NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

REFLECTION

The God who answers…He is God is the theme for our reflection. God proved to Prophet Elijah that He is dependable, He answers prayers according to His will and will never put His servants to shame. This was not the case for the prophets of Baal when they called on Baal to prove his existence, power and dependability.

It is important to note that Elijah did not on his own volition order God into a challenge or context of superiority against Baal but it was a direction given to Him by God to prove to the Israelites that the God who answers…He is God, but the god who cannot answer….he is not god, he exists only in name and lives in idols or statutes and in shrines. Indeed, Baal is powerless. After Baal had failed to answer his 450 prophets through dramatic, elaborate and fruitless rituals and prayers, “Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that these people may know that you, O LORD, are God,…Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.” (1 Kings 18:36-39). Dear friend, the fact that we have a prayer answering God does not mean that we should live recklessly by putting the Lord to the test. Elijah proved the existence of God by doing so at God’s instruction or Word. We will realise that it was a different scenario when Satan tempted Jesus, “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Luke 4:9-12). The difference is that in Elijah’s case, he did not put God to the test, He prayed according to His will, however in the case of Jesus, it was not God’s will at that material moment for Jesus to prove His power and existence to Satan who was already aware of who God was. In other words, there is nothing to prove! God is not a God of showmanship, He is a prayer-answering God to those who have a faith-and-obedient-centred relationship with Him. God answered Elijah because it was His will to prove to the people of Israel that He exists and Baal is worthless but God did not need to prove Himself to His Son Jesus that He exists. If Jesus had listened to Satan and threw Himself to be caught by the Angels then He had rather obeyed Satan and not God. The truth is Jesus knew that His Father will always answer His prayer without any form of drama and showmanship at the request of Satan.

Many Christians of our time, yearn to experience God dramatically as Satan proposed to Jesus, many Christians want to experience the power of God in the manner He answered Elijah’s prayers but the question is; since we became Christians or believers, do we truly believe that God exists and do we know His will through the knowledge of His Word to be able to pray aright? Dear friend, “… without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6). In addition to our faith in God, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14) Elijah prayed with faith and also confidently approached God amid the 450 prophets of Baal because he prayed according to the will of God at the material moment. Do you have an unshakable faith in God and do you pray according to the will of God? Surely, the God who answers…He is God, therefore let us walk with Him in faith and obedience, and confidently pray to Him according to His will for the manifestation of His glory in our lives. Shalom.

PRAYER

Almighty and prayer-answering God, strengthen our faith and give us deep insight into your Word that we may know your will and pray aright to continually experience the manifestation of Your glory in our lives. Amen