21 Days of Fasting and Prayer: Let It RainParaugs

Preparing for a Miracle

One of the most captivating miracles in the Old Testament is found in 1 Kings 18. A physical drought has ravaged the land due to the ongoing disobedience of God’s people. It’s in the third year of the devastating drought that Elijah gets a word from the Lord – a miracle is coming. Elijah understands something critically important about the word he received: if he’s going to see the miracle happen, he will need to prepare.

Elijah gathers all of Israel, including hundreds of prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel and in 1 Kings 18:20-35, Elijah leads them in preparation for a miracle:

Vs 23, “I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar…”

Vs 25, “Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god.”

Vs 26, “So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar.”

The prophets of Baal spend all day calling on their god to send fire to burn the offering, but nothing happens.

Next, Elijah prepares for a miracle. He repairs the altar, places the wood and the sacrifice, and even has a trench built to surround it. During a drought when water was scarce, Elijah has four large containers of water poured over the altar three separate times, drenching the sacrifice, and filling the trench.

The drenched wood represented a big problem because it couldn’t catch fire, but Elijah understood that our problems are no match for God’s power. Verse 36 says, “Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed…”

Elijah had a unique understanding that what must accompany preparation is faith-filled prayer. He prays, and fire immediately falls from heaven, burning up the sacrifice and drying up all the water in the trench! It was an amazing miracle!

Elijah’s preparation resulted in a supernatural miracle, the defeat of false prophets, and a nation turning back to God. But none of that would have happened if Elijah just sat on the word and waited around for it to happen. Instead, he began taking action and prepared for the miracle.

God wants to do even greater miracles in our lives. Our prayer and fasting is preparation for those miracles. As you pray for specific needs, ask God how you should begin preparing for the miracle that is on the way!