Hope in the Bible: Elijah Trusted God to Show Up

Elijah is one of the great prophets and only one of two men were are told was taken to heaven with the Lord.

At the transfiguration of Jesus, Moses and Elijah are the two who appeared with him.

Elijah and King Ahab have a confrontation in which the prophet calls the king out for worshipping on false gods. {1 Kings 18:16-20}

He tells the people “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” {1 Kings 18:21}  The then proposes a test between the living God and false gods of Baal.

Elijah prayed for rain

Over eight hundred prophets of Baal and Asherah arrive on Mount Carmel. They build an altar to Baal, pray for fire and light the sacrifice. They pray from morning to noon while Elijah mocks them. {1 Kings 18:22-26}

At noon, Elijah says ‘Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”  {1 Kings 18:27}

The prophets cut themselves, adding their own blood to the sacrifice and continue praying until sunset. All their efforts bring no success. {1 Kings 18:28-29}

Elijah then builds an altar of twelve stones, places a trench around it orders the altar and trench drenched with water. He prays, asking God to accept is sacrifice. {1 Kings 18:30-35}

Fire falls from the sky, consuming the sacrifice, and water. {1 Kings 18:36-39}

He then orders the deaths of the false prophets. {1 Kings 18:40}

Elijah prays earnestly for rain to fall again on the land. Then the rains begin, signaling the end of the famine. {1 Kings 18:41-46}

Elijah had hope and faith that God would show up and prove his power. He allowed the false prophets to go first, but no matter how fervent the men were or how long they prayed, nothing happened. When Elijah called out to the living God, he instantly showed up and did as asked. Elijah reminds up to have faith and trust in the power of the Lord. He will show up when we call on him.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.