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The Shocking Truth About Prayer and Providence
The Shocking Truth About Prayer and Providence
Miracles differ from providence. Confusing the two leads to a misunderstanding of the role of miracles in the modern world. The example of Elijah provides a clear distinction.
God worked unusual miracles through Elijah. He made a widow’s flour and oil replenish continually; raised her son from the dead; brought fire out of the clear, blue sky to consume Elijah’s offering—just to name a few.
God also worked powerfully through providence. At Elijah’s word, He made the rain stop for three and a half years and made it start again. Some would call that a miracle. It wasn’t.
In the Bible, a miracle is a breach of natural law caused by God for a good, divine purpose. Our culture defines it differently. Anything amazing or extraordinary is considered miraculous—like childbirth. Or an unexpected survival. Or a come-from-behind Super Bowl victory. Events like these do not qualify as miracles in the Biblical sense.
Consider childbirth. God designed the female body with the ability to conceive, grow, and deliver a baby as part of the natural process of procreation. While awe-inspiring, this process is not miraculous since it does not violate natural law.
Back to Elijah’s control of the rain. God did not violate the laws of nature to make the rain stop and start. Evaporation is a natural process established by God from the beginning. 42 months without rain may be unusual but is not necessarily miraculous.
God answered Elijah’s prayers regarding the rain using His providence in the natural realm. James 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).
Though Elijah was a prophet and could perform miracles, he was also “a man with a nature like ours.” God granted his rain requests because he was a righteous man, not because he was a specially appointed prophet. Here’s the amazing part: You and I have the same prayer power Elijah had!
James 5:16 says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” We cannot work miracles since we are not prophets. We can, however, move God to work powerfully in the natural realm through His providence if we, as devout servants of God, pray fervently like Elijah!
