1 Kings 18:36-37
36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
Elijah prayed such a simple prayer, and God answered with fire. This reminds me of the simple prayer that Jesus made before he raised Lazarus from the dead. Imagine the same scenario in today’s world, can you imagine the kind of prayers we would make to call down fire from heaven?
Elijah begins by asking God to send the fire so that it may be known that he is the one true God and that Elijah is his prophet. The next thing he says is significant, he asks God to do this so that people will know that Elijah has done all these things at God’s word. That is important, and it reminds us of another scripture;
1 John 5:14-15 NKJV
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Elijah did not just come out of nowhere to challenge the prophets of Baal and call fire from heaven. He was constantly walking with God and these are the instructions that God had given him. He was sure that God would answer his prayer because it was God who had given him the instructions. The same applies with Jesus, he said he only does what he sees the father do
You and I need to have such a close walk with God that we know his heart and that way then, our prayers will hit the mark because we are praying in his will.
