Fall Like Fire Conclusion

4. The People’s Response

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!" 1 Kings 18:39. They repeated their confession twice like the two witnesses that were needed to confirm something to be true. Elijah immediately instructed the people to destroy the prophets of Baal. He knew that if they remained alive then the people would quickly turn back to their old ways.

Did the people remain true to their confession? It was only a few years later that God had to bring judgment upon the people because of their idolatry. If we shake our heads and wonder how people who saw the power of God could so quickly turn away and worship false gods we need only to look at history. The people declared Jesus to be a king on Palm Sunday but less than a week later they were calling for His crucifixion. After the events of 9-11 in the US people returned to churches but within a year they had gone back to their old ways. The hearts of men are fickle.

We often talk about the Lord God of Elijah but the same God is at work in the world today. The only thing that made Elijah unique was that he was aware of the presence and power of His God. He knew that one man with God was a majority. He had nothing to fear when God was on his side. Elijah’s prayer on Mount Carmel was a short prayer because he had spent time in private prayer. Our prayers in public will only have power if we have spent time in the prayer closet alone with our God.