In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah prayed by the unction of the Holy Spirit, and it didn't rain for three and a half years. That's a drought! God supernaturally took care of Elijah as long as he followed the Holy Spirit and obeyed God. But then God spoke to him again (1 Kings 18:1) and said, "Go find Ahab and tell him you want to talk to him."
When Elijah found King Ahab, he told him, "You've been leading the nation astray. Go find the 450 prophets of Baal and the prophets of the groves, and bring them up here - we are going to have a showdown."
Then Elijah turned to the false prophets and said, "Now we are going to find out whose God answers by fire. You make your altar, put your sacrifice on it, call on your gods, and see what they can do."
The prophets of Baal made their altar and put their sacrifice on it, and all these false prophets began to cry out to their gods.
Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry a little louder; maybe he's on the telephone. Cry a little louder! He may be doing business in the back office, or maybe he's on vacation. Or maybe he's taking a nap."
Time's Up
Finally, Elijah said, "Get out of the way; it's my turn."
Elijah built an altar and put wood and sacrifice on it. But he wanted to make sure Baal's false prophets couldn't say that it was just spontaneous combustion. So he said, "Dig a trench and pour 12 barrels of water on it." They poured water until the sacrifice was soaked. The altar was so saturated that the water ran off the edge and completely filled the trench.
Then Elijah prayed, "God, send down Your fire. Let the people know I did this at Your Word." Elijah didn't cry and cut himself, moan, groan, or wail. No, he just said, "God, move!"
And fire fell from heaven. When it did, the fire consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the altar, and all the water.
All the nation of Israel who were watching this showdown fell on their faces and said, "The Lord, he is the God" (1 Kings 18:39).
These were the same people who, a few hours earlier, were wavering between God and the false god Baal. The fire fell and the whole nation fell on their face and worshipped God. The fire of God not only changed the entire nation of Israel, but it ushered in a reverence for God.
And it can happen again.
Excerpt permission granted by Mark Brazee Ministries