#63 - A Human Being Just Like Us | James 5:17-18 | Pray Like It Matters

God doesn’t use perfect people—He uses dependent people. In this episode of The Daily Rebel, we break down James 5:17 and look at the life of Elijah through a completely different lens. Most people hear Elijah’s name and think of fire from heaven, miraculous power, and fearless faith. But James intentionally reminds us of something shocking: Elijah was “a human being as we are.” Same struggles. Same weaknesses. Same emotions. The same man who prayed boldly also battled fear, exhaustion, loneliness, and discouragement. The power was never in Elijah—the power was in the God Elijah trusted. 

This episode dismantles the lie that God only uses “super-spiritual” people and calls listeners back to dependence, alignment, and surrender. We unpack three key truths:

1. Elijah was human — Stop disqualifying yourself because you don’t feel strong enough. You don’t need a different identity; you need deeper dependence on God. 
2. Elijah was positioned — Powerful prayer comes from alignment with God’s will, not emotional hype or performance. Elijah wasn’t trying to force God to move—he was moving with God. 
3. Elijah was available — God doesn’t use perfect people; He uses willing and surrendered people who make themselves available to Him. 

So many people spend their lives asking, “Am I enough?” when the better question is, “Am I available?” Jesus didn’t come for the strong or self-sufficient—He came for the weak and dependent. Because of Him, you don’t have to qualify yourself before coming to God. You just have to surrender. Elijah was just like us… but he trusted God, and God moved. Stop disqualifying yourself, and start depending on Him.

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Transcript

Welcome \\ Daily Rebel Mission

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This podcast is for the ones who know they will rescue, but also know they will resent. Saved by grace, sent to live differently. We're not rebelling against God, we're rebelling against everything that keeps us free. Every day, we don't swing our opinions, we sharpen our lives on the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, guiding us, cutting through lives, and leading us one step at a time. We'll talk faith, identity, purpose, leadership, and what it really looks like to follow Jesus in a distracted world. Welcome to the Daily Rebel. Yo, what's good, Redeemed Rebels? Here we go. Day three of the Daily Rebel, James chapter five, verse 17. If you have a text, uh, if you have a Bible, let's go. The next couple days we're gonna talk about Elijah. So verse 17,

Today's Text: James 5:17

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here we go. Elijah, James says, was a human being as we are. So remember, he's talking about this in the context of praying like it matters. So he says, Elijah was a man, a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly. So in the ESV it says Elijah was a man as we are. The CSV says he was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain for three years and six months. So before we even get to what he prayed for, uh involving the rain and it not raining for however many years, um, I want you to think about what you think about when you hear the word Elijah,

Elijah Doesn’t Feel “Just Like Us”

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the name Elijah. You don't you don't think, ah, that's just like me. You think, nah, I think a beast mode prophet who called fire from heaven, who shut the sky, who's called down power. You think that's a whole new level. And we read stories like Elijah and assume that's for them, not for us. Like Bible Tom characters are these superstars. But James does something intentional. He levels the field. He says, Elijah was a human being. Elijah was a man just like us. And that phrase means he had the same nature, the same

Same Nature

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weakness, the same humanity like us. Elijah was not a superhuman. He got tired, he got afraid, he got overwhelmed. One of the greatest victories was him calling down fire from heaven. In 1 Kings chapter 19, 1 through 8, we see him running in fear. So before he runs, before he's threatened by this chick named Jezebel, he calls down fire and demolishes about 400 prophets of Baal. And then in the very next verse, in 1 Kings chapter 9, verse 1, it says, Jezebel said, Man, I'm gonna have your head tonight. I'm gonna tech I'm gonna take you out. And Elijah runs, he hides, he sits under a tree

Elijah’s Weakness and Burnout Explained

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and says, I've had enough, Lord, take my life. The same man who prayed powerfully also struggled deeply. The power wasn't in the man, it was in the God he trusted. Here's what we need to understand about Elijah is that God uses

God Uses Ordinary People

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ordinary people who depend on him. Whether if you're a pro whether he was a prophet, whether you listen to pastors today or priests, we are not superhumans. I'm a pastor. I've been in ministry since I was 19. I'm currently 36. I am not superhuman because God uses ordinary people who depend on him. So point one, number one, I want

Point 1: Elijah Was Human

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to get y'all this. Elijah was a human. So Elijah is a beast of a prophet. You go to read his story in 1 Kings, you'll see how much God used him, but he has the same weakness, the same struggle. James dismantles the myth that only powerful people are different people. They're not. You don't need a different identity, you just need a deeper dependence. Elijah felt fear, exhaustion, loneliness.

Stop Disqualifying Yourself

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So stop disqualifying yourself because you don't feel strong. Elijah was a human being just like us, us, called to greater things, which leads me to number two. Elijah,

Point 2: Elijah Was Positioned

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number two is Elijah was positioned. He stood aligned with God. He was positionally righteous with the Lord. Elijah didn't just pray randomly,

Alignment vs Emotional Prayer

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he stood in alignment with God with what God was doing. And so the drought wasn't his idea. It was God's judgment on Israel's idolatry. His his prayer matched God's will. Power in prayer comes from alignment with the Father, not emotion. He wasn't trying to get God to move. He was actually moving with God. So let me ask you this: are you praying your will or are you aligning with his? So, yes, number one, Elijah was a human. He was weak. He he lost strength, man. He got discouraged. Number two is Elijah was positioned. He was he was with the Lord. He was aligned with them. And number three

Point 3: Elijah Was Available

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is Elijah was available. God moves through surrendered people. I've said this before that you cannot steer a parked car. The Holy Spirit is going to breathe power into you, but you have to move. And Elijah was not perfect, but he was available, he was obedient, and he was surrendered. God doesn't use perfect people, y'all. He

God Uses Available People

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uses willing people. The only perfect person he ever used was his son Jesus. But what made Elijah powerful was his ability. It wasn't his ability, it was his availability. Again, what made Elijah powerful was not his ability, it was his availability. Are you trying to be impressive or just available? Do you hear names like Elijah? Do you hear some of the heroes of our time and you hear their giant mountain names because they have influence and you're like, man, I don't know if I can do this. Listen, a human that is positioned and is available can be used by the Lord. So the power was not in the man, it was in the God he trusted. You don't need a different identity, you need a deeper dependence. And God doesn't use perfect people, he uses available people. So Jesus didn't come for the strong, he came

Gospel Shift: Jesus Came for the Weak

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for the weak, not the perfect, the dependent. And because of him, you don't have to qualify yourself. You just have to come. So stop asking, Am I enough? Start asking, Am I available? Because God isn't looking for perfection, he's looking

Rebel Close: Dependence Over Perfection

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for dependence. Eliza was just like you, same struggles, same weaknesses, but he trusted God and God moved. So stop disqualifying yourself and start depending on him. Amen. Thank you for listening

Outro

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to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help other people be equipped to be redeemed rebels, give us a follow and share it around with your friends. We'll see you next time.