Wanted: Godly Role Models

Examining One Ordinary Man

By Holly Meade Rupert

“In God we trust.” It’s on all American currency. But do most Americans really trust in God? Not really, according to a recent survey by the Barna Group. Among those who believe they are Christians, only one-fifth say they live in a way that makes them completely dependent on God.

Instead, most Americans worship at the altar of idols consisting of materialism, secularism and mysticism. What is desperately needed today are godly role models who live without compromise. Perhaps stepping back in time to biblical days is helpful to examine leaders who certainly were not perfect, yet had a powerful impact on their cultures as a result of faithfully following God. One such example is Elijah.

Elijah was an ordinary guy who loved his extraordinary God. The book of James describes Elijah as “a man with a nature like ours.” However, God used this prophet to turn the hearts of the people back to Him. His unrelenting faith and trust in Jehovah made him effective in his day of spiritual and moral decadence. Elijah stood firm on God’s integrity and truth, and demonstrated the reality of James 5:16, which says: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

It was a time of spiritual drought and idol worship of the false prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel and Elijah wanted to show the evil King Ahab that only Yahweh was the true God. The people had just witnessed the futile praying of the Baal priests, who begged their “god” to provide the fire for their sacrifice. Elijah prayed for a miraculous sign so they would know that only God answered prayer. Not only did he not put any fire under the sacrifice, but Elijah drenched it with water so there could be no mistake how the sacrifice was consumed. It was only a work of the living God when it miraculously burned.

When the people repented three and one-half years later, Elijah prayed and claimed God’s promise of rain. The book of James says, “…and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit” (James 5:7-18 ESV). Again, God demonstrated His lordship over Baal, the so-called “god of the storm cloud.” His gentle whisper is more powerful than the supposed thundering of Baal. The drought was broken through the prayer of faith according to the will of God, but the ultimate goal was the removal of the spiritual drought in Israel.

Today in America the scene is no different from that of Elijah’s day. Spiritual drought and idol worship prevails. God is calling His modern-day Elijah’s to be the role models and to fervently pray individually and corporately for this nation. As a result, God promises to rain down His blessings on people’s spiritually-dry hearts. It means ending the spiritual drought on souls in communities as well as this nation. It means seeing people turning their lives to God. It means the answer to any political or moral issue.

So consider examining your life. Is there unmistakable evidence of the power of God or are you building fires under your sacrifices? Is it evident that you are running your life rather than letting the Lord reign? Whenever you can show evidence that your life is unexplainable apart from God, you will have opportunities to share those miracles with others.

God recruits ordinary people to pray with extraordinary faith. So as you pray, remember that you can make a difference because the strength of your prayers begins in “knowing your Father who is in heaven and in realizing every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). Today, in prayer:

• Ask the Holy Spirit to rain down on peoples’ heart as a result of the fervent prayers of the righteous
• Implore that God’s people refuse to be like the world, or to go along with its ideas, patterns and schemes that are so clearly contrary to Scripture
• Pray that Christians will take a biblical stand for political and moral issues of society
• Ask God to bring the churches to deep repentance and a return to faith in Him alone
• As followers of false religions continue to increase, pray that their eyes be opened to God’s truth

Holly Meade Rupert is a communications specialist/writer/speaker/teacher with a master’s degree in mass communication.  She has extensive experience in creating content and producing for radio, television and the Internet.

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Your Comments

The following expressions and comments are from our members and do not necessarily
represent or reflect the biblical or world views or opinions of the Presidential Prayer Team.
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1. Julia says:

   June 6, 2013 at 10:50 AM

   Amen to your article. Christian lay people need to step up to the plate and realize the responsibility we have as God’s people to pray for the righteousness of our shepherds and of our fellow believers. We must demonstrate our trust in Him. God is not happy with luke warm followers and will spew them out of his mouth as it says in Revelation.
2. Gwen Coleman says:

   June 6, 2013 at 3:19 PM

   Thank you for including H.M.Rupert’s article in the weekly Prayer Update. It reminds each of us that when we (GOD’s people) humble ourselves, turn from our wicked ways and pray, not only will there be a revival in our lives but also in the life of our Nation and it’s leaders.
3. John Linton says:

   June 7, 2013 at 2:23 AM

   Great article by Holly. Thank you for using the gift given to you by God to draw me closer to my extraordinary and wonderful God. I feel led to a.) Pray for our country as it relates to In God we trust. and b.) I’m going to commit to complete Prayer 101. Although I’ve been a Christian for many years, I felt Him tell me to do it and see what He has in store for me. Thank you.

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