The Importance of Prayer: Approaching the Throne of GraceSample

As Conquering, Consuming Fire

Read: 1 Kings 18:20–39

SOAP: 1 Kings 18:38–39

Then fire from the LORD fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The LORD is the true God! The LORD is the true God!

Into the text

When God’s people had turned away from Him, God used His prophet Elijah to help restore the people. The Israelites had begun to worship a false god they claimed was true. When Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, challenging them to a task to see whose god was real, the people of Israel came out to watch. When the prophets of Baal could not get their god to respond, God showed His power. Elijah remained convinced of God’s power, and God showed Himself through a great miracle.

Through this miracle, all the people in Israel recognized and remembered who their God was. They remembered that they were His people, and they worshiped Him. The people had become complacent, allowing the false gods of the people around them to influence their faith. They turned from God, and it took a miracle to get their attention.

While God still works through miracles today, we should not be dependent on the miraculous to prove our God is real and that He cares for us. We have seen His miracles in the past, in creation, in our own lives. We cannot allow a casual attitude to creep into our relationship with God. When we let the world influence our faith, we can easily forget His holiness, power, and sovereignty.

Every prayer God answers is miraculous, for it is nothing short of a miracle that the God of the universe would stoop down to answer our needs, no matter how big they seem to us. He is still working miracles for us every day. May we believe Him whether we experience His miraculous work in big ways or everyday faithfulness.

Prayer

Father God, You are the God who spoke the universe into existence. Lord, forgive me when I make You small in my life, when I put You in a box, or when I attempt to predict Your ways and Your thoughts. Remind me, Lord, that the heavens declare Your power and Your handwork. Lord, may You always be elevated and lifted high in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.