It's All About Turning Hearts Back To God
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, 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, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
Then 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.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -- He is God! The LORD -- He is God!"
Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there. I Kings 18:36-40
Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
Then 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.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -- He is God! The LORD -- He is God!"
Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there. I Kings 18:36-40
"Answer me, LORD . . . so that these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
I see this as the most important statement in the entire narrative. Why was that amazing miracle of fire coming down from heaven granted to Elijah? Why was the incredible sight of the fire burning up stones and licking water granted? Was it just to show how powerful a prophet Elijah was? Absolutely not! The miracle was given for the express purpose of turning the hearts of the people back to God. They had turned their backs on God and had left His altar in disarray but when they saw the miracle of fire coming down from Heaven, they proclaimed, "The LORD -- He is God! The LORD -- He is God!" That is the essence of miracles and signs and wonders.
These are days when some desire to see miracles for the sole purpose of showing how "powerful" they are! But that entirely misses the mark. Miracles in the Bible always brought glory to God and not man, and invariably they resulted in lives being saved for God's Kingdom. It's all about turning hearts back to God. If we desire to see the true miraculous move of God, then our single-hearted focus should be on glorifying God and turning the hearts of people back to God.
Prayer: Father, I thank you for the promise Jesus made that signs and wonders shall follow our preaching of the Gospel. May we encounter signs and wonders as we preach the Gospel and may many lives be transformed and turned to you. Amen.