S154P11 – Sincerity in prayer: Elijah
1 Kgs. 18:36-39
And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “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.” 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.”
By this time in the scriptures, it was not a novel thing for God to give people specific instructions on what to do for him. We see great examples of this in the stories of Noah and Moses. By this time Elijah also had spent a season following God’s audible instruction and living miraculously. After all, God sent him away to live alone and be fed by ravens, which is not normal. This is the kind of daily relationship with the Lord we might desire but do not see. I think it is a safe bet to assume that no one reading this has had to live by a brook and depend on the birds for food. Yet, there is a part of this daily relationship with the Lord that we can enjoy today.
Elijah’s prayer is the culmination of a process of training by God. Just like other people who had to live by God’s very word, Elijah learned to trust the Lord and his faith one step at a time. The prayer above occurs in a very compelling scene in scripture, and it might have been very nerve racking for Elijah. He had initiated this challenge against the false profits and now had to show that his God was real. It was time to prove the truth of what he was saying, but that proof was not within his control. It was for God to make this happen. All Elijah could do was pray and wait. He had faith to trust in God when he was alone, but now he had to exercise that faith before others. This would be a public prayer with public consequences.
Elijah knew that the result of his prayer would be a sign of God’s reputation before everyone present. Not only that, but God’s movement in securing his reputation would have an effect on the hearts of those people. God’s response to Elijah’s prayer in faith would serve either to build or to extinguish the faith of that audience. When the fire came down from heaven, he had his answer. God had honored Elijah’s faith, protected his reputation and moved those people to repentance. There is no reason why our daily experiences through prayer to the Lord cannot do the same and more. Father, give us the faith of Elijah as we pray to expect even greater fruit than You allowed him to harvest here.