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[0:00] The topic of Elijah and James 5, if you've got your Bibles, James 5.! How can we pray like Elijah? Who would like to pray like Elijah? We can.

[0:20] ! James 5, Elijah. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you that we can open these precious pages and be encouraged today.

[0:35] Lord, stir us to pray. Help us to be a prayerful people. That we stop and pray. That we learn to rest in you and trust in you.

[0:53] And to learn how to be more prayerful. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Elijah. James 5, verse 16.

[1:06] It says, Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

[1:22] Elijah, Elias, was a man subject to like passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain.

[1:35] 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.

[1:54] Elijah, he's one of Israel's greatest prophets. He's one of two people in the Bible who never died. He was miraculously carried up into heaven by the chariot of fire.

[2:10] And Elijah also appeared at the Lord's transfiguration along with Moses. Elijah, one of God's heroes. Yet such an ordinary man.

[2:22] Such an ordinary man. It says here. He was subject to like passions as we are. What does that mean? Like passions.

[2:34] You can think of what your passions are. All our faults, I suppose, if you could put it that way. He was human. He was a man such as we.

[2:47] An ordinary man. Yet one of God's heroes. And we have something in common with Elijah, don't we? It tells us we have. Like passions. Maybe like frailties and fallible ways.

[3:01] Faults, you could think. Maybe emotional things that we shouldn't act up like we do. I could speak for myself.

[3:13] We have something in common with Elijah. He's got like passions. He had the same human nature that we have. So there's hope for you and me, isn't there? If we've got like passions like Elijah.

[3:24] And so we can learn from Elijah, can't we? We can learn from him how to pray like Elijah. And we see that it says that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

[3:37] The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. So how are we to pray like Elijah? I put to you tonight, how are we to pray like Elijah?

[3:50] Pray expectantly. Expectantly. In the days of Elijah, the nation was bent on idolatry. There was heathen idols and nations all around them.

[4:02] And this pagan influence was always there battling away, eating away at the nation of Israel's faithfulness to God. And they were often misled by such things.

[4:15] The nation of Israel, the people of Israel. And Elijah confronted the false prophets in 1 Kings 18, verse 24. He called them to a test. 1 Kings 18, 24.

[4:28] The false prophets, the prophets of Baal. They were misleading the people and diverting their love and affection to false gods, the false god of Baal.

[4:40] And Elijah called the false prophets to a test. He called them together and he said, he challenged them. Verse 24. He said to them, call ye on the name of your gods.

[4:55] And I will call on the name of the Lord. And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, it is well spoken.

[5:08] They agreed. And then this was a rightful test to have. So Elijah boldly stood before these prophets of Baal. He was against the odds.

[5:20] There was 450 of them. 450 of Baal's prophets. And Elijah expected God to answer. He was expecting God to answer.

[5:30] He prayed expectantly. When you pray, expect God to answer. Expect. 1 Kings 18 verse 30. We read on.

[5:40] And Elijah said unto all the people, come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.

[5:52] So we see the situation was that the people of Israel had neglected the altar. It was broken down. The stones had perhaps got dislodged and scattered.

[6:03] You could imagine maybe the weeds springing up and the cobwebs. You know what? It was just really ruined. It had come to ruin. It had broken down. And Elijah took this step of repairing the altar.

[6:17] And we need to do that, people of God. Repair the altar. In other words, we could think how we could translate that in our lives. Because it's about preparing our heart.

[6:29] When we pray, we need to repair the altar of the Lord that is broken down. Maybe that's restoring of those things that are neglected. That repentance. That restoration.

[6:40] That refreshing of our faith. That strengthening. As we go to prayer. As we prepare our heart. As Elijah prepared the altar. Then we read on in verse 31. And Elijah took 12 stones.

[6:54] According to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob. Unto whom the word of the Lord came. Saying, Israel shall be thy name. He took these 12 stones.

[7:07] Representing those 12 tribes of Israel. Verse 32. And with the stones he built an altar. In the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar. As great as he would contain.

[7:19] Two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order. And cut the bullock in pieces. And laid him on the wood. And said, fill four barrels of water.

[7:30] And pour it on the burnt sacrifice. And on the wood. So here he was. Elijah. He repaired the altar. That had broken down. He rebuilt it. He repaired it. He refreshed it. He put a trench around about it.

[7:43] And he put the wood in order. Bullock. This beast. This ox.

[7:54] Oxen. Bullock. This great big animal. Was laid on top of the wood. And then he said. Which is quite bizarre really.

[8:06] Fill four barrels with water. And pour it on the burnt sacrifice. And on the wood. Now we see when you pray. It takes sacrifice. It took the sacrifice of this bullock.

[8:17] This beast that was to be sacrificed. When you pray. It takes sacrifice. It needs to take time aside. To put time to prayer. When you pray. It takes faith. It takes faith.

[8:28] And here we see Elijah demonstrating faith. That this faith. This expectancy of prayer that he had. He knew God would answer his prayer. Even against the odds.

[8:40] Against the common sense. Of water. Water logging this sacrifice. And verse 34 it says. And he said do it the second time. And they did it the second time.

[8:51] And he said do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran about the altar. And he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the evening sacrifice.

[9:04] That Elijah the prophet came near. And he prayed. And he said Lord God of Abraham. Isaac and of Israel. Let it be known.

[9:21] This day. That thou art God in Israel. And that I am thy servant. And that I have done all these things. At thy word. Hear me oh Lord.

[9:32] Hear me. That this people may know. That thou art the Lord God. And that thou hast turned their back again.

[9:42] Their heart back again. Now. In the context here of course. We know that the heathen prophets. Were there going berserk. Slashing themselves.

[9:54] And jumping like wild men. On the altar that they had made. And carrying on like. With all this hullabaloo.

[10:04] And all this show. And froth and bubble. And razzmatazz. And all this hoo-ha. You name it. They just went nuts. And with all their religious fervour.

[10:17] And showing off their religious. Fervency. And yet nothing happened. And now here was Elijah's turn. And he waterlogged the sacrifice.

[10:30] And he prayed. Expectantly. Expecting God. To work. To do. What had to be done. Expecting God to do. What man could not do. There was no. Nobody there with a secret.

[10:42] Lighter there. Trying to light it. Make it. Catch fire. He was dependent on the. Fire of God. To fall. And it says that. The effectual fervent prayer.

[10:53] Of a righteous man. Availeth much. So. We know that. When we tap into the. Power of prayer. God answers beyond.

[11:04] Human power. And human. Ability. Beyond human dimensions. You know. Sometimes through life. We may get. A message. Sometimes like we get.

[11:14] From a computer. You know. Computer not responding. But we don't get that. From God. He will respond. He promises to. He is there to respond. And we see.

[11:26] Verse 38. He did respond. As it says. Then. The fire of the Lord fell. And consumed. The burnt sacrifice. And the word. And the stones. And the dust. And it licked up the water.

[11:36] That was in the trench. So. The. Beast was burnt. And consumed. The word. The stones. The dust. Even the water. That was in the trench.

[11:47] And verse 39. And when all the people saw it. They fell on their faces. And they said. The Lord. He is God. The Lord. He is. The God. God answers prayer.

[11:58] He answered by fire. He prompts us to adore him. The wonder of his power. And of his majesty. Of his. Doing beyond. What human. Kind can do.

[12:11] Going. Beyond. What. Human. Ability. Can do. Or manufacture. Going beyond. The religious fervor. Of those. That know him not.

[12:22] God answers. True. Prayer. And he deserves all the glory. When the fire falls. It wasn't manufactured from beneath. It fell from above. It was fire from heaven. From God.

[12:33] And so he deserves the glory. And the praise for what happened. And so. In prayer too. He deserves all the glory. And praise. We take none of it. For ourselves. The effectual.

[12:43] Fervent prayer. Of a righteous man. Availeth much. Availeth much. Notice. Availeth much. We can pray expectantly. And God will avail much.

[12:55] We can expect God to do much. Much. In answer to prayer. And for us to hear his prayer. We need to ask him. You know.

[13:05] Sometimes. We. Are guilty of what it says in James 4 verse 2. Yet you have not. Because. You ask not. James 4 verse 2.

[13:16] Yet you have not. Because. Because. You ask not. So. He wants us to ask him. He wants us to pray. He wants us to. Bring our needs to him.

[13:27] And to pray expectantly. Ask him in prayer. For what. It is you need. And he. Will answer. So. We see. How are we to pray.

[13:38] Like Elijah. Pray expectantly. Expect God. To do his work. And secondly. We see. Pray earnestly. Pray earnestly. Earnestly. The first time.

[13:49] That Elijah. Had come. Before. King Ahab. He had boldly. Prophesied. Of God's judgment. Against the nation's. Wickedness.

[14:00] Elijah. Had heard from God. And he had spoken. For God. Heard from God. Spoken for God. And. 1 Kings 17. Verse 1. It says.

[14:11] Elijah. To the Tishbite. Who was of the inhabitants. Of Gilead. Said unto Ahab. As the Lord God liveth. The Lord God of Israel. Liveth. Before whom I stand.

[14:24] There shall not be. Due. Nor reign. These years. But. According to. My word. Elijah had made known. To King Ahab. This evil king. That.

[14:35] Elijah. Believed. And served. The living God. The living God. The Lord God of Israel. That liver. He served.

[14:46] The living God. The God who was alive. Who is alive. And he is the same God. We know. And we know. Of course. We read. That it says. He prayed. Earnestly.

[14:57] Earnestly. That it might not rain. In James. We read. That he prayed. Earnestly. That it might not rain. Prayer moves. The hand of God. As we pray.

[15:08] Earnestly. When you pray. Let it be. Earnestly. Fervently. Ahab's God of. Baal. Supposedly. Lived during the rainy season. And he would.

[15:19] Be dead. During the dry season. Ahab. Worshipped. Baal. The God of fertility. And the Canaanites. Believed. Baal. Appeared in the thunder clouds. And the rain storms.

[15:30] So they set up their altars. On mountain tops. So they could be. Closer to their God. Elijah lived in God's presence. He lived in God's presence. He said.

[15:42] The Lord God of Israel. Liveth. Before whom. I stand. Elijah didn't have a God that. Died for some of the year. He had the living God.

[15:53] That was always with him. And so do you. So do we. Our Lord God. Liveth. He lives and abides. He's the same yesterday. Today. And forever. And he lives with us.

[16:04] And we stand. Before him. We don't leave his presence. He is always with us. And when Elijah stood before Ahab. He was not afraid of Ahab. Because he was standing.

[16:15] Before. Someone much greater than Ahab. The king. The almighty God. That's who. Elijah was standing for. And his concern was to faithfully.

[16:27] Relay God's message. So. Now it was. After this time. Of 1 Kings 17. This was now. Three and a half years later on. Three and a half years.

[16:37] Without rain. And Elijah reappeared. After being miraculously sustained. In that intervening time. That God had fed him by ravens. To bring him food.

[16:48] And water from the brook. He'd been miraculously sustained. In this time of drought. And dryness. And fed. Supernaturally. God also used the widow's.

[16:59] Small portion of oil and flour. To run over in abundance. As she gave. From her little. God blessed with much. And then we see. Furthermore.

[17:10] That God. Had caused a dead boy. To come back to life. This was in 1 Kings 17. From verses 17 to 22. If you want to. Read that. Perhaps later on.

[17:21] This is all in 1 Kings 17. So this all happened in that intervening time. It had been 3 and a half years of drought. Yet still. 3 and a half years of blessing. 3 and a half years of supply.

[17:33] 3 and a half years of abundance. For Elijah. Even in the midst of all of that. And Elijah could stand. Before the king. And he knew. And he knew. That he was.

[17:44] In God's. Place. In God's. Presence. It wasn't something like. Ahab's. God. With a small g.

[17:55] That came and went. And died for some other year. But Elijah stood. He stood with living faith. Living faith. In the living God. And so can you. So can we.

[18:06] We can have. Because we've got like passions. As Elijah. Haven't we? So we have the like God. We that have the like passions. Of Elijah.

[18:16] And Elijah stood before. King. Ahab again. 3 and a half years had passed. 3 and a half. Dry. Years. And verse 17. Of 1 Kings 18. It says.

[18:27] And it came to pass. When Ahab. Saw Elijah. That Ahab said unto him. Art thou he. That troubleth Israel. Oh. Here comes trouble again. That troublemaker.

[18:38] Elijah. You're that troublemaker Elijah. You're the one that's causing all this trouble. The king called. Elijah. The prophet. A troublemaker. You know. People can say that for you.

[18:49] As a Christian. They can. Think that. You're the problem. And without. Realising. They're the problem. 1 Kings 18. 41. And Elijah said unto Ahab.

[19:01] Get thee up. Eat and drink. For there is. A sound. Of abundance. Of rain. Elijah could hear the rain. It was three and a half years of drought. Everything was dry.

[19:13] Cracking up. Desolate. Not a blade of grass. You could imagine. It was dead. Dry. Desolate. Desert. But Elijah could hear.

[19:23] The sound. Of abundance. Of rain. By faith. He could hear the sound. Of the pita pita raindrops. Starting to hit the ground. Even though. It wasn't evident.

[19:37] He was. The only one. Perhaps. He could hear such. As he. Was. Expecting. God. To work. This prayerful man.

[19:47] He could sense that God was going to do a work. And God was at work again. And people of God. Faith helps us to hear. As we pray. Our faith gets strengthened.

[19:58] Our faith gets nourished through prayer. And faith helps us to hear. To hear what unbelief will not hear. To hear what God can do. Despite our circumstances. Despite the desert.

[20:10] Dry place. That it feels like. We can hear. Even still. The sound of abundance of rain. Because God is working. Beyond. What people can see. And through all the static.

[20:21] And all the noise. And all the distractions of life. We can hear that God is working. God is working. I can hear it. I can hear the sound. Of abundance of rain. You know. It takes an ordinary person.

[20:32] With extraordinary hearing. To hear from heaven. And through prayer. We can hear from heaven. We can. Have that hearing of faith. In Romans 10.17.

[20:45] It says. So then. Faith cometh by hearing. And hearing by. The word of God. There's a certain. There's a certain. Extra sense of hearing. That. We have. As faith.

[20:56] Takes hold. As. As we have the word. And we believe God. There's. Faith. Nourished. And that supernatural hearing. Of sorts.

[21:07] That. You could. Appreciate. That we can hear God. As we pray. And the servant. Was with Elijah. At this time. And. Elijah kept.

[21:19] Praying. And the servant. Had to go. Seven times. To go and look. To see. If there was any rain coming. Where's the clouds. It's just. Clear skies. And so the servant. Had to go.

[21:30] Seven times. He said. And Elijah just kept praying. Yeah. Go again. Go again. Go again. Seven times. The servant went. And came back. Went. And came back. And while Elijah prayed.

[21:42] He went. And he looked. And again. Elijah prayed. The effectual. Fervent prayer. Of a righteous man. Availeth much. Elijah had prayed. And he had heard the rain.

[21:54] He'd heard the rain. His servant couldn't see it. But then. There was the little cloud. As the size of a man's hand. And then. Suddenly.

[22:04] Started to pour down. Through prayer. We can tune in. Our spiritual hearing. In faith. We can trust God. We can trust our Lord. To answer our prayers.

[22:15] We can. See and hear beyond. What. Human. Capacity can do. How are we to pray. Like Elijah. Pray expectantly.

[22:26] Expect God. To do his work. Pray. Earnestly. As Elijah prayed. Seven times. Yeah. Just kept on praying. Nothing would stop him. As he prayed through. Prayed through.

[22:37] And. And God moved. And he could hear through. All the static. All the. Interference. He could hear. The sound. Of abundance of rain. So we can pray. Like Elijah.

[22:48] Pray expectantly. Pray earnestly. And thirdly. We can pray. Such that we hear. God's whisper. Just hear that whisper. God's voice.

[23:03] Prayer is effectual. It is effective. It is effective in other words. The effectual. Fervent prayer. Of a righteous man. Effectual. It means that it's effective. It means that this prayer.

[23:14] That we pray. As we pray like Elijah. As such as we. As like passions. As Elijah had. That we can have the same like prayer. That Elijah had. Effective.

[23:25] Effectual prayer. This is prayer that has power. As the sense of it here. And we get the word energy. In the English. Out of this same Greek word here.

[23:36] That is effective. Or effectual. It's that same energy. That energetic. Energizing. That putting into action. Putting into operation. That power.

[23:48] Of prayer. Happens as we have that effectual. Prayer. In other words. It's operational prayer. It's energized. By the spirit of God. It's prayer that's prayerful.

[23:59] Praying in the spirit. Spirit. There's an energizing. By the spirit. This is the kind of prayer. That is talked about here. A prayer that is energized. By God. We know that prayer. Is ineffective.

[24:10] If it's. Lacking. God's energizing. That. And we need to have. As Elijah. Had that prayer power. That he knew. Because Elijah.

[24:20] Was operating. In the will of God. And we see. The. Whisper. Of God. As we see. There was. Various. Events.

[24:31] Events. That occurred. In 1 Kings 19. And. There was. An earthquake. There was a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire.

[24:41] And after the fire. A still. Small. Voice. A still. Small. Voice. Voice. And this was God's voice. That happened here.

[24:53] Verse 13. And it was so. When Elijah. He heard it. He heard the whisper of God. He heard the voice. That he wrapped his face. In his mantle. And went out. And stood in the entering.

[25:03] Of the cave. And behold. There came a voice. Unto him. And said. What doest thou hear? Elijah. So Elijah. This man. Of like passions.

[25:14] As we are. He had. That prayer. That was. That was. Expectant. That prayer. That was earnest. And then he heard. God's whisper. He heard that still.

[25:25] Small voice. Now sometimes. We. We. We think. Oh. Is it going to be in the. Earthquake. Is it going to be. In the. Fire. Is it going to be. Something dramatic. Sometimes. It's just that still.

[25:36] Small voice. That God speaks to us. He whispers to us. He speaks to our heart. He speaks in that stillness. In that quietness. In that quiet time. And at this time.

[25:47] He was Elijah. A man of like passions. As we are. He was in absolute despair. He was at this time. He'd hit rock bottom. He was feeling like. His world was collapsing. Around him.

[25:58] And he was sitting down. On the juniper tree. He was feeling sorry. For himself. You know. Like passions. Like as we are. He had this.

[26:08] He was down. He was feeling down. And he was feeling afraid. In the context. Of verses two to three. It says that he was afraid. This man of God.

[26:20] He's seen God's miraculous provision. The abundance. The miracles. People raised to life. He'd seen. God's tremendous supply. In a tremendous.

[26:31] Fantastic way. He'd seen God's provision. Through those three and a half years. Of drought. He'd seen God. Speak through him. In prophecy. And he'd seen the power. Of prayer.

[26:42] And now. At this moment. He's feeling sorry for himself. Running away from. The enemy of God. Running for his life. From Jezebel. Scared to death.

[26:54] Hiding in a cave. But he hears God's whisper. God hadn't left him. He just had to tune in. He just had to listen. He just had to listen. Now I'm not saying.

[27:05] Of course. We're into extra biblical revelation. And goose bumpy. Wacko things. But there is that sense. Where God will speak in accord with his word. There'll be that.

[27:15] Yeah. That's. That's quickened to me. That's. That's come alive to me. That's scripture. God's really touched me. And he's speaking to me. In accordance with his word.

[27:26] Not in contradiction to it. But in accord with it. And so we hear God's whisper. Like Elijah did. You might be under the juniper tree. You might be feeling.

[27:37] Oh. Whoa. It's me. I'm. I'm just in despair. I'm feeling sorry. For myself. And I've got reason to. And I'm running for my life. Everyone's after me.

[27:48] I'm. Hounded by these people. That are trouble for me. As. Elijah was running from Jezebel. Running for his life. And it says verse four.

[27:58] And he requested. For himself. That he might die. You know. Pray like Elijah. But. Maybe don't pray this one. He requested for himself.

[28:10] That he might die. And he said. It is enough now. Oh Lord. Take away my life. For I'm not better than my fathers. Here he was in this time of despair. But God shows up.

[28:21] God shows up. Doesn't he? He shows up. When you're in that. Rock bottom place. When you're in the pit. When you're feeling like. Oh. Had enough. In a quiet way.

[28:33] God shows up. And the prayerful will still hear. That still small voice. We've just got to tune it in. You know. Maybe the reception's not. So good. You know. Turn the dial a little bit.

[28:44] So you can tune it in. As it were. To hear that still small voice. To turn up the volume a bit. So you can hear what he's saying to you. As he's whispering to us. In those times of discouragement.

[28:55] In those times of feeling alone. As we know. The context here. Elijah felt like he was all on his lonesome. I'm not nobody. I'm on my own here.

[29:06] It's me. Against the world. There's nobody else standing up for God. I feel like. I'm in. It's. Nobody's following. No one's with me.

[29:16] I'm all on my lonesome. And yet God showed. No. There's so many more. The 7,000. Who haven't bowed their knees at Baal. The 7,000. Are all around you. That are just as.

[29:28] In tune. And following me. As you are. And you've got brothers and sisters. All around you. To comfort. Encourage you. To come alongside you. To help you. To stir you on.

[29:38] And for you to stir them on. And so. In that quiet way. The prayerful will still. Hear God's voice. And God brings encouragement. In these times. The effectual fervent prayer.

[29:50] Yes. Men and women of like passions. Like Elijah. We can pray like he did. Effectual fervent. Of a righteous man. Availeth much. Elijah was a man.

[30:02] Of like passions as we are. Even powerful prophets despair. Isn't there hope for you and me? Amen. If powerful prophets get despairing. Even Elijah.

[30:13] Who was strong in many ways. He was strong at times. But he was not strong. All the time. We all have those moments. When. Oh. It's too hard. I'm struggling here.

[30:25] Everyone's against me. I'm feeling like I'm. I'm not coping. Elijah knew. Just that. That like passion. And yet. He had known victory.

[30:36] He'd known supervision. Supernatural provision. But he also knew fear. And depression. As he fled from Jezebel's threats. You know.

[30:47] We've all got our Jezebels. Yet his prayer was effectual. Fervent. His prayer brought results. Fire. Drought. Rain. Fruit. The God who heard.

[30:58] The fervent. Effectual prayer of Elijah. Will also empower you. Empower us. For prevailing prayer. Elijah was a man of like passions.

[31:09] As we are. But as someone has said. But alas. We are not men of like prayer. As he was. That's what we need to learn. Don't we? I need to learn that.

[31:20] To learn to depend on the Lord. To pray. To depend on the power of prayer. The power of God. To trust him. He was Elijah. He thought he was all alone.

[31:31] All the other prophets had either been murdered. Or reduced to an effectiveness. They were hiding in caves. Yet there was a remnant. There was a remnant. There was a holy group of people.

[31:43] Still. His brothers and sisters in Christ. As we could consider it in these days. There was still a remnant. 7,000. Had not bowed the knee to Baal. Are you one.

[31:54] Who will not bow the knee to Baal. The time will come. When they'll say. Bow to Baal. Or die. It could happen. People. Bow to Baal. Whatever it be. There's lots of Baals.

[32:07] Bow to Baal or die. It was people who were faithful. 7,000. Had not bowed the knee to Baal. And 1 Thessalonians 5.17.

[32:17] It says. Pray without ceasing. When you're in the pit. When you're in the cave. When you're under the juniper tree. Pray still. Don't stop praying.

[32:29] Don't stop. Pray. All the more pray. When you're there. Pray without ceasing. You know. It's been said. The typical Christian prays. Three to four minutes a day.

[32:41] The average preacher. Six to eight minutes a day. We don't pray enough. People of God. Broadly speaking. Across the planet. Christians don't.

[32:52] Pray. They scarcely pray. Or superficially pray. These are facts. That people have found. In statistics. In surveys. How can we hear God's answer.

[33:05] Unless we pray. We have to ask. And we can then hear the rain. And we can pray in faith. Believe. Expectantly. Pray expectantly.

[33:17] Matthew 21. 22. Our Lord says. And all things whatsoever. You ask. In prayer. Believing. You shall receive. You know.

[33:28] In God's timing. You could say. Isn't it? Believing. You shall receive. It may not get it. In your time schedule. But you shall receive. He will give.

[33:40] That which you pray for. In faith. According to his will. Of course. And as he leads. So. Men and women of God today. There's hope for you.

[33:51] And me. Because. We've got. As Elijah had. Like passions. We're. We're frail. We're weak. We're. Subject to. All the. Realities of.

[34:02] Where the rubber hits the road. The just falls on. The rain falls on. The just and the unjust. We've got life's troubles. And maybe more so. As a believer at times. We have. An avowed enemy.

[34:13] But we've got victory. In Christ. And. We can hear God's whisper. If we'll just listen. Of course.

[34:24] I'm not talking about. Hearing voices in your head. Or. Having. You know. Weird kind of. Carry on. I'm not talking about any of that. But there's that sense where.

[34:36] If we'll just. Be conscious. Of God's. Leading. As he leads in accordance. With the scriptures. And as he. Sheds that light on our way.

[34:49] The light unto our path. As he. Prompts us through. Godly counsel. And. Through. Brotherly. Advice. And support. Through us.

[35:00] Brothers and sisters in Christ. As we. Sensitive to his holy spirit. We'll hear that still small voice. And it could be through a brother or sister. That says something. To encourage. Courage. But.

[35:11] The point. I suppose. In some ways here is. When we pray. Don't do all the talking. When we pray. Sometimes it's about. As we know that familiar scripture.

[35:22] Be still. And know that I am God. Sometimes. Prayer. We just need to listen. We don't do all the talking. Because prayer is a conversation.

[35:33] And sometimes God. Speaks to us. And sometimes we've just got to. Listen to him. Amen. Listen to him. And be. Sensitive to him.

[35:45] And how he is prompting. How he is leading. Scripturally leading us. So. Like passions. Elijah.

[35:56] Was a human being. With all the fallibilities. And frailties. Just like us. An ordinary man. Amen. So. Really. For all of us. We've all. Just.

[36:07] As. Able. As Elijah was able. We're all just as. We've got the same prayer. Power.

[36:18] That he had. We've got the same. Passions. But we've got the same power. We've got the same God. That Elijah had. So. What. How should we pray?

[36:29] Pray expectantly. Have that expectancy. That God will. Work. In his time. In his way. But he will work. And I'm going to depend on him.

[36:39] And keep praying. Pray expectantly. Pray earnestly. Pray earnestly. With. A prayer that. That. Earnestly. Holds on to God. Holds on to his promises.

[36:50] Holds and never lets him go. Wrestle with God. As Jacob did. And. We'll hear God's whisper. As we pray. As we stop doing all the talking. And listening.

[37:01] Listening. Listening. Tune in. Get. In accord with his spirit's power. In accordance with the scriptures. In accordance with his leading. James speaks of the prayer of a righteous man.

[37:14] A righteous man. And it accomplishes much. Prayer. Accomplishes much. How can we pray like that?

[37:31] In other words. It's accomplishing. It's producing much. And notice here. It's the prayer. The effectual. Fervent prayer. Of a. Righteous. Man. And here's the necessity.

[37:43] Of personal righteousness. Entering into that scope. Of praying. So if there's things that are stopping you. From that. Right living. That right thinking.

[37:53] That right walking with God. Let it go. Let it go. And I was talking to someone. Earlier. That. Had some dealings with. The occults. And things. That's got to go in the bin. In the fire.

[38:04] Burn it. You know. Back in Acts. They had magic books. What did they do with them? They were worth a lot of money. They burnt it all up. They threw it in a big bonfire.

[38:14] And they burnt it. Now if there's things like that. In your life. In your home. It's a. It's a. Obstacle for you. In your spiritual life. You know. I'm talking. Generally.

[38:25] Across the board here. For every one of us. There's things that sometimes. You've got to get rid of those things. Restore the altar. That was broken down. Get back to praying. But there's times. That you've got to.

[38:36] Throw out. The things. That are. Holding you back. Whatever it be. That's holding you back. From. Walking. Straight on with God. There's things to get rid of.

[38:46] And. Shed. That are. Stopping you. Holding you back. A righteous man. A righteous woman.

[38:57] What does this mean? Someone has defined it like this. One is. One who is wholeheartedly. Committed to God. And sincerely seeking. To do his will. Wholeheartedly.

[39:08] Committed to God. And sincerely seeking. To do God's will. You know. Try to. Come to that place. As Elijah did. It was a altar.

[39:19] It was a place of sacrifice. There was things to let go. There was things to. To. Throw out. And get rid of. Sacrifice. There's things to commit to God.

[39:30] Things to let go of. In 2 Kings 2.14. Elisha. Asked a question. He said. Where is the Lord God.

[39:44] Of Elijah. This is 2 Kings 2.14. You know. This is Elisha. Who was to succeed. Elijah. And. Elisha.

[39:55] Asked. As he was about to. I think he was about to cross the Jordan. And. He said. Where is the Lord God. Of Elijah. He's never left. He's never left.

[40:05] The planet Earth. He's still here. Where is the Lord God. Of Elijah. He's in you. He's in me. That believe. He is in you. He is for you. He is with you. The God of Elijah.

[40:18] Is with us. That's where he is. He is the God. Who answers prayer. And so. To wrap up.

[40:29] How can I pray like Elijah. You can. You can pray like Elijah. Expectantly. You can pray earnestly. And you can hear God's whisper.

[40:39] That still. Small voice. It's still out there. We've just got to tune in. Amen. We've just got to tune in. Listen. For God. And of course.

[40:50] The best way to listen for God. Is to get into this book. And let it feed you. And nourish you. You know. In John 10. I believe it is. My sheep.

[41:02] Hear my voice. He says. The good shepherd. Now we've got some sheep at home. And every time I. Do my little whistle. My little call. They just race up the hill.

[41:14] They could be right over. You know. Long long way off. These sheep that we have. But you start. Whistling. Calling them. It's. It's tea time.

[41:25] They just. Woo. They. They're like. Olympic athletes. How they run up. They hear the shepherd's voice. That's what we need to be like. Don't we. Hear the shepherd's voice.

[41:36] It's here. So don't neglect the word. Let it feed you. Let. Let this. Speak to your heart. It's the best way to hear his voice. Is to open these pages.

[41:48] Try to dig in. And. Get some nuggets. Out of this. Some gold nuggets. To feed your soul. So. Let's pray through. People. We can pray through.

[41:58] We can pray like Elijah. Because where is the Lord God of Elijah? He is with us. He is with us. He's in us. And he's never left us. The God of Elijah is with us.

[42:10] And he is the God. The God. Who answers prayer. He is the God. Who answers prayer. Let's pray. Lord. I thank you that. Prayer is not some theoretical thing.

[42:22] But it is a reality. And Lord. It's a. A means that. Each believer can have. To. Trust you. To. To rest in you. To. To find our source.

[42:34] In you. To find. And to make our dependency. Upon you. Lord. Let us pray. With that earnest. And expectant heart. Let us pray. From righteous lives.

[42:45] Lord. Help us to be. Such a people. That. Will let go of that. Which is. Holding us back. From righteous living. Help us to be. A people. That are hearing your voice. And responding to it.

[42:57] And knowing Lord. That you are the God. The God. The one and only God. The living God. Who answers prayer. And for everyone here. Help us to pray through. Pray if there is any.

[43:09] Yet to trust you. For that first moment. Of time. To know you. As saviour. As Lord. That they might even do that. Even this moment. And call on the name of the Lord.

[43:19]  And be saved. And for each one.