Written By Ben Dankaka
Meditation – 1 Kings 18:36
One of the most powerful prayers in the Bible is the one said by Elijah as at the time of his prayer challenge with the prophets of Baal. The prayer contest was on whose “God” could light a sacrifice all by himself. The prophets of Baal had begun the challenge by praying to their god from morning to evening. They shouted, pleaded and danced as they asked their god to bring fire on their sacrifice. But despite their loud appeals and dramatic show, their god couldn’t light the fire on the altar. Their attempts to get the attention of their god proved futile, even after slashing themselves with swords and spears. After their prayer marathon, they became exhausted. When it got to Elijah’s turn, the atmosphere suddenly became calm as Elijah carefully prepared his sacrifice. Possibly, his prayer didn’t take more than five minutes but the response was instant.
A lot can be learned from the way Elijah said his prayer. First of all, his prayer was concise and straight to the point. He didn’t try to embellish it with so many words. He also didn’t get emotional. He didn’t try to impress his God or anyone by screaming and dancing. He prayed as if there was no one there except him and God. Elijah’s prayer was like a conversation between him and God. But most importantly, Elijah was confident as he prayed to God. Clearly, Elijah’s confidence was inspired by the fact that his prayer was said according to God’s will and purposes. Elijah’s request was for God to answer his prayer so that it will be known that He is the God of Israel and that He was willing to turn the people’s hearts back to Him. Today, let your prayer be according to God’s purposes.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may it be done according to your purpose. Amen.
REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: 1 Kings 18:1-39
Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.