Ordinary People – Extraordinary Intercession ∙
The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. – James 5:16
James 5:17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and that there would be no rain on the land for three years and six months!
1 Kings 17:1-2
Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives – the God I serve – there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
Then the LORD said to Elijah . . .
Intercessory Prayer and Rees Howells
Down through the centuries, across the denominations, a handful of children of the King demonstrated the power of prayer in their lives and their service to the King.
Among them are:
- George Müller is renowned for his practice of relying solely on prayer to fund orphanages without ever soliciting donations.
- John “Praying” Hyde, a missionary in India, is famous for his extensive prayer sessions dedicated to specific individuals.
- E.M. Bounds, a Methodist pastor and author, is well known for his influential writings on prayer, which have significantly shaped contemporary intercessory practices.
- Leonard Ravenhill taught that a person’s spiritual authority and effectiveness are directly linked to the depth and consistency of their prayer life. He wrote, “No man is greater than his prayer life.”
- Rees Howells is well known for his teachings on intercession at the Bible College of Wales and is closely associated with the concept of “prevailing prayer.”
Intercessory Prayer and Rees Howells
Rees Howells, born in Brynamman, Wales, in 1879, was raised in a Christian home but did not commit his life to Christ until later. Howells left school when he was young and worked in tin mills and coal mines. In his early twenties, seeking better opportunities, he emigrated to the United States. While in America, a cousin confronted him about his need to be “born again.” Howells initially resisted, saying, “I’m as good as you are,” but a serious illness brought him close to death. He realized he had no assurance of salvation and promised God he would become a true Christian if spared.
The pivotal moment occurred when Howells heard Maurice Reuben’s compelling words. Reuben, from a wealthy Jewish family and director of a large department store, was deeply moved when a business associate shared his experience of being “born again.” Inspired, he bought a New Testament, read it, and soon had a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. He heard Jesus calling him at the door of his heart, asking to enter. He opened the door. But his family began to persecute him, thinking he had lost his mind. He was briefly institutionalized. Reuben then decided to give up his inheritance, business, family, and home to follow Jesus.
Hearing Reuben’s story, Howells was profoundly affected. He experienced his own revelation of the cross. Jesus appeared to him and asked, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. May I come into you, as I came into Reuben? Will you accept me?” Howells responded, “Yes.”
Howells described this moment: “ and the Creator became my Father. That night I received the gift of eternal life . . .”
Rees Howells returned to Wales during the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905. By this time, an extraordinary, singular gift emerged: an intercessory prayer life. What started as personal devotion gradually grew into a calling to teach others over the next twenty years. In 1924, inspired by the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Howells established the Bible College of Wales. He devoted himself to educating students not only in the theological aspects of prayer but also in the art of intercessory prayer. His effort was aimed at cultivating a new generation of intercessors.
Praying Against the Desert Fox
In the spring of 1942, Rees Howells and a group of 120 intercessors started praying for the defeat of Erwin Rommel, known as “the Desert Fox,” and his Afrika Corps in North Africa. Rommel posed a significant threat to the Suez Canal and the Promised Land. On July 4, 1942, Howells prayed with striking specificity, “Unless God will intervene on behalf of Palestine, there will be no safety there for the Jews. These Bible Lands must be protected because it is to these lands the Savior will come back.”
Howells prayed that Alexandria would be spared while Rommel would suffer a setback. That afternoon, intercessors focused entirely on praying for the city’s protection and for a change in the trajectory of the German North African campaign. The response was almost immediate, and its full significance became evident the following day.
The Miracle of the Saltwater Pipe
On July 5, 1942, the dramatic impact of their prayers was revealed. All that stood between Rommel’s tanks and Alexandria was a depleted British force of roughly 5,000 soldiers, 50 tanks, and 50 field guns. Despite the Germans’ superior firepower, an incredible event occurred: 1100 men of the 90th Light Panzer Division, the elite of the Afrika Korps, surrendered. Their swollen tongues were protruding from their mouths, and in desperation, they grabbed water bottles from our men and gulped down life-saving swallows.
Major P. W. Rainer, responsible for providing water to the British Eighth Army, explained the Germans’ unexpected surrender. They had been without water for 24 hours when they attacked the British defenses and discovered a 6-inch water pipe. The pipe had just been installed, and Major Rainer had started testing it. Freshwater was never used for these tests because it was too valuable. The Germans shot holes in the pipe and drank from it, only to realize it was seawater afterward. Rainer writes,
“Two days later, it would have been full of fresh water. . .. The Nazis didn’t detect the salt at once because their sense of taste had already been anesthetized by the brackish water they were accustomed to and by their extreme thirst.”
The Power of Righteous Intercession
Rees Howells was an ordinary man, having been a tin and coal miner. But his remarkable faith produced remarkable results. The fervent, righteous prayers of a small band of intercessors achieved what military tactics alone could not, shifting the course of the war in North Africa. Soon after, the Desert Fox left the continent defeated.
REFLECT & PRAY
Spurgeon wisely asserted, “Prayers are heard in heaven in proportion to our faith. Little faith gets very great mercies, but great faith still greater.”
Father, in many respects, I am just an ordinary person. I aspire to have an extraordinary relationship with my extraordinary Father God. Please make it so.
INSIGHT
Elijah the First Jewish Weatherman
Elijah was the first Jewish weatherman. But he didn’t just predict the weather; he controlled it. But he was no superhero. McGee writes, “Elijah was a weatherman for three and a half years, and for three and a half years, he held back the rain! It did not come until he prayed. You are the same kind of person Elijah was. . . But he was a man who prayed with passion.”
James 5:17: “Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!
Though he was an entirely ordinary person, Elijah had an extraordinary relationship with God the Father, marked by tremendous effectiveness in prayer.
What Does “Prayed Earnestly” Mean?
In Greek, the phrase translated as “prayed earnestly” is proseuchomai proseuche. The verb “pray,” proseuchomai, and the noun “prayer,” proseuche, are used together in this construction, which is common in Hebrew and Aramaic to emphasize a concept. This stylistic choice strengthens the verb and is known as a Semiticism. Literally, Greek could be rendered as “he prayed a prayer,” or more loosely as “he prayed with prayer” or “in prayer, he prayed.” In modern terms, one might say, “he prayed earnestly, fervently, powerfully, or effectively.”
Elijah was just an ordinary person who, in that moment, understood the Father’s will and experienced remarkable results. Any child of the King can pray as Elijah did.
1 Kings 17:1-2 records the moment this began:
“Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives – the God I serve – there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
In Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!’ Then the LORD said to Elijah . . .”
Years later, 1 Kings 18:1 tells us that “in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, ‘Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!’”
Joining the Unseen Battle
Just as NFL franchises draft new players each year to strengthen the team and improve their odds of winning, the Father draws children of the King into His ongoing work in the world.
Behind the visible events unfolding on earth, an invisible spiritual war rages continually. The Father is always at work, and He invites His people to join Him in that battle. Among the most powerful weapons available to us is prayer, and the Father raises up intercessors to accomplish His will and to stand against the enemy in the spiritual realm.
The goal of prayer is to bring the Father’s will into existence on earth as it is in heaven. Earnestly praying for His will to be done is one way we participate in the Father’s kingdom work. However, the key to receiving answers lies not merely in our earnestness but in discerning the Father’s will and fervently praying it into existence.
1 Timothy 2:1 instructs believers directly: “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them.”
The Meaning of Intercession
The Greek word translated as “intercession”is enteuxis. It is the word used for intercessory prayer. An enteuxis was a “formal request,” a “petition made to a higher authority.” It comes from the verb entugchano. Entugchano connotes a “sense of belonging,” which includes “freedom of access.” We might say today, “They belong here; they are family.”It came to mean “boldly entering the presence of God to intercede for oneself or others.”
John R. Mott, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946, noted that the Church has yet to realize the full potential of intercessory prayer. He believed its greatest victories would occur once individual Christians worldwide acknowledged their priesthood before God and committed themselves to daily prayer.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 4-5-24
© Dr. H 2024
Dr H Reflections 