James 5:13-18
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
Though there are a lot of things that can be learnt from this passage but today, I am going to focus on the righteousness aspect.
Over time I have seen people diminish the importance of striving to live a righteous life by blaming it on their sinful nature. Though it is true that we are sinful by nature and that through Christ we can have our sins forgiven, by no means does it negate the importance of living a righteous life on earth. The bible is filled with instructions, which if are obeyed, ultimately lead to a holy and righteous life. Job was not only commended for his unrelenting faith in Jesus Christ but also in his righteous way of life, which made Him blameless before God. (Job1:8) His perseverance towards righteousness was so pleasing onto God that God was proud to speak highly of him like a father would to all his friends when his child succeeds in school for instance.
The passage reminds us that though Elijah was just a man, his righteousness made his prayers so effective that it essentially controlled nature. Though our first and foremost priority as christians is our faith in Christ and our relationship with Him, we should also strive to live a holy and righteous life just like Christ did on earth that we may unlock more of the wonders that life through Christ provides.
