A Taunting Prophet; Frantic Prayers, No Answer!
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said, "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened."
So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said, "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened."
So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
I Kings 18:25-29
The forces of darkness are real and powerful but they are no match for our Almighty God. The forces of darkness can work signs and wonders, but they are never the equal of the Creator God; the possessor of the heavenly hosts.
As children of the Almighty God, we must be cognizant of the power of our adversary. Satan and his demonic angels and forces can work all kinds of signs and wonders. We see the instance of how the magicians of Pharaoh also turned their staffs into snakes after Aaron's staff had been turned by God into a snake. The gods of Egypt performed the same miracle the Almighty God had performed through Aaron and Moses but that was not the end of the story. The staff of Aaron swallowed up all the other staffs of the Egyptian magicians. God's staff swallowed up all the many staffs of the forces of darkness. In the end, God always wins, no matter what resistance the Enemy puts up.
The prophet Elijah was confident that the forces of darkness, represented by the prophets of Baal, were no match for the Almighty God. Elijah had heard the word of God and he stood firmly upon the word. He knew he could command fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. In order for the supremacy of God to be clearly established, the powers of darkness had to be completely shut down. God did not allow them to move at all. I believe the angels of God were on guard to ensure that no counterfeit fire would be released at all from hell to even remotely compete with the Holy Fire from Heaven!
The prophets of Baal prayed frantically to their god and slashed themselves but there was no answer; no fire. Elijah taunted and cracked jokes, calling Baal a sleeping god who needed to be awakened to answer. God shut down the powers of hell to establish His supremacy.
Our God is all powerful. He never slumbers nor sleeps. He is attentive to the cry of His children and protective of His Name and His word. Like Elijah, let's strive to get to the point where we can confidently taunt the prophets of darkness and their wicked activities because we are confident that their weapons against us will not prosper. Let's fervently pray and stand upon the word of the Living God and live in full assurance that our God is able to shut down the wicked "prophets of Baal" who would dare come against us.
Prayer: Father, your word tells me that Elijah was a human being just like me and that he prayed and miracles happened. He prayed and the powers of darkness were shut down. My prayer is that you will help me to be strong in my faith and to stand against every activity of the powers of darkness against my life and against your Kingdom agenda. Amen.