#64 - Pray with Power and Faith | James 5:17 | Pray Like It Matters

What do you do when you pray… and nothing seems to happen? In this episode of The Daily Rebel, we dive into James 5:17–18 and unpack what it really means to pray like Elijah. Most people read Elijah’s story and assume his prayer life was instant, effortless, and unreachable. But James points us deeper. Elijah wasn’t superhuman—he was dependent. He prayed earnestly, persistently, and intensely because he trusted God completely. And in 1 Kings 18, we discover Elijah didn’t just pray once and walk away. He stayed low before God and prayed again… and again… and again. 

This episode challenges passive and casual prayer by exposing how many people quit too soon. We break down three major truths from Elijah’s prayer life:

1. Pray with intensity — The issue isn’t that we don’t pray; it’s that we pray distracted, rushed, and half-hearted instead of fully engaged with God. 
2. Pray with persistence — Elijah kept praying even when nothing immediately changed. Just because you don’t see movement doesn’t mean God isn’t working. Many people stop praying right before breakthrough. 
3. Pray with dependence — Prayer is not about controlling God or forcing outcomes; it’s about trusting Him fully and staying surrendered to His will. 

Jesus modeled this perfectly in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed multiple times with complete surrender: “Not my will, but Yours.” Because of Him, you can keep coming back to God with confidence, honesty, and dependence. So don’t pray casually. Don’t quit early. Press in. Stay low. Stay surrendered. Because redeemed rebels don’t give up in prayer—they press in until God moves.

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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 were 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 up, Rebels? Here we go. Uh day four of this week, and we're talking about how prayer matters. And so yesterday we talked about Elijah being a human just like we are. Today we're talking about I mean, how do we pray like Elijah? So let's

How Do we Pray Like Elijah - James 5:17

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look back at the text. Chapter 5, 17 through 18. It says, Elijah was a human being as we are, again, just a man just like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain. Let me ask you

What Happens When Nothing Changes?

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this have you ever prayed for something and nothing happened? You asked, you believed, you meant it, but it felt like silence, delay, nothing changed. Or some of us we we expect our prayers to be delivered like Amazon prom or sometimes same-day shipping. So you start thinking, maybe I'm doing this wrong. But when we read Elijah's story, it feels

Tension: Why Elijah’s Prayer Life Feels Unreachable

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unreachable. But he prays, he and the sky shuts, he prays again, and the rain comes, and we think, that's not my experience. But James includes Elijah for a reason, not to impress you, but to give you an example to instruct you. The text says, Elijah

“He Prayed Earnestly” Explained

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prayed earnestly. Notice how he prays. That phrase earnestly, it means he he prayed with prayer. He prayed with in he prayed intensely, he prayed persistently. You know, there's an analogy that some guys who are so buffed that their muscles has muscles. Well, Elijah's prayers had prayers. It was he was so layered up in prayers that he was intense, it was persistent. It wasn't casual, man, it was focused. In the 1

The Context of 1 Kings 18

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Kings chapter 18, Elijah didn't just say one prayer. He went up the mountain, he got down low, he prayed again and again and again seven times. Listen, this wasn't an instant, it was just persistent.

Persistent, Aligned, Dependent Prayer

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Powerful prayer is persistent, aligned, and it's dependent. So let me give y'all three points. Number

Point 1: Pray With Intensity

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one, pray with intensity, y'all. It said Elijah prayed earnestly. He wasn't rust, he wasn't distracted, he wasn't half-hearted. The problem isn't that we don't pray, it's that we pray without intensity. This dude was locked in. He was focused, he was desperate for God to move. And when you pray, are you engaged

Casual Prayer vs Focused Prayer

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or are you just going through the motions? Man, when you ask somebody to pray out loud, they get nervous because, like, I don't, I'm afraid to speak in front of people. Listen to me, man. If you can speak powerfully before God, you can pray powerfully before people. I want to encourage you to really think about what you're praying about. It doesn't mean that he doesn't take our, hey Lord, I need your help, I need your strength. But what kind of prayers are those really? When you pray with intensity, man, it's just like this gut-wrenching, agonizing, Lord, I want you to move, I need you to move. And at the end of the day, Father, even if it's just I want more of you, how aggressive and how intense are your prayers? Because I've I've heard this said before that if my

If My Prayers Aren't Intimidating to Me, They May Be Insulting to God

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prayers are not intimidating to me, they might be insulting to the Lord. And it doesn't mean it's not casual sometimes, it doesn't mean it's not conversation, it doesn't mean that you're not gonna sit in his lap and just have a conversation with your father like Jesus did. But just like Elijah, sometimes we need to pray with intensity. Lord, forgive me. Lord, heal this person, Lord, bring my prodigal son home, Lord, do something to heal this person. Elijah prayed with intensity. Number two,

Point 2: Pray With Persistence

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pray with persistence. Elijah prayed, nothing happened. So he prayed again, still nothing. So he prayed again and again and again, seven times. Listen, just because you don't see it doesn't mean God isn't doing it. Most people

Why People Quit Too Soon

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quit praying right before breakthrough. And if you stop praying, you might stop right before God moves. So ask yourself, where have you stopped too soon? One of the things I just preached on recently uh in a sermon was God never gives up on you. And you might I may have even said this in a day of the rebel,

God Never Gives Up On Us, We Give Up on God To Easily

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he never gives up on you. But we give up on him too easily. God does not give up on us. Yeah, he allows us to go through some things. Elijah went through a lot. And even when Elijah ran in desperation because of his depression, God was still devoted to getting him back the way he came. So listen, man, pray with persistence. So pray with intensity, pray with persistence. Keep going after him.

Point 3: Pray With Dependence

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And number three, pray with dependence. Elijah didn't control the outcome. He depended on God for it. Prayer

Prayer Is Trust, Not Control

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is not about controlling God, it's about trusting him. He stayed low on his knees, postured in dependence with intensity. The posture of your prayer will reveal the posture of your heart. Are you just like, hey God, thank you for this food? Hey God, hey friend, hey, what's up? Or are you going to the Lord and putting your posture of humility in his hands? Are you trying to make something happen or are you trusting God to move? Intensity, persistence, independence. The problem isn't that we don't pray, it's that we pray without intensity. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean God isn't doing it. If you pray, if you stop praying, you might stop right before God moves. And prayer isn't about controlling God, it's about trusting them. Those are four things that I wanted you to understand, even in the midst of the three points. Jesus prayed in the garden,

Gospel Shift: Jesus in the Garden

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not once, multiple times, same prayer, same surrender, not my wills, but yours. And it was intense, it was persistent, and it was dependent. And because of him, you can keep coming back to the Lord. So let me ask you this: do I pray with intensity or just casually? Do I pray with persistence or do I quit too early? Do I pray with dependence or try to control the outcome? Because how you pray reveals how you trust. So pray like Elijah. He was a man just like us. Not perfectly, not pers, but but but listen, not perfectly, but persistently. Not casually, but intensely, not independently, but dependently. Because listen, rebels,

Rebel Close: Press In Until God Moves

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we don't give up in prayer. We press in until God moves. 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.