March 7th, 2023
Prayer is the heartbeat of a Christian’s spiritual life, but one thing we have to remember is that it is not the act of prayer itself that manifests the power of God. God moves in accordance with His Word, in response to faith. God moves because He is who He says He is. The power of prayer lies in a God who hears and answers. Sometimes I think we take for granted the fact that we have access to the God of the universe. If you were to go before a king in the natural, would you not make sure you knew how to act, when to stand and sit, and what to say? Would you not be in awe? Our God is the King of Kings. He is almighty and omnipotent. He spoke the world into existence. His greatness is absolutely beyond our comprehension. That is Who we are speaking to, when we pray. That is Who hears our every uttered word and cares. The power of prayer lies in a Father who cares, a King who hears, a God who answers. Prayer is powerful only because our God is powerful, and He hears the cries of His people.
There’s a powerful story in 1 Kings 18, along these lines. At the time, Ahab was the king of Israel, and the people were worshipping false gods, especially Baal and Asherah. Elijah was God’s prophet and because of the wickedness of the land, he prayed and there was a drought in the land for three years. In God’s timing, He told Elijah to go to Ahab and assemble all of the prophets of Baal (which were 450 men). Per God’s instruction, two bulls were to be brought and sacrificed on two different altars. Elijah said to them,
“You call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” (1 Kings 18:24)
Ahab agreed, and all the people assembled at Mt. Carmel to see what would unfold. Before the sacrifices, Elijah addressed the people saying,
“How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21)
The purpose of this demonstration was to turn the hearts of the people of Israel back to God. They couldn’t sacrifice to Baal in one place and to Jehovah in another. God yearns jealously over His people. He wants all of us.
The people did not answer Elijah a word in response, waiting to see what would happen. Now, Elijah let the prophets of Baal choose their bull and go first. The Bible says they cried out to their god from morning until noon. 1 Kings 18:29 says,
“As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.”
When they finally gave up, Elijah called the people to himself. He prepared the sacrifice and then soaked it with water until it filled the trench around the altar. Some scholars say this was to prove to the people there was no hidden fire beneath the sacrifice. After the altar had been soaked, Elijah offered this simple prayer, with no performance:
“O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” (1 Kings 18:36-37)
In the Western world at least, false gods are not commonplace, but that doesn’t mean idolatry doesn’t exist. Do we worship God on Sundays, serving ourselves Monday through Saturday? Do we give verbal agreement to the things of God, but live out of alignment with His Word? That’s a sacrifice that God won’t accept. How long will we go on limping between two different opinions, like the people of Israel? If Jehovah is God, serve Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind (Matthew 22:37). Have we decided, wholeheartedly, that we will serve only One, above our opinions, our dreams, and our own plans?
God’s demonstrated power that day on Mount Carmel was intended to turn the hearts of the people back to this single-minded devotion. Elijah asked God to answer his prayer that the people would know He is God. God will always confirm the validity of His Word with power. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He prayed,
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” (John 11:41- 42)
Jesus is the living Word of God and He carried power. God heard Jesus’ prayer, just as He heard Elijah, thousands of years before. 1 Kings 18:38-39 says,
“Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.”
We serve a God who hears and answers. We aren’t like the prophets of Baal, who desperately cried out from morning until noon with “no one to pay attention.” Over and over in the Word of God, we see that our God answers by fire. The proof of God’s acceptance of a sacrifice is purifying, consuming fire. The fire that fell from heaven on Mount Carmel was no ordinary fire. It didn’t just consume the sacrifice. It consumed all of the water, the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones of the altar, itself. That was a supernatural, consuming fire.
Fire is still God’s response to an acceptable sacrifice. In Luke 3:16, John the Baptist said,
“I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
In Acts 2, this promise was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit fell on the believers, and tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the disciples. Jesus still baptizes with fire. When we are washed in the blood of Jesus and filled with His Spirit, we become an acceptable sacrifice, and fire is God’s response. Our lives then become a demonstration of the reality of Our God. When we pray and God answers, it says nothing about us and everything about Him. Just as He was with Jesus, just as He was with Elijah, so will He be with us.
James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” The power of prayer is a God who hears and answers. He’s our loving Father and the Judge of the whole earth. He’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother and the Creator of the universe. He is as kind as He is mighty. What do we expect when we pray? Elijah knew God heard Him and expected fire. Jesus knew God heard Him and expected a man who had been dead for days to walk out of the tomb. Do you know God hears you? He is waiting for the prayers of His people to be full of expectation to see His power demonstrated on the earth, here and now. So, “let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).
There’s a powerful story in 1 Kings 18, along these lines. At the time, Ahab was the king of Israel, and the people were worshipping false gods, especially Baal and Asherah. Elijah was God’s prophet and because of the wickedness of the land, he prayed and there was a drought in the land for three years. In God’s timing, He told Elijah to go to Ahab and assemble all of the prophets of Baal (which were 450 men). Per God’s instruction, two bulls were to be brought and sacrificed on two different altars. Elijah said to them,
“You call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” (1 Kings 18:24)
Ahab agreed, and all the people assembled at Mt. Carmel to see what would unfold. Before the sacrifices, Elijah addressed the people saying,
“How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21)
The purpose of this demonstration was to turn the hearts of the people of Israel back to God. They couldn’t sacrifice to Baal in one place and to Jehovah in another. God yearns jealously over His people. He wants all of us.
The people did not answer Elijah a word in response, waiting to see what would happen. Now, Elijah let the prophets of Baal choose their bull and go first. The Bible says they cried out to their god from morning until noon. 1 Kings 18:29 says,
“As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.”
When they finally gave up, Elijah called the people to himself. He prepared the sacrifice and then soaked it with water until it filled the trench around the altar. Some scholars say this was to prove to the people there was no hidden fire beneath the sacrifice. After the altar had been soaked, Elijah offered this simple prayer, with no performance:
“O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” (1 Kings 18:36-37)
In the Western world at least, false gods are not commonplace, but that doesn’t mean idolatry doesn’t exist. Do we worship God on Sundays, serving ourselves Monday through Saturday? Do we give verbal agreement to the things of God, but live out of alignment with His Word? That’s a sacrifice that God won’t accept. How long will we go on limping between two different opinions, like the people of Israel? If Jehovah is God, serve Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind (Matthew 22:37). Have we decided, wholeheartedly, that we will serve only One, above our opinions, our dreams, and our own plans?
God’s demonstrated power that day on Mount Carmel was intended to turn the hearts of the people back to this single-minded devotion. Elijah asked God to answer his prayer that the people would know He is God. God will always confirm the validity of His Word with power. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He prayed,
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” (John 11:41- 42)
Jesus is the living Word of God and He carried power. God heard Jesus’ prayer, just as He heard Elijah, thousands of years before. 1 Kings 18:38-39 says,
“Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.”
We serve a God who hears and answers. We aren’t like the prophets of Baal, who desperately cried out from morning until noon with “no one to pay attention.” Over and over in the Word of God, we see that our God answers by fire. The proof of God’s acceptance of a sacrifice is purifying, consuming fire. The fire that fell from heaven on Mount Carmel was no ordinary fire. It didn’t just consume the sacrifice. It consumed all of the water, the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones of the altar, itself. That was a supernatural, consuming fire.
Fire is still God’s response to an acceptable sacrifice. In Luke 3:16, John the Baptist said,
“I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
In Acts 2, this promise was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit fell on the believers, and tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the disciples. Jesus still baptizes with fire. When we are washed in the blood of Jesus and filled with His Spirit, we become an acceptable sacrifice, and fire is God’s response. Our lives then become a demonstration of the reality of Our God. When we pray and God answers, it says nothing about us and everything about Him. Just as He was with Jesus, just as He was with Elijah, so will He be with us.
James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” The power of prayer is a God who hears and answers. He’s our loving Father and the Judge of the whole earth. He’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother and the Creator of the universe. He is as kind as He is mighty. What do we expect when we pray? Elijah knew God heard Him and expected fire. Jesus knew God heard Him and expected a man who had been dead for days to walk out of the tomb. Do you know God hears you? He is waiting for the prayers of His people to be full of expectation to see His power demonstrated on the earth, here and now. So, “let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).
1 Comment
Amen mate, great devotion! Thank you God that You hear my voice and respond with fire to the prayers offered in faith in accordance to Your word! You are my devotion! ðŸ™ðŸ”¥ðŸ™ŒðŸ¼