Tim, it all depends whether you are teachable and willing to allow the Word to open so it can give its light.
Let me ask you this.
Is James 5:17 written in the positive or negative tense?
Elijah
was a man with a nature like ours, and he
prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jas 5:17.
The ESV has translated it correctly.
The occasion is recorded in 1 Kings 17:1. However, the reference does not state that Elijah prayed, though that fact is endorsed by the words of James. Elijah's request, of course, was not made out of petty spite or personal retaliation against Israel because
his message had not been accepted, but in order to humble the kingdom of Ahab.
But Elijah did have a problem Tim!
Then Elijah said to them,
“I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.1 Kings 18:22
What was his problem?
And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son,
that we may eat it and die.” 1 Ki 17:12. (note: A gentile family)
Lets see if you can piece this together.
What did God teach Elijah?
F2F