The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

James 5:17-20, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed
earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three
years and six months.
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced
its fruit.
19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him
back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will
save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

Does the mention of the word “prayer” bring anything special to your mind? It certainly does mine. As a small boy, I recall the public prayers of a man in our small community. I was then and am now, totally incapable of assessing either the accuracy or the sincerity of that man’s prayers. What I do clearly recall is that as their length increased, so did the decibels piercing my ears! Bless his earnest heart!

Whether Elijah’s prayers were long and loud, I don’t know. What I do know is that they were effective. Elijah’s prayers held back the rain in his country for three and a half years; then rain came when he prayed for it. Of course, it was the LORD who did the holding and the causing. But it was Elijah, who was spiritually in tune with God as he prayed.

Don’t miss James’ application of this miracle. He aludes to the earnestness of our prayers –your’s and mine—as turning a sinner from “the error of his way,” so that his soul is saved from death. Prayer for the salvation of souls is far more important than prayer for rain. Are you praying for the lost? We don’t have to be loud; we just have to be often! And our lives have to be pure before Him to Whom we pray.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom