When reading James 5, I was surprised. I was intrigued by something I had read before but had not seen. I have never taken the time to really think about this verse and while I was here this time I thought it would be good to study it.

James 5:16-18 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (This next verse is what intrigued me.) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”

So again, I thought do I really know what a righteous man is? I decided to check out what the dictionary had to say. It said: 1. acting in a just, upright manner; virtuous. 2. morally right or justifiable.  

For some reason, I thought that righteous meant you never sin. I always wondered how someone could always be good.  When I read the definition, I realized that anyone can respond to life in a just, upright manner and can do righteous things. So, when He said “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”, I believe it was telling us that we can attain degrees of righteousness, and when we do, we also can earnestly pray like Elijah. It’s the earnestness that results in our prayers being answered. That gives me such hope when I am talking with someone about praying. It makes me realize that my actions should always be working towards righteousness.