Today, we continue our series called “The Prayer Warrior” as we explore another prayer warrior, the Prophet Elijah. We will examine a remarkable example of his prayer in the Book of 1 Kings. Before we look at our primary text for this morning, I would like to provide some background to help us better understand the scripture.
According to the Bible, David was the second ruler of the United Kingdom of Israel, succeeding King Saul. After King David died, his son Solomon became king and served the people of Israel. In those days, King Solomon was known for his wisdom, and he did a great job governing the country and his people, except in his marriages. For some reason, likely due to political alliances, he had many foreign women as his wives. In his old age, many of Solomon’s wives turned to other gods instead of serving the Lord (1 Kings 11:4-5). Because of Solomon’s spiritually broken heart or altar, God decided to divide the United Kingdom of Israel into two (1 Kings 11:9-13). One was called the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the other was referred to as the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
Ahab was the seventh king of Israel and one of the worst rulers. He did “more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” (1 Kings 16:30). Ahab married Jezebel, who worshipped a pagan god named Baal. Under her ungodly influence, King Ahab persecuted and imprisoned the prophets of God and destroyed all His altars. Ahab led his people away from the Lord and toward Baal worship.
In 1 Kings Chapter 17, God called a man named Elijah to become His prophet. Elijah’s first task was to go to the wicked king and deliver a message: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1). Following Elijah’s prophecy, a terrible famine struck the land, with no crops due to the prolonged drought. The people of Israel faced widespread starvation that affected the entire nation.
As the drought reached its third year, Elijah became the most wanted person in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. King Ahab hated Elijah and sent his soldiers to capture the prophet and put him in prison. During this time, the Word of God came to Elijah again with the following message: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land” (1 Kings 18:1). Obeying God’s command, Elijah arranged a meeting with Ahab. When they met, he proposed a contest of real power between God and Baal at the top of Mount Carmel. The next morning, Ahab brought 850 prophets of Baal to the mountain, while Elijah stood alone. He prayed to God, calling on HIs power to demonstrate His supremacy.
This morning, I want us to dive into this story, learn a couple of lessons from Elijah’s prayer, and apply these principles to our faith journeys.
Firstly, Elijah challenged the people of Israel to to choose between God and Baal. He asked them, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). In those days, Baal was known as a fertility god believed to bless the land. The people of Israel were told that Baal controlled the weather and could provide rain, which would make them prosperous in their agricultural pursuits. At the same time, they had been instructed to follow God’s ways. In the Ten Commandments, God told them through Moses: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2). As I mentioned earlier, King Ahab had destroyed much of God’s legacy and introduced the people to Baal worship. When God delivered the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, He urged them to prioritize Him by saying: “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). The Bible repeatedly calls us to make a decision. God commands us to fully follow Him and turn away from other gods.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus echoed Elijah’s divine challenge: “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Our Lord demands top priority in our lives. It is important to understand that the term “money” here can represent anything that dominates our lives. Even good things that God has created for us can become false gods if they prevent us from loving the Lord with all our being. While preparing this part of the sermon, I asked myself whether I am fully committed to following the Lord. Some time ago, I read a book titled Not a Fan written by Kyle Idleman. According to him, there is a difference between being a fan of Jesus and a committed follower of Christ. Fans may enjoy learning about someone or something at their convenience and can be loyal for a period, but they might drop off when their interest changes. Followers, however, are dedicated and remain steadfast even through difficulties. As fans of Christ, we might be curious and eager to learn more about God and salvation. While these are good starting points, being a true disciple requires more. As followers of Jesus, we need to embrace the Word of God with all our hearts and act on what the Holy Spirit guides us to do with all our strength. We also need to check our spiritual desires to ensure they align with God and strive to become more like Christ in every aspect of our lives. After reflecting on Elijah’s challenging question, I cried out to God in prayer, asking for His mercy and grace to become a fully committed disciple of Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit in my faith journey.
So how can we choose to serve the Lord only and put Him first in our lives? One answer is through daily repentance and spiritual self-examination. Each day, we need to examine our lives through the spiritual mirror of the Word of God: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13). Remember, the purpose of repentance and self-examination, based on the Word, is to lead us to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). Like the people of Israel, we must choose: If the Lord is truly our God, we must follow Him with all our hearts. But if we choose materialism, pleasure, or pride as our gods, we allow ourselves to follow them instead. Christianity is a continual commitment of our lives to Christ, regardless of the circumstances. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, the life, and He is the only One who can lead us to Heaven, we must follow Him and place God as our highest priority.
Secondly, Elijah repaired the broken altar of the Lord. After challenging the people of Israel, he confronted Ahab’s 850 prophets. He instructed them to prepare one bull for sacrifice to their god while he would prepare one for his God. When both bulls were ready, the prophets of Baal called on their god from morning until noon. They shouted louder and louder and even cut themselves to attract Baal’s attention, but there was no response. After witnessing this unsuccessful attempt, Elijah took his turn by restoring the altar of the Lord that had been broken down. He then asked the people to pour water on the sacrifice and the wood three times, leaving no room for false fire. Repairing the altar of the Lord was critical for Elijah to experience God’s power in prayer. Just as Elijah repaired the altar, so must we, as followers of Christ, repair our spiritual altars today. Altars represent our fellowship with God in prayer. At the altar, we surrender ourselves to the Lord and offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God. Through intimate devotion at the altar, our old selves can be transformed into new creations in Christ.
In the Gospel, Jesus referred to the temple in Jerusalem as a house of prayer, essentially an altar of God (Matthew 21:12-13). In His time, many people traveled long distances to the temple. To accommodate them, animals were available for purchase in the temple court for sacrifices. Because they often brought their own currency, money changers were present to provide the currency of Jerusalem. Selling animals and exchanging money inside the temple was not the issue for Jesus. The problem was that many people had lost the true meaning of the offerings. Before sacrificing the animals, they were supposed to examine themselves and submit their whole beings to God. That is why Jesus told the worshippers: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). Please understand that Jesus respected religious rituals. In the Sermon on the Mount, He also indicated that He did not come to “abolish the Law of the Prophets,” including burnt offerings, “but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). However, without paying attention to what God really wanted, no matter how many sacrifices they offered, they would not be acceptable to God. That is why Jesus declared that His temple should be a house of prayer. One crucial aspect of prayer is attentiveness to God. We should ask God what He wants us to do and listen to His guidance during a time of prayer. According to the Apostle Paul, God’s temple is not only our churches but also our bodies. We are considered the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). We need to ask ourselves if we surrender our whole beings to the Lord during worship and if our hearts are attentive to His guidance in our daily lives. Through honest confession and renewed trust in prayer, we can mend our broken relationship with Christ and repair our God-given holy altars – our sacred bodies – with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, in view of God’s mercy, we can offer ourselves as living sacrifices, pleasing Him and placing Him as our top priority (Romans 12:1).
I’d like to share a story about Satan’s strategic meeting. One day, Satan called a worldwide convention of demons… “Has the devil been successful in his scheme?” We need to restore our prayer altars, not just on Sundays when a preacher speaks on prayer, but at any time, whether we are in God’s sanctuary or not. Wherever we are, we should seize moments for prayer. God has chosen prayer as His channel of blessing, offering us wisdom, peace, grace, love, endurance, and strength because He knows exactly what we need. The only way to receive these gifts is by repairing our broken spiritual hearts with God and reconnecting with His power through prayer.
Thirdly, Elijah prayed that the people of Israel would recognize that the God of Abraham is the true God. Elijah could have asked for fire immediately, but instead, he prayed for a revelation of God’s name to the people who had wandered away from the Lord. He prayed, “O Lord, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:36-38). Elijah wanted the entire nation of Israel to understand that there were no other gods except for the Lord God and to return to Him.
Immediately after Elijah’s prayer, “the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench” (1 Kings 18:39). What a contrast! The 850 prophets had begged their god from morning until evening, but nothing happened. When Elijah prayed, he received an immediate response. Witnessing this powerful event, the people of Israel fell to the ground and confessed, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39). God answered not only by sending fire to consume the altar but also by turning the hearts of the people back to Him.
Like Elijah, we should pray that God pours out His holy fire or abundant rain upon the challenging situations of our loved ones and ourselves so that we all may realize HIs living and powerful presence. Alongside experiencing God’s mighty and merciful authority in our faith journeys, He desires for us and our loved ones to confess like the people of Israel: “The Lord – He is God. God is the Lord our Creator.” As we receive sacred fire and divine rain, we can draw closer to God, become more committed to Christ, and follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance more faithfully. By praying with the same attitude toward God, we can expect to see His answers to our prayers for particularly in rooting the hearts of our loved ones more fully in the Lord.
Another important lesson from Elijah’s prayer is that he was human, just like us. Sometimes, we may think that powerful prayers are reserved for those with extraordinary faith. However, the Bible shows us that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. The Apostle James describes Elijah as someone with the same human struggles – moments of weakness, disappointment, frustration, timidity, and unbelief. Despite these limitations, Elijah humbled himself before the Lord and sought God’s supernatural intervention.
James highlights not only Elijah’s prayer but also the connection between confessing sins and praying for one another. He emphasizes that powerful and effective prayers come from repentant and earnest hearts. Imagine pipelines between God and us, with all His resources flowing through these channels. If there are blockages – sins – along the way, we may be unable to receive these resources and could be spiritually weakened. Elijah’s repentance and faith in God’s provision and protection made him righteous in God’s sight. This righteousness empowered him to offer bold prayers, such as asking for rain to end a severe drought. When we, as sanctified people of the Lord, place our complete trust in the Holy Spirit, and pray with faith in the name of Jesus Christ, we can expect to witness God’s miracles in the lives of our loved ones and us today and in the days to come.
In conclusion, the lessons we have learned from Elijah’s prayer are intended for each of us individually. Friends, let us be thankful to the Lord for providing us with such a remarkable example in Elijah, the prayer warrior. Once again, let us reflect on the same question Elijah posed to the people of Israel, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18;21). We need to answer this question while repenting before Christ of our ignorance, pride, selfish and lustful desires, and hardened hearts toward God.
We also need God’s help to repair our broken altars with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us seek sacred fire and divine rain upon our loved ones and ourselves so that they and we all may turn our hearts back to Christ, follow the Holy Spirit’s direction fully, reveal the name of our Mighty and Merciful God, and praise the Triune Lord with all our hearts and strength. Amen!
*In this sermon, I have drawn on insights from various sources based on the following texts: 1 Kings 18:16-39; Matthew 21:12-13; James 5:16-18.