God's Recipe for Miracles
How to Change the Weather
Sharon Rose Enterline
Issue date: 9/20/04 Section: Devotional Thought
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During the emergency meeting at 3:00 on Thursday, September 2, five men stood before the faculty and students and prayed that God would intervene in the weather pattern that propelled a gigantic hurricane colliding into Florida.
In spite of fear and potential danger, this threatening situation may be God's way of bolstering the students' prayer lives.
Can prayer really change the weather? James, the Lord's brother, taught that it can. He wrote, "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 land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit" (James 5: 17-18).
James read the history of Elijah in the Old Testament Scriptures. "And Elijah. . . said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word'" (1 Kings 17:1). "And there was a severe famine in Samaria" (1Kings 18:2).
"And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth'" (I Kings 18:1). "Now it happened . . . that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain" (I Kings 18:45). The changes in weather occurred as a result of Elijah's prayer and God's purpose. Prayer is not merely communication with God; it is an avenue for effecting change in our world.
Jesus also controlled the weather during His time on earth. One proof of Jesus' deity was His power to quell the storm on the Sea of Galilee. But Jesus did not calm the waves until His followers prayed to Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" (Matthew 8:25). Prayer is the active ingredient in God's recipe for miracles.
A few weeks ago here at CCC, prayers diverted the path of Hurricane Charley. As Hurricane Frances approached, students were trusting in God's sovereign love and mercy to protect Clearwater from the damage that a storm of this proportion could cause.
Prayer signals our faith in God's power. His power supersedes any cloud or hurricane. Pray, and God will answer. "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5: 16).
In spite of fear and potential danger, this threatening situation may be God's way of bolstering the students' prayer lives.
Can prayer really change the weather? James, the Lord's brother, taught that it can. He wrote, "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 land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit" (James 5: 17-18).
James read the history of Elijah in the Old Testament Scriptures. "And Elijah. . . said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word'" (1 Kings 17:1). "And there was a severe famine in Samaria" (1Kings 18:2).
"And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth'" (I Kings 18:1). "Now it happened . . . that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain" (I Kings 18:45). The changes in weather occurred as a result of Elijah's prayer and God's purpose. Prayer is not merely communication with God; it is an avenue for effecting change in our world.
Jesus also controlled the weather during His time on earth. One proof of Jesus' deity was His power to quell the storm on the Sea of Galilee. But Jesus did not calm the waves until His followers prayed to Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" (Matthew 8:25). Prayer is the active ingredient in God's recipe for miracles.
A few weeks ago here at CCC, prayers diverted the path of Hurricane Charley. As Hurricane Frances approached, students were trusting in God's sovereign love and mercy to protect Clearwater from the damage that a storm of this proportion could cause.
Prayer signals our faith in God's power. His power supersedes any cloud or hurricane. Pray, and God will answer. "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5: 16).