The prophet, Elijah, as we know was among the few men that had an amazing walk with God. He drew down so much power from heaven. His was a spectacular display of power. We read of so many amazing and mind-boggling exploits that he did.
At a particular point in his life, Elijah was concerned about the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. They had forsaken God and had degenerated to worshipping the foreign god- Baal. Elijah in seeking a solution, went to God in prayer, and asked for a cessation of rainfall to get the Israelites attention.
He declared the word in Israel, that there wasn’t going to be rain for three years, and it came to pass. By the word of God to Him, he suspended the heavens. There was no rain for three years.
After three years, Elijah received word from God again and there was rain released on the land. God sent Elijah back to Israel to confront the idol worshippers. He was directed to go and challenge the nation of Israel to make a decision of which god to follow.
Elijah gathered the whole nation to Mount Carmel. The King and all the prophets of Baal were there, and mighty things happened on that mountain. There were very remarkable and striking manifestations on that day. Elijah called down fire from heaven and the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices on the altar. Elijah instructed the people of Israel and they slaughtered the prophets of Baal. The story can be found in the eighteenth chapter of the Old Testament book of First Kings.
We celebrate some of these Elijah’s display of power in the church today and it is really an amazing thing. We would all want to speak the word and there will be no rain; we would all want to call down fire from heaven; we would all want to be able to kill the enemies of God ourselves. That was the power the man had. His was a spectacular display of power.
Most importantly, though, is the bible’s unambiguous assertion that you too can do this!
“Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
~ James 5:17,18
Dare to pray. Dare to believe. Then dare to step out in faith. Yes, you too can!