Fire from Heaven

The king of Israel, named Ahab, was a bad king. He led the people to worship a fake god called Baal instead of the real God.

God's prophet Elijah had a plan. He told King Ahab, 'Bring everyone to Mount Carmel. Bring all 450 prophets of Baal. We're going to have a contest!'

On the mountain, Elijah spoke to the people. 'How long will you hop between two choices? If the Lord is God, follow Him! If Baal is god, follow him!'

The people didn't say anything.

Elijah explained the contest. 'We'll build two altars with meat on them, but NO fire. The prophets of Baal will pray to Baal. I'll pray to the Lord. The god who sends fire from the sky is the real God!'

'That's fair!' the people said.

The prophets of Baal went first. They prayed and prayed. 'Baal, answer us!' They danced and shouted from morning until noon.

Nothing happened.

Elijah teased them. 'Maybe Baal is sleeping! Shout louder!'

They shouted ALL afternoon. They jumped around like crazy.

Still nothing.

Now it was Elijah's turn. He fixed an old altar with twelve stones. He dug a ditch around it. He put wood and meat on top.

Then he did something surprising. 'Pour water on it!' he said. They poured water all over—so much that the ditch filled up! This was going to be IMPOSSIBLE!

Elijah prayed simply: 'Lord, let everyone know YOU are the real God and I am your servant. Show them You're turning their hearts back to You!'

WHOOOOSH! Fire fell from the sky! It burned up the meat, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and ALL the water!

The people fell on their faces. 'The LORD is God! The LORD is God!'

There's only ONE true God, and He still has the power to do amazing things!