James 5:16-17 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 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.

Elijah who was caught up to heaven on a chariot of fire, had the same nature as you and me. He was a man made from flesh. What made him different than all the other people around him at the time? Why is He promised to return before the Day of the Lord? What sets him apart? One was his faith in God. Two was his obedience. Three he prayed earnestly. The difference was his relationship with God and how he wanted to grow closer to God.

We may never reach on this earth the level of Elijah. But there is a great lesson to be learned from his life. If your faith is strong and you are obedient to the Lord, then earnest fervent prayer makes all the difference. Through prayer Elijah stopped the rain for three and a half years. If you keep reading, through prayer he brought the rain back. What if we prayed like this for ourselves and the people around us? How much different would our lives be changed? All through earnest, fervent prayer.

How do you start your day? Do you just get up, get ready and go? Do you take time first thing in the morning to open the scriptures and then pray for your day and your family? This prayer time can make all the difference in the world for you and those around you. I challenge you today to start off with scripture and prayer. See if it makes a difference for you.