire, the prophet of rain, and the prophet of prayer. And tonight we want to consider these verses, verses that speak to us about an ordinary man who prayed to an extraordinary God. An ordinary man. We pray to an extraordinary God. Brethren and sisters, that's what we will soon engage in. We are only ordinary men and women, but tonight we'll come before the throne of grace and we'll come before the one who is an extraordinary God. I want you to look then firstly at the words at the end of the verse 16. the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. You need to remember that the word of God, whenever it was first given, was not divided into chapters or verses. And I believe, for my own thinking anyway, that verse 16 would have been better to end at the word healed, rather than at the word much, as it does here. To me the words at the end of the verse 16 seem to be more suited to what comes after them in verse 17 than what comes before them. Because having spoken about the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, James then immediately speaks about such a man. He speaks about Elijah or Elias, a man who prayed earnestly. And thus the principle of fervent prayer in verse 16 is then followed in verse 17 by a prototype of fervent praying in the life of the prophet Elijah. So first of all, you have the principle of fervent prayer mentioned in verse 16, and then you have a prototype or an example of such an individual who expressed prayer in such a manner as verse 16 speaks about. Now if we want to see what kind of prayers catch the ear of God, then we need to take countenance of what is said at the end of the verse 16. Now there are a number of matters that the details of this verse draws our attention to. Note in the first instance the character of the petitioner who prayed. The character of the petitioner who prayed. The person whose prayers avail or whose prayers prevail with God is said to be righteous. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Not a man, but a righteous man. Now there are two ways in which that word righteous can be looked at. First of all, we can look at it the term righteous from a legal or a gospel perspective. As those who have been justified and thereby have had the righteousness of Christ made over to them, reckoned to them, imputed to them, we are deemed to be right before God. Legally we are deemed as Righteous. And so the one who is righteous, or the one who is saved, the one who is justified, is the one whose prayers avail much with God. And so if you're saved tonight, and I know that you all profess faith in Jesus Christ, thank God you're righteous. You have been made righteous. Christ's righteousness has been made over to you and thereby God sees you as one who is righteous and thereby your prayers will be heard tonight because you are a righteous one. But being righteous not only takes in our legal standing before God, it also takes in our testimony before God and also before men. You see, being righteous leads us to doing that which then is right in our lives. 1 John 3 verse 7 we read these words little children let no man deceive you he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous you need to trace that verse back from the end it speaks about he is righteous that's speaking of God and of Jesus Christ and then it speaks about us being righteous That is because of Jesus Christ and his righteousness given to us, and the one who knows God, who has been made righteous by God, is the one that doeth righteousness. The Christian is the one who lives right. lives right before God and lives right before man. And this, again, is the thought that is incorporated in this thought, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. So let's, if we bring the two thoughts together, we see that it is the child of God, the one who's been made righteous, and the one who lives righteously is the one whose prayers avail and prevail with God. Now, the psalmist marries our conduct, how we live, to the success of our prayers in Psalm 66 in the verse 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. And so he marries together how we live, with regard to sin and righteousness, and he marries it with the success of our prayers. If we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we commit sin and that sin is left unconfessed, then the Psalmist said, the Lord will not hear me. You see the presence of unrighteousness in one's heart will lead to God shutting his ears to our prayers. But thank God the child of God has a remedy for their unrighteousness. and it is the blood of Jesus Christ. So that's why we come in prayer, confessing our sin, in order that those sins might be dealt with, covered in the blood of Christ, forgiven, pardoned, and thereby then we can have access right into the very presence of God. Listen to these words in Proverbs 15, verse 29. It says, the Lord is far from the wicked, but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. These words only serve to reinforce similar sentiments that are found in Psalm 34 in the verse 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are opened onto their cry. God hears and God answers the prayers of his righteous ones. As I thought about God hearing and answering the prayers of the righteous, I thought, was there any among men more righteous than the Lord Jesus Christ? You know, we read of him there in Jeremiah 32, verse five, he's called the righteous branch. In 1 John 2, in the verse one, he is termed as the righteous advocate. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. What could be said about the prayers of the only truly righteous man? The Bible records that his prayers were always heard of the Father. Not one prayer that he uttered was ever turned away. Standing at the grave of Lazarus there in John 11, verse 41 and 42, it tells us that Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always, always heard. Never a prayer but Christ the righteous one ever prayed was ever turned away by the Father. His will, the will of the Son, was always in harmony with the will of the Father. In him there was no sin, and thereby there would be no iniquity in his heart or his life, whereby God would shut out his prayer. And thereby it only but stands to sense that God the Son's prayers were always heard. His prayers were heard by the Father. And so, These words at the end of verse 16, they remind us that it is required that a man or woman first be righteous, saved, justified for their prayers to be heard as well as the need to live righteously before God. Last sin. would hamper our prayers being heard. For our prayers to reveal much, we must first be right with God, and then we must be right before God. Right with God, and then right before God. Now there's a second matter to consider in these words at the end of verse 16, and that is the nature of the prayer that is prayed. The prayer that availeth much with God is said to be effectual and to be fervent. The fervent effectual prayer. of a righteous man availeth much. It's not the cold, it's not the lukewarm, it's not the lifeless, it's not the indifferent, it's not the formal, it's not the take it or leave it kind of prayer that availeth much with God, but rather it is prayer that has power, it is prayer that has energy, it is prayer that has life, it is prayer that has warmth to it that availeth much with God, earnest, sincere, Hearty, persevering, warm prayers are those that catch the ear of God. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And again, is the Lord Jesus Christ not, for us, a perfect example to this kind of praying? What do we read in Hebrews 5 in the verse 7? Who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared. Many believe that these words refer to the Savior's time in Gethsemane's garden just before his arrest. The garden witnessed the effectual fervent praying of a righteous man when Christ was strong crying and tears offered up prayers and supplications to God the Father who heard him. What a fervency of the prayer life of Christ on that occasion. He sweat as it were great drops of blood. The depths, the fervency and the earnestness and the passion of Christ as he prayed for who for us. the garden of Gethsemane. And then he goes to the cross and he continues to pray. Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Christ praying for us. And in the glory tonight, he continues to pray strong, effectual prayers for us in heaven. When our prayers are weak, his prayers are strong. When we are deficient with regard to our praying, thank God there is an efficiency with the prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ. His prayers, the very nature of them. What a wonderful thought it is how fervent they are. But how fervent are our prayers? What kind of fervency, what kind of earnestness accompanies our supplications for ourselves, our families, our loved ones, our nation, and for those intercessions for others? And we say that fervency in prayer is not always measured by the volume of voice. If that was the case, Hannah's prayer would never have been heard. If it had, it went in the volume of voice. But yet her prayers were fervent for her need Her lips only moved, but yet there was prayer rising from the soul, inaudible prayer, and yet that prayer stormed the very throne of God, and her prayer was heard, and her prayer was answered, and her petition was granted. And so volume of voice does not mean that there's fervency. Does not mean that the heart is involved, but rather when the heart is engaged, when the soul is drawn out to God in prayer by the Spirit of God, when the promises of God, they fuel, because that's what the promises of God, they fuel, as it were, the boiler of our souls when we come to prayer. Then the effectual fervent prayers will ascend from our hearts to God's throne. And so it is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man that availeth much. Notice the third matter, and that is the outcome to this practice of praying. I've mentioned it a number of times already, namely the effectual fervent praying availeth much. It availeth much. Such praying prevails. This is prevalent prayer. This is effectual prayer. This is prayer that accomplishes much. Albert Barnes said, if there's anything that can prevail with God, it is prayer. Humble, fervent, earnest petitioning. Such praying availeth much against the devil. Such praying availeth much against our own sin. Such praying availeth much against our enemies. Such praying availeth much against our flesh. EM Barnes put it, prayer can do anything that God can do. Prayer can do anything that God can do. Oh, for our days when our prayers avail much, avail much. Again, we need to look no further than the Lord Jesus Christ. Find an example of one whose prayers avail much with God every time they were offered to him. They avail much. Prayer is always answered. While the Son of God was on earth, his prayers availed much. And now, as he appears in heaven for us, they still avail much, as he ever liveth to make intercession for his people. And so the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. But move on, let's move on to these next two verses, the verses 17 through to 18. It says in verse 17, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. James is practical as always in knowing the people to whom he was writing to knew that all that he had said about the kind of person whose prayers avail much with God, as well as the type of prayers that avail much with God, knowing that such instruction could have discouraged his readership from praying themselves as they looked at their own lives and their own limitations. how little they thought of themselves. He now draws an example out of scripture of a man who prayed, who was just like them, a man who had similar limitations as they had. James reminds these believers that the eminent prophet Elias was a man. He's just a man, flesh and bones, just like you and me, no different. No special qualities, no superpowers, as it were, invested into him, apart from the fact that he was filled by the Spirit of God. But just like you and me, human beings, with all our faults and with all our feelings, Elias was just a man, a man with his own infirmities, a man with his feelings, a man who was susceptible to bites of unbelief and failure and fear in his life, and yet he prayed. He prayed, brethren and sisters, And he prayed earnestly, and his prayers prevailed with God. But he was just a man. He was just a man. Thomas Manton wrote, God's eminent children are men of like passions with us. They are all troubled with a naughty heart, a busy devil, and a corrupt world. Three simple things to note about Elijah's prayer life from the verse 17. Note, first of all, that he prayed passionately. It's interesting to note that the occasion that James speaks of here when Elijah prayed that it would not rain is not recorded for us in the Old Testament account of Elijah's ministry. Very interesting to note that. We just read of him coming onto the stage of history. He stands before Elijah. Now some believe that as he stood before Elijah, or before Ahab, that that was the occasion in which he prayed. I don't believe that that is the case. I rather would suggest to you that whenever Elijah prayed that it would not rain, he prayed privately about this. This was private intercession. And then the outworking of that was eventually seen in public as the clouds disappeared from the sky and as the famine started to create havoc in the land of Israel. But what we do learn from James, though we do not know when he prayed concerning the fact that it would not rain, we do read that he prayed earnestly. Let me give you a sense of what the statement is in the original. because our translation maybe just doesn't express what is really here. You see James, in James 5, 17, he uses a noun and a verb together, which really intensifies the force of the verb within the verse. So this word prayed, he prayed earnestly, he uses a noun and a verb together. This intensifies the force of what is being said. This is a repetitive, process or pattern that takes place to signify intensity, and this is how it could be liberally read. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and with prayer he prayed. Or in praying he prayed. And so he doesn't just pray, but whilst he is praying, he goes deeper and he prays in his praying. There is an intensity here. This isn't just some kind of blasé kind of saying words, tripping them off the mouth, but rather there is, as I've said, a great passion, a great intensity. This isn't cold, this isn't formal, this isn't lifeless praying, but rather this is praying with fervency, with passion, and with warmth. And I asked myself, is that the marks of my praying? Is there passion? Is there fervency? Are there tears? He prayed passionately. Secondly, he prayed particularly. Elijah prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not. He prayed that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't ring him. Elijah was specific, definite, focused in his request when he came to pray. And praying in that way saw to it that his prayers were answered and that he could discern whether his prayers were being answered. Because he had prayed so specifically. And so it was going to be very evident whether he was on praying ground. And maybe we pray so generally because we don't want God to reveal to us that we're not on praying ground. Dr. Thomas Guthrie was a great Scottish preacher. And he prayed in one of his morning services on one Sunday morning, one Lord's day, that it would rain. As he returned to church that evening, his little daughter said, Papa, here's the umbrella. What do we need that for, he asked his little girl. She replied, you prayed for rain this morning, didn't you? They took the umbrella and they were glad they did so because by the time the service was over, the rain had come and they found shelter because God had sent rain in answer to Guthrie's prayers. You see, Guthrie's daughter believed that God would hear the specific prayer of her father even though he didn't. Such was her faith. You know, too many of our prayers are filled with sweeping generalizations that seeks God's blessing on this and on that. But effectual prayer focuses on specific requests. If we pinpoint our prayers we will have reason to praise God for particular answers. So don't be going around the world tonight, brother or sister. Be specific in your prayers and allow then others to participate in our seasons of prayer. Thirdly, Elijah's praying was that he prayed profitably. What Elijah prayed for, he got. God granted him his request. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. Prayer must never be viewed as an unprofitable activity. God hears, and God answers prayer. He does. We experienced that in recent days, but a week ago, We woke up in her home to find that the fridge had obviously at one stage through the night caught fire. It came down and the kitchen was full of fumes. But thankfully it had gone out. No damage has done to the manse. Don't be worried about that, Elders Committee men. But you know, I believe that God heard and answered prayer. Abigail just is above that fridge, there was a chip pan right beside that fridge. And only for God's mercy, I believe we could have been burnt to death. But God hears and answers prayer. When you put your head down in the bed and ask God to keep you safe through the night, well then God hears and answers prayer. And you, I'm sure, can multiply that on many occasions when God has heard and answered your prayers. And so let's not give up on praying. While others do, let's keep praying. Pray profitably. Don't be sitting down tonight and counting the minutes. Don't be counting them down, brethren and sisters, when we get to prayer. But pray. Thomas Watson said, prayer delights God's ear. It melts his heart, it opens his hand. God cannot deny a praying soul. Finally, a few words about verse 18. And he prayed again, it says, and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit. Now, I don't believe that Elijah, he didn't wait three and a half years before he prayed again. It was, he waited three and a half years before he prayed about this particular matter. I believe that he would have been a man of prayer every day, every hour probably. Now this occasion in which he prayed is recorded for us in the Old Testament, and we read about that account this evening. After seeing the fire fall, Elijah ascends to the summit of Mount Carmel and begins to pray for rain. The emergence of a cloud in the azure sky, albeit only the size of a man's hand, was enough for Elijah to stop praying. That's enough, no more praying needed. The answer's on the way. The answer's on the way. The token assured him that his prayers had been heard. And sure enough, it tells us there, 1 Kings 18 verse 45, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. But what I want you to notice is what gave confidence to Elijah when he came to pray in this chapter, in 1 Kings chapter 18? You know, it wasn't his faith. And it wasn't his past success over the false prophets of Baal. Do you know what it was? It wasn't even his character. It was the promise of God. Because if you turn back to 1 Kings 18 and to verse one, and with this I close, it says, and it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came on to Elijah the third year saying, go show thyself on to Ahab and I will send rain upon the earth. God said, I will send rain upon the earth. There's the promise. And so Elijah, he takes that promise to heart, and then he takes it to God in prayer. And I don't know how he prayed, but he prayed maybe something like this. Oh God, thou hast said that thou wilt send Rean. Lord, honor thy word. It's a little bit like the young man in the barn that night on the Isle of Lewis. And he said, Lord, thou hast promised the blacksmith. He said, Lord, thou hast promised to pour water on him that is thirsty and floods upon a dry ground. Now, Lord, honor thy word. The rest is history. Revival came to that district and to that community. It was the promise of God that fueled Elijah's faith to pray for rain. Without it, it would have been a pointless prayer. But God had promised, I'm going to send rain. And thereby, he started to pray. No, God's promises, when taken in hand and pleaded before God, are really the only way to get our prayers answered. God, brethren and sisters, has bounded himself to fulfill his word. If he fails to do it, he no longer is God. But every word that has went out of his mouth, he will fulfill. And therefore pleading God's promises, they give force to our prayers, and they demonstrate to him that as his children, we are just quite happy to take him at his word. Lord, we're happy to take the at your word, of thy word. And so all things around you may be helpless, they may be discouraging, but find a promise, a God-given promise, and plead it, and seek him in prayer. Because ordinary men and women can pray to an extraordinary God. Brethren and sisters, none of us are Elijah's, none of us. But we know Elijah's God. And Elijah's God still lives today. And this evening, we can speak into the very ear of that God, our God. we can get the ear of Elijah's God, and as a result, he will hear, and he will answer prayer. An ordinary man who prayed to an extraordinary God, may we do that tonight, and may we find our God to be such in these days for Christ's sake. Amen, and amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, what a great God thou art. What a God of mercy. We rejoice, O God, in thy goodness to us, in thy mercy. Prayer answered. We bless thee for it. Lord, we pray that thou will continue to give us prayer in the Holy Ghost. And may our souls ascend to your throne as we seek now thy face in a few moments. We offer prayer in and through the Saviour's precious name. Amen and amen.