“Elijah
Was a human being
Like us.
He prayed fervently
That it might not rain.
For three years
And six months
It did not rain
On the earth.”
Ἠλείας ἄνθρωπος ἦν ὁμοιοπαθὴς ἡμῖν, καὶ προσευχῇ προσηύξατο τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι, καὶ οὐκ ἔβρεξεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐνιαυτοὺς τρεῖς καὶ μῆνας ἕξ·
James said, “Elijah (Ἠλείας) was (ἦν) a human being (ἄνθρωπος) like us (ὁμοιοπαθὴς ἡμῖν). He prayed fervently (καὶ προσευχῇ προσηύξατο) that it might not rain (τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι). For three years (ἐνιαυτοὺς τρεῖς) and six months (καὶ μῆνας ἕξ) it did not rain (καὶ οὐκ ἔβρεξεν) on the earth (ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς).” James reminded his readers about the prayer of Elijah as indicated in 1 Kings, chapter 17:1, “As Yahweh the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” In the story in Kings, the prophet Elijah was told by God that there would be drought, so that it would not rain. Elijah did not explicitly ask or pray that it not rain. In fact, there was no officially stated time frame. Do you ever pray for rain or non-rain?
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 