James 5:16-18

God is creative and he made us to be creative also. Our creativity flows from our hearts, minds and hands. We dream it and then we build it. Sometimes it seems the possibilities for creativity are limitless. Even people, who are not in a relationship with God, can be creative; God made us that way. However, original sin limits our creativity. All that we create is flawed and temporary. In our own strength, we are unable to achieve perfection or create the eternal.

Christians are not limited to their own strength. God has given us the power of prayer. Prayer is not a tool or weapon that we wield as we see fit. Prayer is communication with God. In prayer, we align our will with his will. The more prayer unifies God and us in our purpose and plans, the more powerful our creativity becomes. Unified with God through prayer, Christians have the power to change the world.

James uses the example of Elijah to illustrate the power of prayer. Today science with all of its power cannot start and stop rain. Elijah’s prayers to stop and start the rain do not stand in isolation as examples of the power of prayer. They were powerful because they were part of an ongoing and continuous pattern of prayer. Elijah could only pray those prayers because he was already in unity with God; he had achieved that unity by continual prayer. In 1 Kings 18:1, we read “After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ‘Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.’” Elijah’s prayer was powerful because he aligned it with God’s will.

We live in a quick-fix world. We Christians love the idea of powerful prayer. We do not always love the effort it takes to have a daily habitual prayer life. Before we can pray prayers that change our world, we must make that effort. Before prayer can change our world, we must allow prayer to change us.