In contrast to what majority of people think, that the Prophet Elijah was a mighty prophet of God, that he was a mighty miracle worker, and we somehow have managed to wrap Elijah in a mantle of supernaturalism that makes him seem to be someone unapproachable, someone who belongs to a different league, but that is not how the New Testament remembers him. The Word of God does not say that Elijah was a mighty prophet of God. It does not say that Elijah was mighty worker of miracles. It says, “Elijah was a man of like passion as we are. And he prayed earnestly…” (James 5:17). He was cut out of the same bulk of human cloth. He had problems. He had fears. He had perplexity. He had doubts. He had frustration. He even had a bout of depression, but he prayed! He prayed with earnestness and expectancy. Elijah was a man of prayer. At the outset of his narrative, we learn that he prayed that it might not rain, and there came a severe drought in the land of Israel for 3 years and 6 months. Prayer preceded his encounter with King Ahab. We notice that in Mt. Carmel, it was prayer that brought down the descending fire. It was also prayer that brought the descending flood ending the drought in the land. I think the most distinct characteristic of Elijah’s prayer life which the Spirit of God wants to weave into our experience is the earnestness of his prayer life. While the LORD promised Elijah that He would send rain (1 Kings 18:1), yet Elijah went up to Mt. Carmel, and cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees and prayed. God promised to send rain. They why pray? Because Elijah knew existentially that prayer is the hands of faith that translate promise into performance. God not only ordains the end, but He also ordains the means. It is not a question of coming to a reluctant God in an attempt to persuade Him to do what He really does not want to do in the first place. It is a matter of coming to God with a consciousness that we are dependent individuals. You see, prayer is the realization that your need is not partial, Its total. It is the realization that when we try, we fail, but when we trust, God acts. The Christian life is not a matter of trying, it is a matter of trusting. It is a recognition that the believing life is not difficult – in fact, it is impossible apart from supernatural intervention.