Day 7 - 21 Days of Prayer Devotional

21 Days of Prayer DAY 7 - 1 Kings 18:36-37 36 At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself." CONSIDER THE CONTEXT Elijah was in for the challenge of His life. He called together 850 of the most feared, revered and powerful prophets of the false god, Baal, to come and have it out with the God of Israel. He takes two bulls and lays them each on a bed of wood for a sacrifice. He challenges the 850 to pray to their gods to come down and ignite the sacrifice. After hours or wild prayers from the 850, nothing. Elijah couldn't stand himself and taunts the 850 saying that their god must be busy or away or too deep in thought to come to their aid. Then it's Elijah's turn. He has the people douse his sacrifice and wood three times with so much water that it filled a trench he made all around the wood. No fire could possibly start in conditions like that. Elijah was doomed to have the same result as the 850 false prophets of Baal. Then Elijah prays today's prayer and the fire came. Not only did the sacrifice ignite but the 850 prophets of Baal were also consumed in the fire from God. CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS False beliefs, false teachings, false trust... it is all around us. In fact, in many cases, falseness seems to be winning and have greater power in this world than does truth. And, that may be the case, for now. But at anytime God may choose to show His awesome and uncompromising power as he did with Elijah that day. Not only is that true but, God is always doing things that seem to confound those who would believe in the falsehoods this world craves so much. You too have that same God of power in your corner, listening and responding to your prayers. Let today be a day of victory against the false prophets that surround you as you trust in the God who loves you so. CONSIDER THE PRAYER It is true. The lies are all around me. It is so hard to not believe that the lies are true when those who perpetrate those lies seem to benefit so much in this world. But Elijah didn't seem to waiver in the face of all the lies and the liars. Today, neither will I. Today Lord, I choose to believe that you are in control and will defeat those who set themselves against you. Today Lord, I choose to believe you have your best in mind for me and for my Church. Today Lord, I choose to walk in the power you made so evident to Elijah and the people around him. Today Lord, I choose to believe that your best is coming and I submit to your plan for me and my Church. Amen.