“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” 
James 5:16

In the previous devotional, we talked about how impossible it is for believers to be arguing with each other or at odds with each other and praying effectively at the same time. Let me make another observation on that today; then, we’ll see a great contrast in Elijah. You may be arguing with God right now about something you think you need. Since I’m not God, and since He doesn’t share inside information with me, I can’t tell you whether your request is legitimate for you or not.

You may be arguing with God right now about something you think you need.

I can say this, however. If God has decided not to grant your request, it won’t matter how much you fuss or how hard you fight. Unless you can out-wrestle God (which you can’t), you lose.

But if you’re the right kind of person and your prayer request lines up with God’s will, keep your eyes open. You’ve got true kingdom power on your hands. That’s what happened with Elijah, a human just like you and me. 

You say, “What do you mean, the right kind of person? I’m a Christian. Isn’t that enough?” Well, yes and no. All believers are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, so all believers stand righteous before God. 

But you know as well as I do that Christians can live like non-Christians and sometimes worse. So there’s a righteousness we need to practice daily as we allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse and fill us. Just like you don’t want to drink out of a dirty cup, God doesn’t want to hear the prayers of a Christian whose life is fouled up with junk. 

You can’t pray very long in an unrighteous condition without God taking you to the real issue, your heart.

James says Elijah did some very serious praying. You can’t pray very long in an unrighteous condition without God taking you to the real issue, your heart. If you aren’t living a clean life when you start praying, you soon will be as the Spirit points out your sin—or else you will stop praying to avoid facing it. 

Now, don’t miss the point. Elijah was human like us. In fact, I know he was like other men because he was scared of an angry woman, Jezebel. Elijah wasn’t perfect. He even gave up on life at one point. But the whole orientation of his life was to please God—and, as a result, his prayers moved heaven. Is that a goal you can achieve? Believe it, and you will.

Check out more from Dr. Tony Evans @tonyevans.org